Phang Nga and Phangnga Bay....

Mighty bizarre-molded limestone formations.

From the hazy air in Phang Nga Bay the mighty bizarre-molded stalactites materialize, they somehow shape Phangnga
Bay, the area southwards like Krabi, Trang and are visible from time to time all the way down to the Malaysian border. 
Somewhere left in the fog lays “James Bond” island, one of the old James Bond films was partially made here.

James Bond Island Aerial Photo                                                             James Bond Island with Phang Nga Hotels

Further south of already in Krabi Province Phi Phi island lies where they did the exteriors shooting for the film ‘The Beach”
with Leonardo Di Caprio, some indications of the unique landscape, a permanent playground for  movie scouts.

We want to explore some of the islands at Phang Nga Bay with the kayak -see the video- and want to track down
wild orchids, not to pick them but to have a look. Since the exotic flowers “nest” in Phangnga Bay's rock crannies usually
far above or make it comfortably on the mangrove plants as parasites, also touching is not possible, however the colors
and the graceful forms are unique and worth the trip. After a deafening ride over the flat waves of Phangnga Bay's- the
unmuffled diesel engine is fixed very loosely at the stern of the boat - , Thai like it the more noise the better,..maybelai,

Into the Bay with the Kayak on top                                                          A exiting but deafening ride
maybelai, we swing in a turn and come to a halt, easily splashing in front of a mini atoll formed by a high rock formation.
We glide into the turquoise water and wade through the small opening just over the water surface
into the rock formation with the the upward open grotto, its like an adventure fairy-tale,


Kayaking into the upward open grotto                                              Island Jungle Phang Nga Bay south Thailand

This Phang Nga grottos are oval of approximately 50 x 30 m and open at the top. Crabs doze in the sand, shrimps
run under the water surface, I withdraw the foot quickly as one of them comes to near, rainbow colored fishes move slowly,
one could catch them with the hand to have a nice lunch. Tom Hanks was obviously at the wrong island at the wrong time
in the stranded movie, or maybe only the script writer was out of date. Above, a wild horde of Fruit Bats screeches, huge,
fat creatures, they have no natural enemies. Roy’s son paddles the kayak through the narrow opening above the water

We move back to the motor boat and the boatmen bang the 2 seated kayak into the water.

I take the front seat, cover the cameras with the shirt from the sun and Roy take the paddle, Siva is following us in the red kayak to function as messenger to the mother boat if necessary, we better be a little organized.

No Phang Nga Hotels at this gorgeous beach in South Thailand

Some diamond club hanging down the rocky surface of Phangnga Bay's karst formation, looking like cactus but
are from a other family and a good indication if you can expect orchids if they are there the orchids are not far.
Uncountable schools of mini fishes swim along the limestone cliffs of Phangnga Bay, moving quite orchestrated. We

Phang Nga Bay Limestone Cliff                                                               Phang Nga Bay Karst Cliff

pass many green who found their niche of life on the stones, orchid leaves are everywhere but naturally the blossoms are not there all the time since the preferred blooming time is February to May, they only bloom once per year. But there is a elegant way to have them visible all the time, visit the orchid nursery described later.

Consider the day trip as a prelude with a little intermezzo in the restaurant at the evening to get some fresh seafood into the stomach and to have a finale the next day at the nursery, don’t forget the camera, the best time at the “orchid farm” is around 5 pm since at that time the sunrays have the right angle to illuminate the precious flowers to bring the colors out.
Anyway we are in a very positive mood but we have to move on since a hazy day at Phangnga Bay means thunderstorm in the afternoon.

The long tail boat gains speed and we pass Phangnga Bay's pristine beaches, some resorts; it’s a feast for the eyes. When we enter one more karst atoll though a narrow V a white bellow eagle materialized out from thick green jungle of Phangnga Bay foliage sailing downwards from the top of the cliff. On the steep sloop many orchid leaves bending downwards, but as yet displayed no blooms. Within minutes the sky darkens into a dark blue mélange and fat drops of heavy rain bang down on us. We quickly get back to the boat and get the blinds down to continuing another time, it’s worth it, its a unique experience.

Exploring the Hong

A hong -room in Thai language - is somehow a atoll where the coral reef is replaced by a circular karst formation which was a cave long time ago, with the time the top eroded fell down and the sun came in. Many time the hong can only be entered through a cave, since this cave is usually quite small only with a canoe or by swimming you can enter. Be careful, only go with a experienced guide otherwise you might get locked when the tide comes.

Phang Nga Bay enter the Hong with a canoe                                          Cave entrance to the Hong

Khao Lak

At Khao Lak are plenty of hotels and resorts they offer a wide choice for Thailand beach vacation, all are more dedicated to family vacations and this was one of the reasons why in this area where most of the victims during the Tsunami, many children perished. The upper price level hotels are between the Andaman Sea and the through road such as the luxury Meridien Khao Lak Beach Resort and the cheaper Khao Lak hotels are situated between the through road from Phuket to Ranong and the hill range. In general Khao Lak is a beach resorts and the scuba diving destination, for family oriented beach vacation to water sports vacation for scuba diving at the Similan islands. The great Khao Sok National Park about 100 km to the north east, behind Takuapa is one of the most exiting nature destination in southern Thailand with great jungle, plenty of Bamboo, and a huge artificial lake with floating villages and floating Phang Nga Hotels. Khao Lak resorts are Khao Lak Orchid, Khao Lak palm beach,	Khao Lak Emerald Beach with Phang Nga Hotels	In Khao Lak
	Meridien Khao Lak Pool	Meridien Khao Lak Beach Resort
	Meridien Khao Lak Phang Nga Hotels	Meridien Khao Lak Phang Nga Hotels

Khao Lak paradise and many others. There is no bigger town in the area, only the small Khao Lak village at the south end, means the nightlife is limited to dinner and some bars along the road or at the Khao Lak Hotels. -Khao Sok   Khao Sok between Surat Thani and Phang Nga Khao Sok Nationalpark Baan Khao Sok Khao Sok Tour Khao Sok Tour Khao Sok Nationalpark Khao Sok Resort

The natural extension is to download our unique e-book on southern Thailand where you will find much more content and a lot of exiting full scale pictures. You can have a look on the screen and if you like you can print all content on any desktop printer, ...more e-book