Phang Nga Information
The province is located on the west side of the Malay Peninsula, and includes many islands of the Phang Nga Bay. The most famous one 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. The Ao Phang-Nga (Phang-Nga Bay) National Park was established in 1981 to protect the many fascinating islands. The Similan Islands, one of Thailand's main diving destinations, are also part of Phang Nga province.

Khao Lak Information
Khao Lak is a resort beach in Thailand, located 100 km north of Phuket in Takua Pa district, Phang Nga province and popular as a departure point for liveaboard scuba diving trips.
The coast line here has a west-facing, sandy beach with tropical forest and rubber plantations on the hill slopes beyond the sand. A road runs roughly parallel with the beach and the town has grown up as a ribbon development of shops and dwellings, with tourist hotels between the road and the beach.
The local economy in the town is based on the tourist hotels, local shops and restaurants, and the diving trade. Most of the foreign tourists are European, many from Scandinavia, Germany and the United Kingdom. The wider area produces some rubber and palm oil; there is also a small amount of subsistence agriculture.
After the tsunami in December 2004 (see below) the economy was ruined. 90 percent of the hotels were seriously damaged and many needed to be completely rebuilt. However, now 2 years after everything has been rebuilt, the resorts carry an even higher standard now, and all the hotels are fully booked during the high season (November to March). Prices have also gone up and today one can expect to pay from baht 4,000/night and up for the beachfront cabins. Today Khao Lak is "upper class" compared to the more shady hotels on Phuket island.