Tasha and I really enjoyed our few days on Koh Lanta. We loved the island life and the “vibe”. It was very easy to understand why some people come and never leave or keep coming back. We took full advantage of our past motorbike driving experience and rented scooters, which allowed us to explore the whole island, leaving no part untouched, and going off the main tourist trail. It was so easy to navigate as well – just one main road around the island and the roads were not busy at all. Even though it rained a lot, low season meant that the island was relatively quiet. This gave us a lot more leeway to enjoy our island stay.
Day 1
When we arrived at our hotel (The Metallic Hostel), Tasha and I found out that we were the only guests, which was a pleasant surprise. After checking in, we walked to Phra Ae (a.k.a. Long Beach). We practically had the beach to ourselves and found a nice spot to chill.
After some time, we decided to walk down to the next beach called Relax Bay, which was about 3km south. Relax Bay ironically wasn’t really relaxing at all – more creepy if anything – as it was ridiculously quiet and had this abandoned feel.
We ended up walking back up Long Beach and going for a sunset sea swim. Our surroundings were really beautiful and actually even quite romantic if we had been on a couple’s holiday.
Day 2
On the next day, it was raining when we woke up, with the forecast set for it to continue raining all day. However, this did not stop Tasha and I from renting scooters (to be honest this option was much cheaper than renting a tuk tuk and gave us more freedom). First, we drove to Saladan. We ended up in this bookshop/restaurant called Catfish. There were literally cats everywhere. This one particular white cat took a liking to me and followed me around. We ordered a hot chocolate to warm us up whilst we dried out from the rain, before heading to our next stop. We drove down south on the east coast of the island towards the Old Town. On the way we passed some tropical mangroves. It was very wet so by the time we got to Old Town we were both drenched from the rain.
We ate lunch in Pinto Restaurant, which had a view overlooking the sea. To our pleasant surprise, the sun started to come out and it finally stopped raining.
We continued to drive down the east coast of the island and ended up at Sang Kha Ou village (a fishing village) and decided to explore around. We parked our bikes and walked to the coast, through all these rocks, pebbles and dead coral. Once we got to the sea, we saw some fishermen standing in the sea.
The water was really shallow, so we walked past the fishermen across to a small island a couple hundred metres away. It was all so beautiful and peaceful. There was sea, sand and more islands in all directions.
We wanted to catch sunset and therefore decided to drive back to the west coast. We found a lovely spot at Klong Nin beach. Again, the scenery was really beautiful, the sea was calm and the moon was out.
Finally we drove down south to Ao Kantiang to find a place for dinner. We ended the night at Why Not bar, which was by the beach, where we shared a non-alcoholic fruit punch. The music was so good, and the staff even put on this incredible fire show for us right on the beach.
Day 3
On the following day, it was raining again. My thoughts turned to the fact that back in the UK it was bank holiday weekend – slightly ironic that it was raining here but not in London. We waited a while for the rain to clear up, and during this time Tasha sketched my portrait.
Whilst I was posing, my thoughts turned to what I missed most about home: having a wardrobe as opposed to my DofE backpack, sleeping in the same bed at night, a good cup of tea, and some proper home-cooked food. I also thought about what I’ll miss about SE Asia the most: the weather (when it’s sunny and warm), not having to wear a jumper, the food, the friendliness of the people.
The sketch came out ok – Tasha somehow managed to make me look about 10 years older. Finally, we got back on our scooters and headed south to the Mu Koh Lanta National Park.
When we arrived, we went up to the viewpoint, which was next to this lighthouse on a mini island next to the park. The views were astonishing – it was literally like we were standing at the end of the world.
We then walked down the beach, before embarking on the 1.75km nature trail.
I’m not sure the trail was altogether worth it as we mainly saw trees and termite nests, but I guess it was good exercise, especially the parts that were uphill.
After completing the trail, we drove north to find a spot for lunch. We ended up in this cute restaurant called Time.
On our final morning, Tasha and I decided to go for a morning run and swim. It was crazy to think that our time in Koh Lanta was coming to an end. We had had an amazing time so far, just the two of us, exploring the island. After arriving at the beach, we parked, and jumped into the sea, which gave us a right battering as the waves were so strong. We then ran along the sea down Long Beach (about 1 km before we turned back).
All in all, I really enjoyed running barefoot on the sand in the sun with nothing but the sound of the waves and my breathing to accompany me. When we got back to our starting point, we jumped back into the sea and allowed ourselves to bob with the waves. We walked out of the sea and stretched before heading back to our bikes. Upon opening the locked compartment under my seat, I realised that my phone was missing. This was a fairly stressful experience. Read my next post to find out what happened.