Island Hopping on Longtail Boat!

My first full day in Phuket, I had no plans and wanted to see where the day would take me. After getting breakfast in the city center, I went to a few of the beaches and a local suggested I head up north a little bit to take a longtail boat to some of the smaller islands.

Our first stop was Khao Phing Kan aka James Bond island. This small but stunning island got its nickname from starring in the James Bond Film “The Man with the Golden Gun”.

There is not much to do on the island, but it was still worth a visit.

After departing the first island, the boat operator suggested heading over to Koh Panyi. This island was completely different than the first - it was more of a village rather than just a sightseeing destination. Although they are mainly a fishing village/island, they attracted enough tourists to have restaurants, souvenirs, and other small shops. Another interesting thing about this island is that a majority of the population were not Thailand natives and they were muslim (versus Buddihst, the main religion of Thailand).

Koh Panyi has a school, a floating soccer field, a mosque, ATM, and most things that a village would need to sustain themselves.