March 8, 2023 – Phuket, Thailand

Welcome to Thailand!  I remember it well from 2016.  I would say Thai people may be the happiest people I’ve ever met.

It was very windy when we arrived in Phuket this morning so the waves were big.  We are in the Andaman Sea.  Unfortunately, we are anchored so we have to use tenders to go ashore.  Phuket authorities have large vessels they sent to the ship that hold a few hundred people at a time.  We were delayed for a time due to the unsafe conditions.  Finally, they gave the ok and we boarded the boat to go ashore.  

There were several great tours that I wanted to take here, but when you’re only here for the day, you have to pick just one.  Since we did Elephant Camp in 2016, I did not pick the elephant trekking tour.  Bob did the elephant riding before and said it was once in a lifetime experience.  Lol.  He did it because he knows how much I love elephants.  They also had a tour to Phi Phi Island for snorkeling.  Looked magnificent.  And, a tour to Khao Phra Taew National Park which has the last of the virgin forests in Thailand, breathtaking waterfalls, giant trees and wild animals.

Bob and I are going on a speed boat today to Phang Nga Bay National Park.  First, we took a bus through an area of Phuket to the marina to meet the boat.  As we rode, we could see all the Thai people going to work or school.  Most of them riding motor bikes with the whole family riding at once.  It’s so strange to see a baby riding, sometimes in the front or squished between two people.  We’ve seen 5 people on one.  The other thing we recall, the wires on poles.  You’ve never seen so many wires in your life.  Complete chaos!

We reached the marina, boarded the high speed boat, put on our life jackets and off we went.  Phang Nga Bay National Park is also know as James Bond Islands.  If you’ve ever seen the movie, The Man With The Golden Gun, you’ll know what I’m talking about.  The boat ride was fun.  We bounced up and down as we flew out across the water.  It took about 40 minutes and then you started seeing the normal looking islands turn into strange shapes and sizes.  Hundreds of limestone cliffs rising out of the sea with amazing caves and natural sculptures.  During low tide, they offer kayaking into some of the caves.  Looked like great fun.  When we arrived at the James Bond Island where they filmed part of the movie, the boat pulled onto a small beach and we were able to get out and go explore.  Wow, it was really beautiful!

After we explored, we went further into the park, saw many islands, mangrove forests and suddenly in the middle of nowhere, a town!  Yes, a floating town attached to one of the rock formations.  Our guide said it was a muslim community with some 2,000 people living there.  It’s a fishing village on stilts.  We docked and got out to explore.  We found the school and saw the very young students taking a nap on the floor.  Just outside was their floating play area (ball court).  We saw shops, houses, restaurants, etc.  Very interesting.

Got back on our high speed boat and headed back to the mainland.  What a day of beautiful scenery.

We didn’t have enough time in Phuket to explore the main resort area, but what a fantastic adventure seeing the Bond Islands.  We boarded our bus and went to a beautiful facility that has dinner shows.  We were at Siam Niramit for a buffet lunch.   The main dining hall probably seats 1,000 people.  There were not many people there for lunch but nice of them to have a welcome sign for the Island Princess.  Folklore dancers greeted us at the entrance and we proceeded upstairs where they had at least 25 separate stations of different Thai foods.  We had a very nice lunch and then went outside to take some photos before boarding the bus and heading back to the port.

Thai people are so sweet!  Always smiling and grateful that you came to visit.  Farewell Thailand 🙂