Phuket: Island Sailing Tour

While Phuket has some beautiful beaches, the surrounding islands make up some of the best landscapes we have ever seen.  To get the best views we spent our second day on a boat touring around the Andaman Sea.  We knew we would be in good hands when we got to the dock and met Captain Mark who had long white hair, was wearing a captains hat, and smoking a pipe.  Perfect sea captain.  He planned the perfect day for us traveling around the islands to swim, snorkel, kayak, and explore.

On our way to our first stop of the day

First stop of the day was a little cove between a few of the islands

Edge of the island

Entrance to the cove

Turquoise water under the limestone 

Exiting the cove

Next stop was one of the bird nest caves.  In Chinese herbal medicine, birds nest's are used for their healing properties and are worth a lot of money.  There are men that live in these caves in some of the islands and guard the nests made by swallow and once they are done they collect them to be sold across Asia.

The cave in the side of the island

The guy living in this cave came up to his bamboo guard rail and waved at us. I'm sure he was just happy to
see other people as he lives in the cave alone.

The next stop was a small beach to do some snorkeling.  The water was a little murky so the snorkeling wasn't very good.  It was nice to cool off in the water and lay on the beach though.

Beautiful view from the beach

Time to snorkel!

A few of the fish that we could see.  They would eat out of your hands.

They had some swings on the beach which I enjoyed. You can see behind me that there were
some homes built on this beach where a few people lived and sold drinks and food.

Enjoyed the break but ready to get back on the boat.

Everywhere you look is like a postcard

The next location was an island that is home to a 1500 year old banyan tree.

Some locals sitting on the beach

The tree was huge!

 James Bond Island is one of the most popular tourist attractions around Phuket and it
gets really busy during the day.  For our tour we just sailed by it to get the view instead of fighting the crowds on the beach.

These are just a few of the boats anchored by James Bond Island. 

James Bond Island

Near James Bond Island we came upon some old sea gypsy caves.  Sea gypsies are one of the minority groups in Thailand who live in caves and make a living by fishing.

Sea gypsy cave that had cave paintings

Captain Mark could tell us what most of the painting was.  All I can really make out is the monkey.

After a busy morning it was time to stop for lunch.  We went to the 'floating village' which is really a town on stilts.  This village is a Muslim community that lives on the edge of an island.

The Floating Village

We ate a delicious Thai lunch at the restaurant on the end.

The town even has a floating soccer field.  As an incentive to keep the ball on the field, the last person who touched the
ball has to go into the water to retrieve it.  They must have incredible ball control.

Most of the pathways in the village were lined with tables of souvenirs

Many of the villagers collect songbirds like these. 

What a stunning place to get to live.

We sailed off to some sea caves where we hopped into kayaks to explore.  Unfortunately the waterproof camera died as we entered the cave and the other camera was back on the boat so we have limited pictures.

I love the limestone cliffs.

We went in the same cave as these kayaks.

Entering the cave!  It was absolutely gorgeous inside and I wish I could share more.  Must get a backup battery.

After enjoying the sea caves by kayak we headed to some more caves to explore on foot.

We had this beach all to ourselves

Entrance to the cave

Derek near the other side of the cave

We emerged from the cave in the middle of the island.  We were surrounded by
high limestone walls and the cave was the only way in or out.

Four walking fish

In the center of the island was a patch of mangrove trees

I love how the water has worn away at the limestone.

It was getting to be late in the afternoon so we headed off to some calm water to take a dip and cool off before heading back to dry land.  The water was so salty that you could almost float standing up.  It was a refreshing end to a fantastic day.

Derek jumping off the boat into the water.

We saw so much in one day and it was hard to take in all the beauty.  I tried to take as many pictures as I could but I still don't think many of my pictures do this trip justice.  It was absolutely breathtaking!