Day 10

We are back at it with Day 10 and we left our beach paradise for the day to go island hopping.  The scenery was surreal.  There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.  Here we go!

To start us off they had snacks, fruit, and drinks while they told us about where we would be going. This was the other tour we booked at home wanting to make sure that we had plenty of research and got a good one.  We were not disappointed with Simba Sea Trips.  They picked us up at 6:30am at our bungalows and took us to the dock.

All aboard!

First stop, some cave exploration.  We went through a cave and then came out in the middle of the mountain.  It was super cool, and the trees were amazing.

It isn't really a mountain but it is an island that has a cave that lets you go through it and come out to this in the middle.  You are surrounded by vertical rock.  These mangrove trees with their above ground root structures are straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.  One of the few trees that can grow in salt water.

 This is the way to go back to the water.  It looks like a face!

Our guide trying to catch some walking fish.  They are fish that have lungs, so they can breath above and below water.  

The tree is growing straight out of the rock!

Onto our next adventure which was taking paddle boats into some caves and around rock formations.

This is called James Bond II

 Check it out, this rock looks like jaws!!

Now it was time to go see James Bond Island (or its real name Khao Phing Kan).  The islands are limestone tower karsts and are a part of Ao Phang Nga National Park.  About 40 meters from the shores of Khao Phing Kan lies a 20-meter tall islet called Ko Tapu.  Since 1974, when they were featured in the James Bond movie "The Man with the Golden Gun", Khao Phing Kan and Ko Tapu have been popularly called James Bond Island.

On the drive to our next area they gave us more food, fruit, and sandwiches.  Tuna and BLT's.

One of the things our tour proclaims is that they get to to the heavy tourist spots early so that you can beat the crowds and be able to enjoy the places.  They were not wrong.  Not even the vendors were set up yet.  By the time we left, other boats were arriving.

This sign said "No Pokemon Game Here".  So of course the guys had to pull up the game.  They found that Pokemon, without the pressure of hunters, are plentiful!  They are probably wanted men now though for breaking the rules...

Now this is a REALLY PUBLIC bathroom

For reference, here is a scene from "Man with the Golden Gun"

Now off to the island that "Mechanic: Resurrection" was filmed on - Koh Ya Yai.  They had to edit in some beach huts and a pier because there is nothing on this island.  It is one of the less developed islands near Phuket in the Phang Nga Bay.  The beach is amazing white sand that is very fine.

 Our guide shows us how to do a perfect jump.  We let Thảo take it from there!

We wandered around and collected shells and sand dollars.

Jed and I took a walk out on the sand bar that extends to the other island at low tide.

Next it was time to go eat.  First we would need to get off the boats and into Songtaew's to take a sightseeing tour of the island we would be eating on.  The island is Koh Yao Noi and we ate at a new getaway called Coastal Escape.  There are only four villas but they are beautiful two bedroom, two bath villas, each with their own little infinity pool.  The food was great and the view amazing.

Next we went to a private island where we got to swim and relax.  We were even brought fresh fruit out to us as we swam.  The water was perfect and it was nice to just swim around.  The water was not very clear with the tides changing, so the snorkeling was no good.

Jerame went off collecting coral which was later confiscated at the airport the next day.  While he was wading near the shore, Jed swam over and slowly snuck up on him and scared the heck out of him.

Back on board and feeling good.  It was now time to head back to the marina and they did so at a quick clip.  We were sitting up front and the bouncing was intense.  Of the 16 guests, eight of us were from the US. There was a couple from Michigan and a couple from California.  Another guest was a man from Israel who had gotten drunk the night before and spent his time throwing up and sleeping, a couple from South Africa (I know right, I chatted them up a lot), and a couple from Hong Kong with their 8 and a half year old daughter Alicia.  She was cute and thought it was sad she was the only kid on the trip.  We made friends with her and she sat with us on the way back to the marina.  The boat was moving and catching waves and we were keeping a close eye on her to keep her in the boat.  She kept wanting to let go of the support rail!

We asked Alicia how many languages she speaks and she said, only three.

Arriving at the marina means our boat trip has come to an end.  It was a great day on the sea.

Back to our beach paradise, the guys decided they did not have enough sun and water and went in to jump waves.  Remember it is late in the day and storms are rolling in so the waves are HUGE and knock you over and have no mercy.   We tried to capture some of that but it just doesn't come through the lens with the intensity.

Day 10 = Success