No offense to Daniel Craig, but can we all agree that Sean Connery was the best James Bond? There have been seven Bonds so far, if you include James Niven who did a comic version of the character in the original Casino Royale (1967). They were all great in their own way…even the much-maligned Timothy Dalton. (Watch one of his movies sometime—he was actually pretty good.) But Connery stands out — for his looks, his physicality and his overall, million-watt charisma.
Only one Bond, however, filmed a movie in Thailand: Roger Moore in The Man With the Golden Gun (1974). It’s a VERY silly movie, made even sillier by Moore’s incessant penchant for glib one liners. But it features Thailand, one of my favorite countries, so I’ll give Moore a pass. None of the sets from the film remain, but you can still visit one spectacular movie location: Khao Phing Kan, otherwise known as “James Bond Island.”
Located in Phang Nga Bay northeast of Phuket, the 66-foot-tall island — more of an islet, really — is about 130 feet off the shores of Khao Phing Kan. Both islet and island are part of the Ao Phang Nga National Park, a gorgeous bay known for its white sand beaches and clear green water.
Before 1974, the island – composed of striking, limestone karst towers – was relatively undisturbed, inhabited predominantly by indigenous communities. Then Eon Productions descended on the place, in search of an exotic lair for the film’s antagonist, Francisco Scaramanga (played by Christopher Lee). Watch the film sometime and thanks to movie magic, you’ll assume the island is fairly large – at least big enough for a plane to land on. Think again. It’s tiny! The beach is maybe 20 feet wide – just enough space for a restroom, a slew of tourist stalls and a big, commemorative rock declaring this “James Bond Island.” If you come expecting a bad guy’s “lair,” you’ll be sorely disappointed.
Still, Khao Phing Kan is a VERY photogenic place. You can take a warm swim here. Visit some interesting caves. Snap a few selfies. It’s gorgeous. But for me, what makes the site particularly worthy of a visit is the journey getting here.
Our tour begins in Khao Lak, a lovely beach town about 90 minutes north of Phuket. After an hour’s drive crossing the peninsula, we stop at a jetty and climb into a boat. If all we had done was sail through Phang Nga Bay, enjoying the natural scenery, I’d still have considered the day a success. But oh no, about 20 minutes before Bond Island, we stop and climb into canoes. Before I know it, my wife and I are paddling through a thick patch of mangroves. And that’s where the fun really begins. Angling our craft towards a cave entrance, our driver/navigator exhorts us to “lean back.” I mean, all the way back, so our backs touch the boat. To say that the tunnel is a tight fit doesn’t do it full justice. The cave entrance hangs down inches above our noses! Again and again, we dive into limestone tunnels, bent backwards like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix. It’s claustrophobic and exhilarating.
An hour later, after eating a huge Thai lunch on a floating village, we proceed back to the jetty, climb back into our van and head to our final destination: the Monkey Temple. Okay, it’s not a temple dedicated to our simian ancestors. In fact, it’s an atmospheric cave temple with a really cool, gold-painted, reclining Buddha. But that’s not all: at the back exit, a massive gathering of monkeys are scurrying about, begging for food from the awestruck tourists. It’s a fairly mad affair, with apes grabbing food, jumping on people’s shoulders, pulling their hair. Given what I know about the treatment for rabies, I want NO part of this! Great pictures though.
What a day: a Buddhist temple, monkeys, lunch, canoeing – and a visit to the site of a lesser James Bond movie. Scaramanga!
(It’s amazing how movie cameras can make a small place look so large. A few years back, I visited the set of the Tonight Show; I was stunned at how tiny it actually is. Same with James Bond Island, which looks massive in the film compared to reality. It’s the job of TV and movie directors to trick our eye, to make us believe they’re living in a bigger, brighter reality. And I’m okay with that. I’m okay with suspending my disbelief for the sake of a good story. Such places remind me to stop taking my own life so seriously. To stop being so angry when someone pulls a fast one on me. It’s fine to be tricked sometimes. And even if I’m cheated, in the grander scheme of things is it really that big a deal? Will I remember the times I was duped on my deathbed? Don’t take yourself so seriously!)