Phang-Nga Thailand

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Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from town.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Bougainville Flowers.

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from near the river.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Rock paintings inside Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Looking in through the entrance of Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Rock paintings inside Tham Sam cave. This looks like something in the modern Thai alphabet.

Phang-Nga Thailand: The entrance of Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Sign in front of Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Sign in front of the $29 Phrang-Nga Inn where I stayed. They had smaller rooms for 600 Baht/night ($15).

Phang-Nga Thailand: Dining-room for breakfast at the $29 Phrang-Nga Inn where I stayed. They had smaller rooms for 600 Baht/night ($15).

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: At the departure dock just prior to starting the four hour exploration of Phang-Nga Bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: As we leave the harbor heading out into the bay, this boat is returning.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Everyone settles down for the four hour tour of the bay and its unique, oddly shaped islands.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the Mangrove island swamp area.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the three passages/caves erosion has carved through some of the limestone outcroppings. The ones we visited were large enough for our boat to get through.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the 200+ islands jutting up from the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another tour boat passes us as we race around the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the Mangrove island swamp area.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: The British guy, Rob and his Thai girlfriend sat in the front seats.

fishermen have built their homes, some are quite elaborate.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: A small speed boat races past us.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another small tour boat showing tourists around the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another view of the Bay's bizarre landscape.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the larger tour boats that bring SCUBA divers out to swim the clear deep water.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 1 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier. O.K. Now stitch the 14 shots together, if you know how! Let me know, if you get it done.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 2 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 3 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 4 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 5 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 6 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 7 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 8 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 9 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 10 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 11 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 12 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 13 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: PANORAMA 14 from Ao Phang-Nga island pier. Did you get the complete 360 degree picture?

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Shot from our boat, as are most of the pictures.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Shot from our boat. Actually, most of the pictures here were taken from my seat on the tour boat.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another of the many passing tourist boats seen on the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: This is the town built on pilings off the Koh Panyee island. Mostly Muslim fishermen still live here... without most of the modern conveniences of the 21st Century.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Some of the other tour boats visiting Ao Phang-Nga island.

7 March 2003

Hello from Phang-Nga Thailand.

After my whirlwind tour of Krabi I bussed up to Phang-Nga where everyone said the best tours of the bay started... and where I should be able to find accommodations for a few days at reasonably rates. As usual, I started my hike of discovery looking for promising places to stay. Everything is rather spread out here, so the few interesting lodges appeared to be motels. That is not surprising as sensible people drive to the area and then have their own cars for local transportation. Not me, of course. Eventually I found the $29 Phang-Nga Inn with a comfortable big bed and industrial level air conditioning... something very much needed during the exceedingly hot weather this time of year. The first two days I explored the area around the hotel on foot, greeting enumerable friendly people along the way. One of those explorations included a visit to inside the Tham Sam Cave with its wall paintings and bas relief sculptures of religious subjects. On the third day I arranged for an all paid tour of the bay including transfer by Tuk-Tuk both ways from the hotel. Most of the photos show what I saw while out on the water four hours and they are spectacular.

To my dismay, on returning from the boat trip and desperately needing a cool air conditioned room, I discovered the hotel management had turned the darned thing off! So, I checked out and worked my way back up to Bangkok using a non-air conditioned bus to Surat Thani and then the train for the rest of the trip into Bangkok.

Peace,
Fred Bellomy

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from the edge of town.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Typical street scene.

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from town.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Durian fruit growing on trees. Hotels prohibit these fruits from being brought into the rooms because "they smell bad." They didn't seem that bad to me.

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from near the river.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Rock paintings inside Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Looking out through the entrance of Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Looking out on the lake in front of the entrance to Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Large Sunflowers growing near Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: As we leave the harbor heading out into the bay, I look back and shoot our point of departure.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the Mangrove island swamp area.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another speedy tour boat splashes by us.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the three passages/caves erosion has carved through some of the limestone outcroppings. The ones we visited were large enough for our boat to get through.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the Mangrove island swamp area.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: People live on some of the islands. Most have no electricity.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Strange oddly shaped formations.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Nigel from Sweden sat with his wife directly in front of me.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the extensive docks where the Muslim fishermen have built their homes, some are quite elaborate. Later on the way back we stopped for a closer look and time to shop.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the fixed fishing nets array.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another tour boat passes us.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another view of the Bay's bizarre landscape.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Two boats pass in the ...

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the three passages/caves erosion has carved through some of the limestone outcroppings. The ones we visited were large enough for our boat to get through.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the larger tour boats that bring SCUBA divers out to swim the clear deep water.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the three passages/caves erosion has carved through some of the limestone outcroppings. The ones we visited were large enough for our boat to get through.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the dock complex where a Muslim fishing community has built their homes for centuries off the Koh Panyee island. Of late, the people mostly cater to the tour boat visitors.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: That is "James Bond" island as seen from Ao Phang-Nga Island - park headquarters.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Some of the other tour boats visiting Ao Phang-Nga island.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: That is "James Bond" island, so nick-named after the James Bond thriller, "Man with the golden gun" was shot here. This photo is taken from Ao Phang-Nga Island - park headquarters site.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Large Sunflowers growing near Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from town.

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from town; the most spectacular examples are located out in the bay.

Phang-Nga Thailand: View of the strange geological formations as seen from near the river.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Rock paintings inside Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Looking out through the entrance of Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Bas relief Buddha inside Tham Sam cave.

Phang-Nga Thailand: One of the three air-conditioned refuges in town! I drank a lot of "Big Gulps!" Back home I rarely think to visit a 7-elevin store with all the competitive choices. In other parts of the world, these little convenience stores are sometimes the only symbols of Western decadence available for miles around... and always air-conditioned.

Phang-Nga Thailand: Lobby & front desk at the $29 Phrang-Nga Inn where I stayed. They had smaller rooms for 600 Baht/night ($15).

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Here is the Tuk-tuk that picked us up for the 20 KM ride down to the dock where our boat waited.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: At the departure dock just prior to starting the four hour exploration of Phang-Nga Bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: At the departure dock just prior to starting the four hour exploration of Phang-Nga Bay. These people boarded several boats; ours had seven passengers.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: In addition to all the impressive limestone islands, there also were many Mangrove clusters like this one.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Part of the Mangrove island swamp area.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the three passages/caves erosion has carved through some of the limestone outcroppings. The ones we visited were large enough for our boat to get through.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Closer to the strange oddly shaped formations.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the larger tour boats plying the waters of the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: More tour boats moving around the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: One of the three passages/caves erosion has carved through some of the limestone outcroppings. The ones we visited were large enough for our boat to get through.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another view of the Bay's bizarre landscape.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Another of the tour boats we encountered on the bay.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: That is "James Bond" island as seen from Ao Phang-Nga Island - park headquarters.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Shot from the dock at Ao Phang-Nga island.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Shot from our boat.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Some of the other tour boats visiting Ao Phang-Nga island.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: That is "James Bond" island as seen from Ao Phang-Nga Island - park headquarters.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: Some of the other tour boats visiting Ao Phang-Nga island.

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand:

Phang-Nga Bay Thailand: This is the town built on pilings off the Koh Panyee island. Mostly Muslim fishermen still live here... without most modern conveniences of the 21st Century.