After the hugely successful James Bond movie ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ way back in 1973, The James Bond Island Tour was born and Phang Nga Mational Park had itself two very famous islands indeed. The movie itself starred Roger Moore as Bond; some say this was his best Bond role to date.
Bond was sent to track down a notorious assassin, who had in his possession A Solex Agitator. A device which could harness the power of the Sun, producing a very powerful weapon. The assassin was called Francisco Sacramanga and was played by legendary actor Christopher Lee.
The movie was shot on several locations including Phuket Island, Chon Buri, Phang Nga Bay of course, as well as Bangkok, where the scene with the Muay Thai Kick boxing tournament was filmed at Lumpini boxing stadium. Of course, no Bond movie would be complete without a Bond girl, and the gorgeous Britt Ekland played this part superbly.
Koh Phing Kan & Koh Tapu
There were actually two islands featured in the movie, Koh Phing Kan (translation: Hills leaning against each other) being the largest and Koh Tapu (Nail Island).
Koh Phing Kan is around 250 meters long and about 130 meters wide; Tapu Island on the other hand is much smaller. It is about 20 meters tall, with a diameter averaging 10 meters and sits about 40 meters to the west of its big sister Koh Phing Kan. These two islands belong to a group of 12 other islands in the area and like most of the islands in Phang Nga bay; they are made up mainly of Limestone.
The islands are rarely referred to by their original names, in fact, most tour companies may not even know their true names, such was the impact of the movie. A local legend explains about the formation of Koh Tapu.
The Legend of Koh Tapu
A local fisherman, who would, every day, put his small boat out to sea to catch fish. One day however, he was shocked to find his nets empty and try as he may and where ever he cast his nets, he could not catch a single fish. The only thing he caught in his nets was a nail. He would throw the nail back into the sea, throw his net back out and would catch the same nail again; time and time again this would happen no matter where he cast his nets, the only thing he would catch was this annoying nail.
Insane with rage, he unsheathed his sword and with all the might he could muster chopped the nail into halves, and as his sword hit, the nail split it in two. One half of it flew clear of the boat and speared itself into the sea next to Koh Phing Kan, thus forming Koh Tapu.
James Bond Island is well worth a trip out, it is quite beautiful there, and the amazing limestone walls all around, will take your breath away. There are many ways to see James Bond Island; you can go by Mini Bus and Long-tail boat from the mainland, by speedboat from Phuket or Krabi or even by a slow cruise boat.
Popular Tours to James Bond Island
- Private Phang Nga Bay Tour
- Private Sea Canoe Tour
- Visit Hong Island as private group
- Budget Join-In Sea Canoe Trip
- John Gray Sea Canoe
- James Bond By Speedboat
There are many alternative packages to see James Bond island. One trip may incorporate The Monkey caves; you can feed the local monkeys here -be careful they are naughty. Also it is possible to see the Special Buddha Statue. All this before you get to the pier to catch the boat to see the famous James Bond Islands of Phang Nga bay.
In the area, is also another very famous place called Koh Panyee. This whole village is built on stilts and sits out in the open sea, housing a 1500+ strong community of local Muslim villagers.
Times vary of the trips throughout the year and so does the weather, so it’s best to choose the best time to go, by checking the weather first, particularly in the rainy season.
Easy Day Phuket Tours
get in Touch now with our Easy Day Thailand Team and book your trip to the island of James Bond.
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