AmyHuang
Phang Nga Bay National Park
We were determined to do something active while in Phuket and we discovered Phang Nga Bay National Park.
Well ok we didn't 'discover' it. We just discovered that you could get there and do some canoeing. Phang Nga Bay is a popular canoe/kayaking spot for those staying on the east coast of Phuket or off the shores near Krabi, and is well known for Ko Khao Phing Kan aka 'James Bond Island' (so named from the film 007: Man with the Golden Gun) as well as Ko Phi Phi, an island made popular by the film 'The Beach'. The area features tall lime stones of all sizes rising from the sea, a good marine life for diving and lots of birds and bats to look at. In some way it reminded me of Halong Bay in Vietnam, except with less boat traffic and with clearer waters and bluer skies. There were caves and tunnels formed by water eroding the lime stones that are perfect for exploring by canoe, even if it meant spending 100ms crawling through on our backs in complete darkness to try to get to the other side.
Originally, we thought we'd be the ones that get to kayak ourselves around the bays and islands for some exercise, however we soon discovered that we were all to be canoed by a guide as one could get really lost in some of the caves. Will is claustrophobic, so when a cave was to be small, narrow and long, he couldn't go with us. So we left him and a few others on the beach while the rest of us hopped in an inflatable canoe and headed into darkness.
The caves were amazing. They are generally inhabited by small bats, and are full of crystalised lime stone hanging from above. As we got deeper, it got narrower and lower so we were almost lying on the canoe to push ourselves through, at a stage even had to deflate the canoe a little to fit through narrow parts.
All these pain however was forgotten as we opened up to an oasis filled with lush vegetation and small jumping fish that hopped from one mangrove root to another. It was like the outside world had been completely blocked out and this small part of it belonged to just us.
We visited three of such areas, some of the caves were larger so Will could come along, then spent a small part of the afternoon jumping off the boat and swam in the turquoise water. We watched the sunset over the horizon as we enjoyed a buffet dinner on-board before heading back. It had been a fantastic day.
Phang Nga Bay and its series of scattered lime stone islands
Well ok we didn't 'discover' it. We just discovered that you could get there and do some canoeing. Phang Nga Bay is a popular canoe/kayaking spot for those staying on the east coast of Phuket or off the shores near Krabi, and is well known for Ko Khao Phing Kan aka 'James Bond Island' (so named from the film 007: Man with the Golden Gun) as well as Ko Phi Phi, an island made popular by the film 'The Beach'. The area features tall lime stones of all sizes rising from the sea, a good marine life for diving and lots of birds and bats to look at. In some way it reminded me of Halong Bay in Vietnam, except with less boat traffic and with clearer waters and bluer skies. There were caves and tunnels formed by water eroding the lime stones that are perfect for exploring by canoe, even if it meant spending 100ms crawling through on our backs in complete darkness to try to get to the other side.
Originally, we thought we'd be the ones that get to kayak ourselves around the bays and islands for some exercise, however we soon discovered that we were all to be canoed by a guide as one could get really lost in some of the caves. Will is claustrophobic, so when a cave was to be small, narrow and long, he couldn't go with us. So we left him and a few others on the beach while the rest of us hopped in an inflatable canoe and headed into darkness.
Crawling through caves with our canoes, not for those who are claustrophobic
The caves were amazing. They are generally inhabited by small bats, and are full of crystalised lime stone hanging from above. As we got deeper, it got narrower and lower so we were almost lying on the canoe to push ourselves through, at a stage even had to deflate the canoe a little to fit through narrow parts.
All these pain however was forgotten as we opened up to an oasis filled with lush vegetation and small jumping fish that hopped from one mangrove root to another. It was like the outside world had been completely blocked out and this small part of it belonged to just us.
The light and oasis at the end of the tunnel
We visited three of such areas, some of the caves were larger so Will could come along, then spent a small part of the afternoon jumping off the boat and swam in the turquoise water. We watched the sunset over the horizon as we enjoyed a buffet dinner on-board before heading back. It had been a fantastic day.
Sunset
