Phuket (Jame Bond Island)

Phuket is an island off Thailand where a trip to the (now) famous ‘James Bond Island’ (see the Man with the Golden Gun ) beckoned. We opted for a modern speed boat which held about 30 people. With three 250 HP engines on the back we were not going to hang about!

After an hour we got up close to our first outcrop. It is an extraordinary part of the world comprising limestone karst towers in a beautiful green sea. 250 million years ago (the Permian period) a barrier reef was disrupted through tectonic plate movement. The reef was breached and eroded in many areas while others survived. Now with lower sea levels the karsts are left high and dry. With caves, stalactites and tide related erosion, every corner held a surprise.

Some of the overhangs are huge. I assume some occassionally break off but hopefully not today!

In addition to the newer speedboats the standard Thai ‘long tails’ were in plentiful supply. Noisy and inefficient (given the amount of water they spray upwards) they are at least breezy!

As for James Bond island it can only be described as chaotic. Some 4000 visitors a day on a tiny island ensures that state.

It is a constant movement of boats coming in, dropping off passengers then heading out to sea and returning half an hour later to pick up (hopefully the same) passengers. Given there are some 6 ‘berths’ which are not only very tight but at different angles (up to 90 degrees) plus natural overhangs coupled with the noisy open engines of the long tails – well you get the picture - chaotic really doesn’t cut it!

Once on the island there are a couple of remarkable features. This cliff face has slipped in a perfect plane.

However, the main attraction is this famous karst tower.

Getting a shot without people in it was almost impossible so you will just need to imagine the beach where Bond (Roger Moore) had a dual and as they paced away from one another – vanished.

Once the obligatory picture had been taken it was back to queuing for our boat and another quick trip to a small (partially) floating town. This fishing village of 1500 people has a substantial mosque (thanks to Saudi), a school and even a soccer pitch.

What was also noticeable was that the large outdoor restaurants had food out but not a single fly. An unusual existence where you definitely need to love thy neighbour (or at least get on with them).

And with that we headed back to the mainland. This departing shot really sums up this extraordinary area. 

All the adventure meant we were late for a buffet lunch where all food types were available from a range of indoor stalls. It was tasty so we wanted to take our time. The guide assured us that taking our time was fine as this was a Cunard tour and the ship would wait for us!