Boat Ride to a Magical Mystical Land

On our way to the James Bond tour. Yes we have our trusty Baan Krating umbrellas. Don't leave home without them!

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When you come to Phuket, there are a few things you HAVE to do.  One is check out the crazy nightlife at Patong Beach.  Another is take a boat tour to the islands.  There are two popular tours - the Phi Phi islands, where The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed, and James Bond island, where The Man with the Golden Gun was filmed.  We really only had time for one of the tours and had a hard time deciding which one to pick.  Finally we settled on James Bond since our super helpful restaurant maitre d' pointed out that with rains and a rough sea forecast, it was closer and the boat ride would be easier and not as choppy. 

Is anyone else noticing a theme here?  This is turning out to be a real 007 flavored trip.

6:30 came awful early (the first time the alarm has gone off in weeks; I am sure I am not ready for real life and a job) but we managed to drag ourselves out of bed and to the front desk, where we were picked up in a car and taken to meet the main van (again due to the van not fitting through the underpass, it's definitely the relay system every time we have to leave the property).  By 10:00 we were on the open sea, wind and salt spray in our faces, having the time of our lives.  The islands (James Bond is just the famous one, there is a whole group of them that make up a national park) grow out of the sea like ... well, magical mystical islands.  They are made out of limestone and jut out dramatically, covered in dense foliage; this is the kind of stuff you imagine is out there but never believe you'll see.  Well, we saw it and it was incredible.  We got to go sea canoing into the heart of some of the hollowed-out islands, we swam in the ocean, we took our picture on the spot where Roger Moore and Christopher Lee stood, we had a wonderful lunch and we made it back safely to tell the tale.  What a fabulous honeymoon we are having!!!