Well after a late night last night the early morning rise was not appreciated but by some miracle we ended up downstairs for our tour at 7.15am. We we’re heading on a Royal Caribbean excursion today out to Phang Nga Bay.
We joined our group were guided into a tender boat and then onto our tour bus. Our guide was amazing and had us all organised and seated and we started our 2 hour bus ride to Phang Nga Bay. First stop was at 7/11 to get some snacks at drinks. I have seen lots of suggestions to get the toasted sandwiches which we did and they were quite good. We passed heaps of rubber tree plantations and got to see a bit of rural Thailand. Phang Nga Bay is not in Phuket but on the mainland of Thailand.
After a two hour drive we ended up at the dock where we boarded into a motor boat. On the bus the guide had been telling us we had to be careful if we sat up the top of the boat. When we saw it the reason for that is it was just a roof. The motorboat left from a small community and before we knew it we were off jetting through the mangroves and seeing the beautiful mountains of Phang Nga. All these mountains are made from limestone and ocean sediment forming over the years. It was breathtaking.
This whole area was used for filming of a few movies. For instance one I didn’t know was that Chewbacca’s home planet of Kashyyyk, which appears in Revenge of the Sith was all filmed in Phang Nga Bay. Most people will know Koh Tapu which is the island Featured in the James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun,” it is an iconic limestone island with a solitary rock spire rising from the water. All of the rock formations were all great to look at
We stopped for lunch at Ko Panyi which is a Muslim floating fishing village in the middle of Phang Nga. The restaurant was great and we had a buffet. It was weird sitting at the table and then looking down and you could see through the floor is the ocean. After lunch we went on a little walk through the floating village and were given time for shopping. I struggle in South East Asia as I hate being annoyed by shop keepers who keep hounding you. Some of them are so rude, after a couple of stalls I had enough and headed inside to the less local stalls.
We all meet back on the boat and we headed back through all the beautiful mountains and back to the bus. It was a small drive to the Reclining Buddha at Wat Suwan Khuha. It’s a temple inside a cave. It’s was cool to look at but we were pretty tired by now so it back onto the bus for a 2 hour drive to Phuket. I have really enjoyed our quick stop to Thailand. We will be back!
Anthony wanted me to tell everyone we took the old Pornsy to Phang Bay.
Tired after a long but really enjoyable day we made it back to the boat. We had booked Wonderland which is a specialty restaurant which is described as “This Royal Caribbean restaurant’s menu is a dreamscape of creatively presented modern dishes created using molecular gastronomy techniques.” It is a take on Alice in Wonderland but with weird dishes. You start by revealing your menu with a paintbrush and then get all sorts of foods delivered to your table. Everything was delicious and so beautifully presented. Well worth the visit.
For NYE we attended the Royal Caribbean balloon drop then went straight to bed like the tired people we are. Happy New Year!
