I haven’t had the time to start posting until now. Traveling here was not as smooth as I had hoped but only because I hadn’t pre-booked anything as I had intended to do. But the good news is, I got here just fine, learned a few lessons and had a great time.
This may seem like some random ramblings but I am just now getting settled in. My tablet has a tiny keyboard and WordPress doesn’t offer spellcheck so I apologize to any spelling/grammar nazis that are attempting to read this but thank you for trying 🙂
When arriving on Koh Lanta, the boats dock at Saladan. One look and the town stole my heart. It doesn’t have a beach so I had passed it over when planning my itinerary. I ended up at the Lanta Family Resort on Klong Khong Beach at the middle of the island and am very pleased with my decision but am heading to Saladan tomorrow for one night because it is so damn cute!
Yesterday is a blur. I had slept less than 10 hours out of 36 and I was actually starting to get worried. Thankfully after a TON of walking, scorching heat, and 2 massages, I began to do the head bob at dinner. I barely made it through the meal. I don’t even remember going to bed (I had only had a glass of wine).
Today I went for a banana pancake and rented a scooter. I scootered almost the entire island. I wanted to see each beach so I could compare them in the future if anyone should ever ask. You can’t get lost here on Lanta. There is a road that goes down each side of the island and 2 across. Naturally, I got lost…haha! But at least I haven’t got any hot sauce in my eye yet!
It’s really weird here for driving. First of all, they drive on the left side. Second of all, there are no real traffic laws. Basically, there is one law: Don’t be a dick! And it seems to work well. The speed limit is 60kms but no one ever goes that fast. There is about 1 car for every 2 dozen scooters and tuk-tuks (motorbike with a sidecar). No one wears helmets and few use signals, yet it all just seems to work, somehow. Everyone is just respectful and paying attention. Oh, and all the cars are new….no junkers here. Gasoline is hilarious….about $1.05 CAD/litre and the gas pumps are like atm’s. Some businesses choose to have one and it is randomly positioned on the property. There is the occasional gas station but one would only use one if they had a car. Most people use motorbikes so you can buy gas by the litre at almost ANY shop – people bottle it in old liquor bottles and sell it as a “grab n go” item.
Speaking of liquor, there are no liquor stores here. You buy your stuff from 7-11. Thailand has Afternoon Prohibition which means no sale of booze between 2 & 5 pm. There are speakers hanging from the power poles that start playing some kind of hymns in the afternoon. Maybe this a religious thing, or maybe it just seems nice to announce prohibition with soothing music.
So in my scooter adventure today, I went to the Kao Mai Kaew Cave. It was a VERY nifty adventure. The guide had the most wonderful imagination of how the mermaids once lived there ( he admits he makes it up as he goes along…haha) but I just wanted to see some cool underground earth-stuff and was not at all disappointed. There were spiders the size of my hand there, but I handled it like a grown up. Only one F-bomb!!! I think this will fall under the same reasoning as when camping and that is that I don’t belong there so it’s somehow less scary. Maybe because if they are in my home, it’s because they have come to kill me?
I also visited Lanta Animal Welfare to snuggle all the kitties. The facility is just wonderful and all the animals seem happy. However, it was hot. So very hot. The cats were sticking to me like balloons.
I scootered down to Kan Tiang Bay which is often considered Lanta’s finest beach. There is no mistake – it was stunning. Oddly, it felt too remote and quiet for me which may sound strange since I was planning to do this trip alone and NOT talk to strangers. But it really was too quiet. As much as I don’t want to talk to people, I still want to watch them and observe.
But to be clear, every beach here is pretty much deserted. I know I am here during the holy-fuck-its-hot period but there is just SO much beach and really not that many people. That being said, it feels incredibly safe here. The locals are all very laid back and few approach you to sell stuff. They mostly just greet you and wave as you go by – if you want what they have, well, you know where they are now. Haha! And no one is selling much other than tuk tuk rides, motorbike rentals or pancakes. There are no souvenir shops or people roaming the beach selling trinkets. People all seem to be ok leaving their bags on the beach, hanging from their bike or at their table while they run to the washroom. It feels strange to feel ok with this when everything I have is what I need to survive here for the next 5 weeks. My guard is still responsibly up, but it is really nice to not have to feel as paranoid as I normally do. Perhaps this will change as I move north to busier areas.
So off to sleep one more night in my beach hut then off to connect with Saladan before heading north.
