Ko Tapu Island

James Bond Island, known originally and locally as Ko Tapu or Nail Island, found fame through the 1974 Bond film "The Man with the Golden Gun".

The film starred Roger Moore and Christopher Lee (as the three nippled arch-villain Scaramanga) but it was the scenic topography that helped make the film into a firm Bond favourite.

It also turned the previously unknown Phang Nga Bay into a major tourist attraction.

The daylong sightseeing trip is a two hours driving journey to Phang Nga Bay, with a stop at the popular Monkey Caves (Wat Suwankuha) to see the large reclining golden Buddha inside the caves and the large flocks of monkeys outside.

The journey continues with a drive to Phang Nga Bay where one can take long tail boat for lunch at Koh Pannyi, a floating Muslim fishing village that is referred to by some locals as "Bin Laden Village".

After exploring the floating fishing village everybody gets back onto the long tail boat and heads for the prime attraction, James Bond Island.

A 15-minute boat ride later and the island comes into view.

The island that you disembark onto is crowded with stalls selling seashells and trinkets. The people on the stalls are pushy but easy to avoid, just don't go near them.

Beer is pretty expensive on the island at double the market price but it is not available at the Muslim fishing village so this is the place to get it if you fancy a can. Confusing signs are placed around the island that try to explain how the rock was formed but these are written in "Tinglish" so make very little sense. The tour guides normally give you 30 minutes on the island; just long enough take some pictures, have a drink and go to the toilet.