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Published: February 15th 2006
To end 2005, Iona an I took a day trip to Phang Nga Bay…and what a beautiful day it was!
The tour company picked us up from our Guest House at the crack of dawn (a poor reoccurring trend for our holiday). We drove for a while in a mini-bus…I’m not really sure how long, because I was fast asleep! Our first stop was an elephant camp. Iona and I were “elephant camp pros” at this point, but it was the first time for the other 4 people in our group. We hung out with the baby elephant and his mama, while the others had a ride along a trail. It was feeding time, and since I was the only one around, I got to do the honors!
The islands of Phang Nga Bay are a gorgeous sight. Together, the islands make up Ao Phang Nga National Par. We traveled throughout the bay by long-tailed boats. It was so refreshing to have the sin beat down on me (yes Dad, I had sunscreen on!), and feel the mist of the sea spray on my face….ahhh, total relaxation!
Our first stop with the boats was at Ko Ping Kan
the baby elephant
he was a cute little guy!which is more commonly known now as “James Bond Island”. This new name came from it’s big screen debut in “The Man With A Golden Gun”. The island rises out of the water from a very thin base. It reminded me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa….destined to tip over at some point in the future.
Next we took sea canoes into some beautiful caves and lagoons in the bay. Many of the limestone mountains are doughnut shapped, so there is a hollow centre which is open to the sky. We had to squeeze through narrow and shallow passages to get in the middle. At times I didn’t think we would get through. After a few moments of lying down in complete darkness you arrive in a silent lagoon. The trees growing from the cliffs and the water were the most fascinating to me (check out the photo).
The long-tailed boats cruised us next to Ko Pannyi, which is an island with a Muslim village built entirely on stilts It stands next to a limestone mountain, where something like 500 families live! We had lunch there, and met some pushy children peddlers that were determined for all of
us to buy their postcards!
For the rest of the afternoon we headed back to mainland where we visited a butterfly farm and a temple in a cave. This cave is Monkey Cave, but there were no monkeys anywhere today! Our tour guide told us that all the monkeys were all ready at Patong Beach prepping for the New Year’s Party tonight!!
Today was a great send of to 2005!
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