… to Phuket …

… Thailand’s biggest, most populated and most visited island. And here we had the biggest surprise of the trip to date: in a perfectly timed introduction, a guy came up behind Frank as we walked off the dock and asked him if we needed a taxi. When Frank turned around, he was shocked to see Frank III! It was a surprise a few months in the making. Frank III flew to Hong Kong a little over a week ago, just missing our Hong Kong port call. He’s staying with a friend and our schedule didn’t work with hers. Undaunted, he came up with a plan to fly to Phuket from Hong Kong, and surprise his dad there. And it all worked out amazingly well.

We had an 8 hour Phuket excursion booked, and barely that long in port. In advance, I arranged for Frank III to accompany us for the day, a second surprise for Frank. We had a wonderful day, and it was so great to see Frank in the flesh. 

Our first stop was Wat Tham Suwan Kuha, a Buddhist cave-temple about 200 years old. The cave sits in a wooded area, which is overrun by monkeys. The monkeys are fed by the monks and visitors to the temple, and are quite tame. The cave was also home to a large bat colony, which didn’t disturb the many seated, standing and reclining statues of Buddha.

 

 

The second leg of our trip was a riverboat ride to James Bond Island (Khao Ping Gun), the island where The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed in 1974 (with Roger Moore as Bond). The island is set in magnificent Phang Nga Bay, which is ringed with vividly colored limestone cliffs, and jutting karst formations reminiscent of those in Guilin, China. What a sight!

 

 

Our next stop was Koh Panyi floating fishing village, where 400 houses are built on stilts and are connected with wooden walkways. We took a brisk walk through the village because when we left James Bond Island, the motor on the boat stalled and a replacement battery had to be delivered by another boat after various other remedies had failed. This put us a little behind schedule. Fortunately the guide led the way through the confusing, twisting maze of walkways, lined with vendors selling food, souvenirs, and handicrafts. We briefly visited a school in the village, then reboarded the boat to head for lunch.

 

Lunch was served at the Phang Nga Bay Resort, overlooking the nearby mangrove forest and the surrounding hills, including one which I thought bore a remarkable resemblance to a gorilla. After lunch, we headed back to the port, passing many interesting temples on the way. It was a wonderful day, and we loved the chance to hang out with Frank III in Phuket! Thank you Frank, for making Phuket such a memorable port!