The Story: July 27 in Phang Nga

Into Phang Nga Bay I ventured, on a boat trip past magnificent limestone cliffs. We saw a cave and some outcrops, and the towering walls came closer. It felt like another movie I loved, The Land That Time Forgot (1975). Perhaps there were long-lost dinosaurs behind the vegetation.

The boat entered the mouth of a small bay and I glimpsed the pinnacle of my trip and imagaination. Improbably jutting out from the center of the bay was a 66-foot tall (20 m) limestone tower known as Ko Ta Pu.

Cruising past the rocky column, we headed toward a curving, sandy beach. The spectacular scenery truly could have been the lair of a Bond villain. Then, just like James Bond, I landed on Scaramanga’s island.

I was in the most faraway and exotic place I knew of; a dream since childhood. The one thing I had to do, and wanted to do, was to capture the spirit of adventure with the one thing I could remember this by: a photo.

And here’s the shot that I traveled around the world to get.