Phang Nga Bay and Nai Yang Beach

Phang Nga Bay (prounounced paan(g) naah) - is gorgeous.  Definitely put this on your list.

The day before we arrived, leaving Ko Phi Phi was a mad house.  It got to the level of primal with people squeezing into position and being squished and herded on to 3 ferry boats.  The ferries were totally full; there were no boats the day before due to the storm.  Our hostel manager said there had been $3 million in losses. Some fishermen lost their boats, one big boat had gone down.  So now all the folks from 2 days worth of ferries were being crammed on.  Not fun…but also mildly entertaining. 

We made it Phuket ferry terminal and had a choice to either go to Phang Nga or the islands (Koh Yai Noi). Charles had to do some grading…and because we also wanted to get some motoring in, we opted for Phang Nga.  So glad we did! Got a taxi from the ferry landing to the bus terminal and bused it 1.5 hour to Phang Nga (100 B). We met a great lady from – Francesca from Romania – that convinced us to do the same tour she was doing: and all day trip through Phang Nga Bay with some kayaking and an overnight at the floating Muslim village.  The last part was something I hadn’t heard of so signing on for that was a bit of a gamble.  That, actually, turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip.

We got to Phang Nga town, lined up the tour and found the Guesthouse right up from the 7-11 about 5 minutes from the bus station.  A really nice inn-keeper who was so helpful.  We got a simple room with a fan for 380 B and rented her motorbike to check out the town. The topography of this place is absolutely stunning. Karst hills and cliffs, caves, green valleys, jungle trees.  It was  cool motoring around this small town. Reconfirmed our intentions to come back and do parts of our next trip by motorbike.  The freedom and exhileration…we soaked it up.  Happened upon a night market and discovered a delicious folded pancake – we had one with a sweet corn/powdered sugar mix and another with sweet coconut.  Wow.  Went right to the Pad Thai and chicken/port vendors – delicious. Had a beer at the coffee bar overlooking the town (just down from the cave entrance). Really nice and relaxing.  Saw Francesca in the morning, left our big bags at the guesthouse and took one small bag with us for the day/overnight at the village.  Caught a truck taxi (and met 3 other travelers: Peter from Germany and 2 French girls) for the 20 minute ride to the river pier… and we were off... 

Finally on a bike!

The evening market

The pancake lady

Our favorite coffee shop, beer stop, overlook place

We took a long-tailed boat checking out the scenery, birds, mangroves, islands. Wowwwww.  I think I took about 600 pictures.  We stopped at the tourist trap of James Bond Island.  Cool rock. Hiked through a small cave to an open lagoon. After some convincing, piloted our own kayak through some low bridges and lagoons.  Went swimming afterward and headed to the floating village to stay.

The famous tourist trap of James Bond Island (in the movie "Man with a Smoking Gun")

Our swim stop!

The cave

Kayaking time

Cool sailing ship on the bay

We stayed overnight at Panyi ("panyee") village. Arrived and waited for the host. Great bungalow (James Bond Bungalow). Really scenic. Villagers were interestingly standoffish. We heard a school band and made our way to the school and floating football court.  We watched adult and juvenile White-bellied Sea-eagles

flying foxes (large bats) emerging from the island caves in the evening after sunset and flying overhead to the mainland.

Floating village in the distance

Evening sunset on the bay

Back yard of the place we stayed at the end of the village

Sunset

View from the dining room window

See...it's a cool place.  James Bond guesthouse.

Sunrise on the beautiful bay

Sunrise against the buildings - wow

Kids practicing rowing during a club practice

Sea eagle

Sunset view off one of the piers. Mosque in the interior of village.

View from the same pier as above - floating football field inspired by FIFA

Sharp shells

Such a nice overnight trip - and then after breakfast and some shopping in the village, we hopped a boat and were back in Phang Nga town. We were having too much fun scooter-ing 20 minutes into the forest and hiking in the jungle up to waterfall.  Then around the country side to find a wat or two and a cave.  One last beer at our favorite coffee bar overlooking the town.  What an incredible time – loved Phang Nga.   (We took the 3:30 bus out of Phang Nga town to Phuket, got off at the airport turn off and took a side-car tuk-tuk... and made it with enough time for a sunset swim - see below)

Charles is sitting under the falls here.  Cool waterfalls/National Park we scooter-ed 20 minutes 

from town, then hiked along this river. Multiple falls and swimming holes. 

Check out this half-elephant stone carving. Entrance to a wat up against a huge limestone cliff 

jungly-type wall with a cave people were kayaking though. Cool.

Nai Yang Beach/National Park (3k from Phuket Int'l airport)

What a surprise!  I booked an airport hotel thinking it’s just be another airport hotel on a strip with a free shuttle to the airport in the morning.  It ended up being a 20 minute walk from a gorgeous beach inside a National Park about 3 km from the Phuket International airport.

The water was bath warm, the beach sand soft (not as fluffy-sugar soft maybe as Ko Phi Phi, but close).   Friggen unbelievable sunset and beach. Here are some gorgeous beach shots of our last day in S.E. Asia.

This time...anyway!  We'll go back...

We took a lovely Silk Air flight from Phuket to Singapore where we then had a layover of 4 hours. Luckily they had free internet, even a movie theater.   Some shots flying over Phang Nga Bay.

Flying into Singapore...