Half day tour of Phuket Island

Ten South Africans were on the tour. The route was scenic and we made several stops and were told how much time we had to wander each time. Our guide’s English was limited so there was no commentary. Each stop provided lovely photographic opportunities. The temple was absolutely beautiful. Our last stop was for an hour at the gem stone factory.  We were not allowed to take any photographs. We were taken on an underground ride and shown realistic exhibits of how the mining of gemstones takes place. It was very interesting. At the end we were taken to their showroom. The jewellery was very expensive and we certainly couldn’t afford to buy anything but some of our party did.

James Bond Island Tour

We boarded at Pier Len Sai.  Boarding was quick and efficient and we were given a quick orientation talk of where we would be going.   The trip would be the whole day.  I’d dressed in bathing costume, shorts and t-shirt but packed a change of clothes and towels.
It is the most picturesque trip I have ever taken.   There are literally hundreds of small islands in the bay – sheer rock emerging from the sea. It’s fascinating to see how the trees and bushes grow on them.

The sea was calm, the skies overcast and we had a shower or two but nothing to fuss about.
Fruit and drinks were freely available on board and the staff were very attentive and friendly.
Our first stop was at Phang Ngu Bay. There was a group of Asian Americans young people with us.  One boy and three girls.  The girls were assigned a young Thai man to row them and boy did he have fun!  He entertained them brilliantly.  When we rowed through the tunnels and into the beautiful lagoon a pair of naughty monkeys were waiting to greet us from the trees tops.

They mischievous guide had brought some fruit with him and without an invitation these monkeys dropped down into the water.  One grabbed a banana and zapped back up the tree but the other decided to visit for a while. The girls shrieked in horror and the guide laughed his head off.

Our canoe was right next to theirs and the monkey took a liking to me and hopped across to finish his meal.

I was tempted to stroke him but know it is wrong to approach the wild life. However, he brushed right against me and his fur was as soft as a kitten’s.   I thought it would be more like a dog’s.  He also rather liked my feet and kept his claws resting on them.
We rowed around the lagoon and when we heard more shrieks from the girls we knew something else had been spotted. Indeed it was a snake

Their guide and ours took them right underneath it.  I think I would have died on the spot if it had fallen down on us.   I know somebody who was bitten by a snake in Thailand!
Next we were shown a walking fish sitting on the branch of a tree.

Really interesting.
The caves were and tunnels were great and we explored two areas of them.

From there we continued to the James Bond Island where The Man with the Golden Gun was made during the 1970s.

To get to it we had to get into a longboat which competed with docking space with a dozen others but it was done so efficiently and politely that it was not for one minute an issue.

Earl and I walked around and took the obligatory photographs but avoided the market where there were crowds of people.  We sat in the cool of a cave when we were done and enjoyed the shady coolness.

Back on the boat were served a delicious Thai lunch including deep fried pineapple spring rolls, Thai Chicken and walnut stir fry, freshly grilled fish which was delicious, salads, rice and noodles.   Dessert was pineapple on a stick.   Tea and coffee was freely available.
Our next stop was Lana Island where we once again got into our canoes to get to the beach.  We spent an hour swimming there which was the perfect way to end the trip.   The sea is deliciously warm.