Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 54

TRAVEL

blue sky was the backdrop for what can only be described
as a monolith of limestone structures in the water. As you
travel by longboat past these Islands shaped like beasts
I almost had to pinch myself to believe these absolutely
stunning spectacles in the sea. We arrived into the bay itself
and headed for Co Ping Kan which is known as James Bond
Island as it was featured in the ‘Bond’ film ‘The Man with the
Golden Gun’ and the tour guides were clearly most enthused
to tell us all about the making of the film and the precise
areas of filming. The view from the beach whilst having lunch
was simply stunning and easy to re-cap the particular scene
from the ‘Bond’ movie with the fast moving boats weaving in
and out of the limestone structures in the water.
Our tour moved on to perhaps one of the most intriguing
locations I have ever witnessed, at Koh Pannyi, a Muslim
Village of some five hundred families built entirely on stilts
in the water next to a limestone mountain. We were given
a tour of the village and all the families seemed happy with
their way of life but clearly quite poor as there was much
begging. We were able to visit the individual wooden living
accommodations and were offered food and gifts and it

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seemed only right that we reciprocated by providing some
of the families with a small gift of money. From there
we moved on to the Tham Suan Ku Ha, a limestone cave
with Buddha images magnificently illuminated by natural
sun light pouring through the hole in the ceiling. Quite
surprisingly these caves were cool and refreshing rather
than hot and humid as is often the case. Our day trip to Khal
Sok National Park to the west of Phuket involved a three
hour journey through a mountainous park where elephants
and tigers can still be seen roaming naturally and arriving at
the Lampi Waterfall for a refreshing swim.
Interestingly although Buddhism is the principal
influence which really shapes Thai morality there appears
to be other several values of significance; one being Sanuk
which simply translates to “fun”. The Thai people judge
the values of life as an endeavour by the amount of Sanuk
in their lives and believe that if Sanuk is not evident then it
is not worth pursuing!
Whilst today tourism in Phuket has developed ten fold since
my visit over two decades ago it remains perhaps one of the
most fascinating and stunning locations to visit and explore.

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