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Visiting Phang Nga Bay, an unforgettable travel experience

By: Andy Burrows

If you travel to Thailand’s southern part where the mainland meets with the Andaman Sea, you will discover fairly quickly that you are entering an environment with exceptional beauty you might have assumed was reserved for travel documentaries and photo postcards.

Indeed, beyond the southern Suratthani, Chumpon and Ranong provinces are scattered literally numerous of isles where such stunning beauty is not solely real but omnipresent, and where humans have yet to cast big influence. Of those island destinations which have been developed, the majority have remained their natural appeal’s essence. Even the inhabited islands are in close proximity to tranquil, immaculate destinations which can be accessed easily by sea and appreciated in their unadulterated and pure states.

Phang Nga Bay is an unspoiled paradisiacal spot positioned between the Malay Peninsula’s west-side and Phuket, where a number of 67 virtually deserted isles sit in 400km² of jaw-dropping natural beauty. The bay belongs to the province of Phang Nga, which is bordered by Krabi and Phuket provinces.

Phang Nga’s exceptional beauty takes travellers back to a time when the entire part of southern Thailand wasn’t populated thanks to the Ao Phang Nga National Park’s protected status, which it has enjoyed now for 27 years. While the large neighbouring island of Phuket has suffered the negative influences of drastic commercial development, nature lovers can rest easy knowing that Phang Nga isn’t about to experience the same fate.

The beauty of the bay is typified by sparkling, turquoise sea waters in which positioned breathtakingly beautiful unique karst islands created by millenniums of fault activities. Several of these peaks stand at impressing heights of up to 300 metres and most of them are enhanced by a dense covering of lush green jungles. Over 40 of these amazing structures, which essentially are created out of limestone, are dotted throughout the bay, forming distinctive and genuinely mind-boggling vistas.

The smaller natural attractions can solely be admired from a distance, while the bigger ones are large enough to explore. Cave networks situated at the bases are important features of these islands’ geological evolution, with many accessible by kayaks. Inside, bizarre rock formations can be observed, while a flashlight may help you to spot the bats and birds which inhabit the caves.

The tiny Phan Yee Island features settlements that are more than two centuries old, with locals who are simple humans, who make a living by fishing and dwell in bamboo homes which are placed on stilts in the waters directly offshore from Koh Phan Yee’s beach. Locally known as Chao Leh, these primitive sea gypsies are dedicated Muslims, and it is believed that their community has descended from two families who first migrated to the island.

While the areas boasting exceptional natural beauty should be Phang Nga’s most appealing claim, the island destinations here are probably best known for appearing in several Hollywood features. The 1974 James Bond release The Man with the Golden Gun included several chapters featuring the island hideout of Scaramanga, which shots were taken on Khao Phing Kan, one of the bay’s bigger islands. Today, this destination is known as ‘James Bond Island’ and provides the main point of numerous boat trips of the bay.

Khao Phing Kan features zero with regards to tangible evidence of its once renowned encounter. However, the remarkable karst structure positioned in the bay off of Khao Phing Kan’s beach serves as an outstanding photograph backdrop for the crowds of tourists wanting a great souvenir of their unforgettable trip there. In addition, there is a wooden sign in Thai as well as in English saying ‘James Bond Island’.

Boat tours from Krabi and Phuket offer travellers the finest opportunity to enjoy Phang Nga’s most appealing sights, with typical itineraries including stops to check out Bond Island and the Tham Lawt caves. Koh Phan Yee, the sea gypsy village is also included on most excursions and is generally the en-route stop for having lunch, with the islanders providing the dining amenities and food.

Visitors taking vacations in neighbouring locations benefit from mesmerising coastal scenery however the ambience of commercialism in tourist hotspots such as Phuket’s Patong may diminish the travel experience. A voyage to Phang Nga Bay’s untouched wilderness with its stunningly spectacular scenery will reassure you that many of the most wonderful natural sights in Thailand fortunately continue to retain unaffected by mass tourism.

Article Source: http://www.thecaymanhost.com/articles

Andy is a professional photographer; he lives in Krabi since 2001. For planning to visit Krabi he suggests this online resource: www.1stopkrabi.com/what_to_do/guide/"> Krabi sightseeing tours

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