James Bond Island: How an Obscure Thai Island Became Famous

 


I simply wanted to take a boat cruise around the beautiful Pha Ngh Islands.  But the tour desk at my hotel was breathlessly selling me on the idea that as part of the trip I'd be stopping at James Bond Island. "Fine," I said, just wanting to see one of the most beautiful parts of the archipelago whether 007 had been there or not.

How did this secluded inlet become world famous?  Here's a view of "James Bond Island" when Roger Moore and company arrived in 1974 to film a two-minute scene in The Man with the Golden Gun. 



This Bond movie was incredibly popular and I vaguely remember seeing it as a kid, I think a few years later on tv. And of course, where there's money to be made then people will try to make it.  And now, the small island, which used to have its own name, our guide told us, and which I have forgotten, is now one the major attractions of the Phuket area.  And this is what that obscure inlet looks like now.



There are several concessions run by somber women wearing Hijab. What they witness every day surely must be alarming, but one must make a living after all.  

If you work really hard you can actually capture a nice photo, with James Bond Island not betraying its current identity. 


However, when touring this inlet it's virtually impossible to avoid tourists flaunting their faux Bond poses, though Golden Gun was filmed long before these two pictured below were born. Is the idea of being in close proximity with cinematic fame, no matter how distant, such an allure that it becomes irresistible?




Our tour leader even packed a toy golden gun that he brought on our excursion, so that we could pose as James Bond.  I suppose I have trouble imagining most people even vaguely resembling 007.  In fact, it all seemed rather absurd at the time.  (And, yes, I avoided my opportunity to pose with the toy gun.)



The contrast of those visiting also seemed rather stark.  This group was from Thailand and their pose was rather cute and seemed unrelated to the movie.  



And this mother and daughter from Spain on my tour, drew disapproving scowls from the Bond Island vendors.  Fortunately for you, I didn't take any pictures of when this mother took off her wrap and made that same pose in her thong bikini with the daughter clicking the photo. I think I am taking the side of the vendors on the second photo pose. I have nothing philosophical against thong bikinis, but I guess really my issue is that these two people were acting like they were still in Spain--behaving like we're still in our home country is something all of us who play the role of tourist must always guard against.

 



Only about three of us took the time to walk 50 meters to one of the coolest parts of the island: this geological formation of one massive slab of the island that's in the shape of a large pyramid. 




And deep inside there was a mysterious cave filled with flying bats and other interesting creatures.  But evidently James Bond never wandered here, so this area seems to have no value at all, except to the few of us who enjoy unusual sights and don't require a cultural reference to appreciate them. 




After 30 minutes of posing and using the restrooms, we returned to our boat, the Spanish women put on their clothes, and off we went to our next stop: ocean canoeing.  All I can say is thank god The Man with the Golden Gun didn't film any scenes at the Vatican or people to this day would be roaming around St. Peter's Square wielding toy guns and posing in thong bikinis, it wouldn't surprise me. 

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