After a day of resting, some swimming and a nice massage on the beach we were ready for the next adventure. We booked a trip to James Bond island.
We had to get up very early, as the pier, from which our trip started, was almost two hour drive away, not just because it is so far, but also because of the traffic jams on the way through Phuket. After some snacks and coffee on the pier we sailed to our firs stop, the Khai Nai island, for snorkelling. We first moored on the South side of the island, but the visibility in the water was terrible. While we saw many pretty corals, fish and a moray eel, it was impossible to make a decent photo.
Then we were brought to the NW side of the island for some beach time, and luckily it was also possible to snorkel there. And it was really nice, at the edge of the swimming area there was a drop off with lots of corals and fish. And visibility was much better.
We found this pretty Latticed butterflyfish (Chaetodon rafflesi) there.
And this is another relative of the squirrelfish, a Streaked spinefoot (Siganus javus).
There were also plenty of sponges there, like this Giant barrel sponge (Xestospongia muta).
This pretty fish is a Crescent wrasse or Moon wrasse (Thalassoma lunare), probably because of the moon-shaped yellow patch on the tail.
Corals were plentyfull and healthy, this one is of the Acropora family, maybe Acropora selago.
Our next stop was Panak island, where we got helmets...
...and walked through a cave or rather a tunnel...
...to the middle of the island.
This must have been a cave in the far past, but then the ceiling collapsed and now there are mangroves growing there. We were there at the low tide, at high tide the tunnel is probably flooded and acces not possible.
Our next stop was Panyi island, where the muslim village is, for lunch. The boats on these floating piers are mostly tourist boats and the houses facing these piers are restaurants where tourists are brought for lunch. The tourism here in Thailand is huge industry and if one wants to go places and see things, one has to accept it.
We had quite a nice lunch, we're always happy if there is some Thai food available. Next we had some time to explore the village or rather to shop in many shops with souvenirs.
We escaped the crowds and shopping and found some back alleys that seemed more interesting.
Our next stop was Khao Phing-kan island or James Bond island. It is known from the movie The man with the golden gun. Although I'm a huge James Bond movies fan, the shapes of the island and rocks impressed me even more than the fact that it starred in the movie.
And this is the famous rock Khao Tapu from the movie and it is really stunning.
Here is the other side of the island with all the tourists.
I had to wait a bit for the right moment to take this photo of the rock alone without the people.
Our next stop was Hong island, where we boarded the kayaks and made a tour in and around the island. Each kayak had a local guide who also did the paddling, but ours allowed Tomaz to also paddle for a while.
The surroundings were very pretty...
...and we again paddled through the tunnel in the rocks...
...to get to the middle of the island.
It was really fun and we saw many pretty views...
...and rocks.
Late in the afternoon we boarded our boat again and headed back. It was a long day full of action and we were quite tired.
But after disembarking on the pier we still had to get back to our hotel, it was again a two hour ride through busy traffic though Phuket.
Of course the next day was a day for relaxing, swimming and a nice massage on the beach again. Then our time in Baan Krating was coming to an end and it was time for next adventure.
To be continued...
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