James Bond Island

On Wednesday, we took a tour of Phang Nga Bay which began with an exploration of a mangrove swamp by longtail boat.  Mangrove trees, at least according to the guidebook, are the only tree species that can survive in the brackish water of the swamps.  Their roots shoot knife-like through the muck and can hold on through the changing tides.

Coming out on the far side of the swamp, we switched to sea kayak and paddled through the bay's amazing limestone formations.  The most famous of these is Ko Tapu, known locally as James Bond Island for its role in the movie The Man With the Golden Gun where it served as the hideout for Bond's foe Francisco Scaramanga.  In reality, it is not nearly as big as it appeared in the movie.

Heading back toward the mangrove swamp, we stopped for lunch on Panyee Island, which is home to a small Muslim fishing village.  Founded more than 200 years ago by three families from Indonesia, today the village counts about 1500 villagers and has its own school and cemetery, all connected through a networks of piers.  About half the island's economy comes from fishing and the other half from tourism.

On our way back to the Sarojin after lunch, we stopped at Wat Suwankuha, a Buddhist temple located inside a limestone cave.  Outside the cave were the usual array of food and souvenir vendors, along with dozens of monkeys that live in the trees above the cave entrance.  The monkeys hang out in the plaza and beg and steal food from tourists.