Day 77: Phukut Thailand: James Bond And Other Heroes

The area around what we call Thailand has been inhabited for a long, long time. Homo Erectus - Lampang Man was here a million years ago. There were extensive Stone Age settlements 40,000 years ago, and also cave/rock dwelling fishermen starting from 15,000 years ago. One of the cradles of humanity. 

Our destination, Phuket, is an island, and more on that later. Mainland Thailand was part of the Maritime Jade Route, a large trading route that lasted 3,000 years from 2000 BC to 1000 AD. (The people also dealt in copper and bronze.) The earliest record of a structured political civilization is the city of Funan in 400 BC. So Thailand has a LOT of history. One thing you learn when speaking with Thais is that they're proud of the fact that they were never colonized or invaded in over two millennia. There were a few close calls with the Burmese, Vietnamese, and, of course, the Europeans, but Thailand remained its own country through all that - which means its language, culture, and history are all intact. 

Phuket is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. It consists of one large island (Phuket) and a few dozen smaller islands, encompassing the same area as Singapore. Because of its location, Phuket was part of a maritime trading route between India and China, yet it has always remained a freeport in Thailand. As well as being an intermediary port, it also served as a center for the local tin and rubber industries before pivoting to tourism in the last 50-60 years. The fun name, as it was originally called Junk Ceylon,  mispronounces "Bukit" - Malay for "Big Hill." I'm beginning to suspect that many city names are derived from poor listening skills (see Penang yesterday). 

Snorkeling in Phuket isn't what it once was. The high water temperatures have bleached much of the coral, and there are jellyfish swarms. We saw some big white ones of 15-18 inches on our sailout. So we decided to visit Phang Nga Bay. It's known as the home of James Bond Island, but it is much more than that. The bay is about 150 square miles in size and consists of multiple islands with sheer limestone cliffs, caves, collapsed cave arches, and mangrove swamps. It's not that deep in most places, maybe 15 feet, and in colder times (8,000 years ago), you could walk across the bay from Phuket to Krabi. 

The first of the bay's three most distinctive features is "James Bond Island." It is home to the villain in The Man With The Golden Gun, which features Roger Moore as 007 and the gorgeous Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight. The island also appeared in the Bond epic 1997 Tomorrow Never Dies (Pierce Brosnan).

Secondly, there are also many caves and grottos. We sailed through one, which was an interesting experience. The really interesting thing was that on the far side of the cave, naked stalactites were growing down from the cliffs in plain daylight. 

The third item of interest is the floating Muslim fishing village. We stopped there for a late lunch - delicious food (and finally something spicy to eat!!). There is also a school, mosque, and, rather uniquely, a floating mini-soccer pitch. If you shoot at goal and miss, or just kick the ball out of bounds, you have to go fetch that ball. Your opponents start playing with another ball. New rules!!

Bonus photos below:

1.    Another smaller floating village

2.    The naked stalagtites

3.    A little girl peering down the market lane