ISLAND HOP FOR VARIETY!
THERE IS CERTAINLY MORE TO THAILAND THAN SHOPPING, PARTYING AND EXPERIMENTING WITH FOOD. OUR WRITER SHARES MORE
There is more to Thailand than shopping and partying
Thailand brings to mind turquoise blues waters, lushest landscapes, thriving wildlife and all things boho. My journey began at Don Mueng airport as I took the flight to Phuket. The first day had me travelling to Big Buddha, one of the revered landmarks on the island. It sits atop a hill and is a 45 meter tall white marble statue of Buddha. Driving up hill I came across an elephant safari and opted not to do the ride for ethical reasons but you could go feed the elephants, play with them and that truly was out of the world. The elephants were tamed and did the sweetest actions like kissing the tourists, asking for food and I would like to believe that they did it of their own accord. The elephant I met was called Anda and he was a baby, terribly cute and his mannerisms were unlike any animal’s I have seen. The route is dotted with many cafes that have a spectacular view of the ocean and a nice mocktail coupled with the cold breeze and the sounds of the waves was a beautiful way to spend the afternoon.
Phuket was all about exploring beaches and the best part is that it is so close to the many other islands that are just a boat trip away. I decided to go on an island hopping adventure and took a speed boat to the first island, Panak. One of the many islands on Phang Nga Bay, the resort owner told me that the experience would be like no other.
The island had lime stone formations and looked absolutely stunning. We had to take a look at the island from the boat. As the boat went close to the rocks, I observed something moving in the water, it jumped back onto the rock. It was a monkey. The island had monkeys around that very simply jumped into the waters, swam and came back on the rocks. For someone who has encountered monkeys in the wild as notorious little animals that mostly live on trees, this was pretty fascinating. It wasn’t the monkeys but the landscape they lived in that had us, many Indians included in awe.
The speed boat took us to the next island, Hong, where we were to canoe under sea caves. It was this experience that I was looking forward to and it was absolutely fun. We stopped in the middle of the ocean and had to get on a canoe and paddle under the caves. The twists and turns and rise and fall of the water, made this experience so exciting. We were told to keep our phones in plastic bags as many people have lost their phones while on the canoe. We canoed in and around the many rock formations, going from open skies, entering caves, we were to duck to avoid the rocks from hitting us. We stopped at this beautiful cave where the sun at all times creates light streaks that left me in awe. I was informed of a star-light tour where about five canoes go on a midnight exploration back at these caves and stops at this very same place that becomes a star gazing spot. Unfortunately our itinerary was too tightly packed and did not allow for it.
We spent about three hours here and headed to Panyee Island, a floating muslim village built on stilts. We were told that only the mosque in the island was built on solid ground, the rest grew and continues to grow from there. The island had small walkways and if you did not stick to the group it was very easy to get lost. Souvenirs were comparatively expensive but the money was being used to fund the school on the island and that made the spends worth it.
The part that most people were attracted to in Panyee was a floating football court that children of the island played football on, I however, was more interested in the lunch that was being served. I hopped on to a larger boat that had food being served and the array was mouth watering. The food was very different from what was available in the mainland and perhaps the best food I have eaten in all of Thailand. This lunch was unlike any other. We were the only boat in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by beautiful rock formation, each one had a name and was an island with no inhabitants. There was no network, everyone was looking at the ocean, admiring the beauty of the world. This lunch was a quiet one and there was an aura of inexplicable calmness that surrounded us. From Panyee, the next destination was James Bond Island or Khao Phing Kan, a tiny island that became popular after the famous movie The Man with the Golden Gun was shot here. These dramatic rocky cliffs are a beautiful place for some pictures. The island is a just a needle like limestone tower emerging from the waters. You can opt to get here on a long tail boat with a sun roof or you could take a speedboat. I took the latter and honestly wished I went with the long tail option.
The last island I visited was Naka Island, it had breath taking ocean views and luxury resorts. I stayed the night at the island. It is a good place to swim and sun bathe, if you’re a person who likes to chill at the beach, this is the place for you. The tourists are minimum and at some times of the day, the beach seems almost like your private beach.