I had generally been unimpressed with Phuket and decided to book a trip to see ‘James Bond Island’ on a VIP trip. I was so pleased that I did. Seeing the awesome nature beauty of the islands around Phuket, with a small group of great people (eg two brilliant Canadian girls, a very sweet young Japanese couple etc) changed my perception of this area of Thailand.
| On the boat, with 11 other people, you forgot about all the ladies offering massages in Patong and just relaxed and were stunned by the ‘other worldly’ beauty of the rock formations. Seeing Hawkes so close up, and canoeing into the centre of Panak Island to see the lagoon, stalactites, mangrove trees etc, was breathtaking. It was a memorably perfect day, we even had our own private Loi Krathong festival in a cave, offering prayers of thanks to the goddess of water and launching lotus flower Krathongs we had made ourselves. The actual festival is on 25 November this year. It was worth paying extra to be with a small group on a large boat, we saw some of the crowded vessels. My main tip would be to negotiate the 3,900 Baht price for Silver Hawk. I arranged the discounted rate of 2,500 Baht, while my new Canadian friends paid 3,600 Baht. |  We got to swim on a beach on Lawa Island watching the Thai rescue forces train.  I never expected to see Hawkes this close.  Seeing the rock that features in Roger’s Moore’s ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ was a thrill.  Ms Maud Adams, Mr Moore, Ms Britt Ekland and Khao Phing Kan in 1974. I was 5 when this movie first came out.  The hot lunch and supper on the boat were far better than I expected.  We ended the day watching the sunset on our way back to shore. |
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