On the morning of our fifth day we awoke as our ship approached the island of Phuket anchoring in Patong Bay. At approximately 8:30 we were anchored and prepared to go ashore. Only to discover we were an hour early! Our phones had not automatically updated to the new time zone. For those tracking, we are only 13 hours behind the Central time zone.

We had chosen an excursion that would take us northwest across the island to Phang Nga Bay. We bordered the tender and before long were walking along the beach before boarding a bus for the 90 minute ride to the bay.

Why Phang Nga Bay? The bay is home to numerous beautiful islands composed of sheer limestone cliffs and one in particular is quite famous and commonly known as James Bond Island. The island was use extensively in The Man With the Golden Gun.

It takes nearly an hour just to reach the islands so the excursion easily turns into an all day affair. We spent the entire day sea kayaking, swimming, and enjoying lunch onboard the boat.

The natural beauty of the area is impossible to appreciate without seeing it in person. After a long, very long day we headed back to the ship.

By the time we returned to the ship it was nearly 8:30 that night and we were exhausted. We hustled to get cleaned up for dinner and hustled to the dining room as another day came to an end.