Phang Nga is the modern Thai transliteration of the Malay word pangan, literally 'heathen, pagan, primitive people,' or as proper nounal, Pangan in reference to a generalised tribe or people typically inhabiting jungle areas of the Malay Peninsula and it's offshore islands. Historically, in 1824 when Siamese troops defeated the Burmese and the challengers were expelled, King Rama III renamed a major area adjacent to the bay phang-nga. This bastardisation of Malay pangan offers vivid indication that the entire region was likely populated by Orang Asli or other aboriginal people.
Phang Nga Bay Marine National Park was declared a protected site of international ecological significance on 14 August 2002. Phang Nga is a shallow bay with 42 islands, comprising shallow marine waters and interdial forested wetlands, with at least 28 species of mangrove; seagrass beds and coral reefs are also present.
At least 88 bird species, including the globally threatened Malaysian plover and Asiatic dowitcher, can be found within the site, as well as 82 fish species, 18 reptiles, three amphibians, and 17 mammal species. These include the dugong, white-hand gibbon , the endangered serow and the black finless porpoise.
A number of diverse cultures co-exist in local communities, which practice fishing, harvesting Nya Palms fronds for thatch, and catering to an international tourist presence drawn both by the natural beauties and by the archaeological sites, which have rock wall paintings more than a thousand years old.
The most famous of the many islands in the bay is the so-called James Bond Island a needle formed limestone rock in the sea, which featured in the movie 'The Man With The Golden Gun' Nearby villages include Ao Luk.In Star Wars Episode III, the bay was used as main photography for the planet Kashyyyk.
*** Please note you can experience a day visit with a choice to go by wooden longtail boat, speedboat either with a sea canoe experience or without. The choice is yours.
