"His eye may be on you or me, who will he bang?, we shall see oh yeah"
I was up & ready early doors after last nights pleasure/pain shenanigans. I waited outside my hotel & got worried when my lift hadn't arrived 15 minutes it was due. Taxis were coming & going & none of them had my name on their list but eventually it arrived & we got on our way. It took about 45 minutes to get to Ao Po harbour where our boat would be setting off from & upon arrival there were loads of tourists knocking about all ready for their own taste of the James Bond island tour. About 3 seconds after getting out of our people carrier a young thai lad approached me placed a sticker on my chest & walked away, i gathered that the sticker was my pass to the tour & went and bought a couple of drinks from a nearby store. It was a red hot day & the sun hadn't really made an appearance yet so i stocked up on liquids. I also bought a bunch of bananas as i had heard that at some stage during the island tour a group of monkeys might make an appearance so i thought id get some fruit "ammunition" to keep them from nicking my personal items. I needn't have bothered we didn't see one monkey all day but no big deal there.
Anyway i made my way onto the boat & luckily there were only about 20 people on it so there was plenty of room to stretch out & enjoy the ride. We set off on our journey & after about 20 minutes our guide Leo gave us the low down on the plan of the days events. Leo was a good guide & quite a character, he & his crew looked after everyone all day, nothing was too much trouble for them. We sailed past island after island & as we went the sun shone more & more & it became a beautiful day. After about an hour we stopped near to a large island & then Leo announced that it was time for us to get in the canoes! I looked down at the back of the boat and there about 10 inflatable canoes waiting for us to get in. Leo told me that i had was privileged to be in a "VIP" canoe but i read between the lines and sussed that because i was the tallest (and widest) person on the boat that i would be the only passenger in mine. I tentatively got in my canoe and sat in front of thai lad who valiantly paddled me away from the boat. We travelled to a nearby island about 40 metres away and it was time to disembark adjacent to some rocks, no jettys or quays here! Well, what a performance getting out of the canoe, i nearly fell in the sea & managed to tread on the hand of my guide as i got out, sorry mate! Anyway, i had made it to dry land & my guide showed a short caved area that led into a small lagoon inside the island. It was beautiful, the water was slightly murky but there was a large rock in the middle of the lagoon which rose graciously upwards and as i looked up i saw that we were in a small circular area where the sun was shining directly into, it was like something from Jurassic park. There was a large tree about 40 metres above where i could see loads of reddy brown coloured bats just hanging in the morning sun, one or two of them were even flying around and with their wings spread they looked about 3 feet wide. We stayed there for a moment or two and then my guide led me through another short caved area before getting back in our canoe & continuing our journey. We paddled away from our boat around the edge of the island for about a half mile & then turned a corner & headed in a tunnel area where it was pitch black. As we progressed into the tunnel my guide passed a small (and very weak) flashlight & as i shone it i could stalagtites hanging down from the ceiling, at times i had to duck down to avoid them but that was all part of the fun, i could reach out & touch them. I then heard squeeking noises coming from the ceiling & as i aimed the flashlight upwards saw that there were hundreds of bats up there. We continued around a corner & i saw light approaching around the bend, i noticed that we were nearing the end of the tunnel & that as we left it there was a area where the sun could permeate that was different in colour to the rest of the tunnel. It was brilliant white & looked as though it was covered in ice but that was the effect of the suns rays on that particular area, absolutely amazing. We then made our way back to the boat & i got back on, i had enjoyed the ride but had had enough canoeing for one day.
When everyone was back on the boat the tour continued to another island where there loads of other tourists on their boats were congregating. I stayed on the boat & had a nap whilst the others had a swim or took had a paddle in the canoes. This took us to dinnertime & Leo & the crew had provided a nice lunch of rice, noodles, prawns, chicken & Tom Yam Koong. After that it was time for the highlight of the tour James Bond Island.
I am not sure what James Bond island is actually called, some call it Pi Pi & others Pang Na but thats not important, after all its James Bond island , Roger Moore island, after all he is the best Bond. As we neared the island I could see the famous rock which peeked out between the islands higher surroundings on either side. We were then treated to a "Short-tailed speedboat" ride to the island. A short-tailed speedboat is about 20 metres long an quite narrow, at its greatest breadth it could seat about 3 or 4 people, these boats might a right racket & the rudder & motor was nearly as long as the boat. We got out of the boat and i saw that the island was bustling, there were boats coming in and out every few minutes and a few hundred people on the island at any one time. There were numerous stalls on offer all of which sold various items such as seashells, gifts & other tat, i was surprised there was no Bond memorabilia at all, you know, golden gun fridge magnets etc but maybe there is some sort of copyright issue. Past the stalls i saw the famous rock sitting slap bang in the centre of the whole island, it was magnificent, if you haven't seen it (or the film the man with the golden gun) the rock stems from the sea & is about 1/2 as wide at the bottom as it is at the top. It is truly an amazing sight. There is a small beach area in front of it which very coarse, but that don't matter, Sir Roger has trodden on it & that's good enough for me. There is a stairway that leads around the island & part way it up it offers & even more majestic view of the rock. I took the chance for a photo opportunity & it was a good 'un, i was so pleased i had it put onto a large canvas when i got home & it now hangs in my living room. I spent about 1 hour there before the short-tailed speedboat ride back to the boat & then back to Ao Po harbour. A life-long dream fulfilled.
Back at Ao Po we disembarked, said our goodbyes & expressed our thanks to Leo & his crew &then returned to Karon Beach. I had a quick relax in the hotel & received a call from Rich Keyworth to check how i was doing, very nicely thanks Rich! After a quick nap i got changed & went out for the night. I went to Swedish restaurant near to my hotel & had a Schnitzel in red wine sauce, nice, i love Schnitzel me! After that i had a walk down Karon Beach & into the "Bar with no name." where i shared my days experience with Andy (the co-owner of the bar) the other customers & the girl behind behind the bar i noticed the previous day. I had several Singha beers there before a quick walk to another bar where i met Pi Pi who kindly showed me the way to my hotel, after all, i was little tired, it had been a big day.
You ought to put up some pictures to illustrate your holidays!
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