Our adventures in Thailand continued as we went and explored Phang Nga Bay, which included James Bond Island, kayaking around limestone cliffs, and eating lunch at Koh Panyee, which is a village built on stilts above the water. Boating through Phang Nga Bay and seeing the cliffs jut up out of the water was one of the most beautiful and incredible natural landscapes that I have ever seen. All day long I kept feeling as if I was living in a National Geographic magazine!
Our transportation for the day was a long boat, which was not in the most pristine condition, but fun nonetheless. Sine there were about 20 of us, we had the boat chartered and to ourselves. The first stop our boat made was at James Bond Island, being named after the movie in which it appeared years ago, and it was awesome!
After checking out James Bond Island, our long boat guides took us over to a large anchored boat where we were then divided up into smaller groups for our kayak tours around the limestone cliffs. While not totally thrilling and exhilarating, this was a lot of fun, and very relaxing. We even bought fresh coconut water from a vendor selling them from a small, anchored boat in the bay! Will had fun feeling the water with his hands and feet and we got to see some type of amphibian fish-like creatures that crawled around through the mangroves.
After kayaking, we were hungry and ready for some delicious Thai food! We boated over to Koh Panyee, a village built on stilts. We were served a delicious lunch of noodles, fried chicken, fresh fish, soup, vegetables, and pineapple. As touristy as it was, it was fun to see this little village built on the water and in the middle of nowhere. Behind the restaurants in the front were a bunch of shops and vendors selling treats, clothes, trinkets, and all sorts of souvenirs. The kids each got what they thought were popsicles, but actually turned out to be frozen jelly-like treats. Not quite what they were expecting, but all part of the experience :)
By the time we finished our lunch and loaded back onto our boat, we were all pretty tired, and the kids especially were ready to get back to our hotel. So, we headed back and still had time to rest, relax, and spend some quality time all together in the hotel pool. The kids LOVED our hotel's pool, which had a pretty awesome (while not totally safe . . . ) slide. Will and his buddies honestly would have been content to spend all day, everyday, in the pool rather than do any sightseeing at all! But, we compromised and generally had time at the end of each day for the kids to swim and get their fill of the awesome slide before dinner and bedtime.
Seeing Phang Nga Bay was definitely a highlight of the trip! I felt like I saw, in person, what the travel sites' photos of Thailand are always advertising! It truly is an incredibly beautiful place!
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