Dumb and Dumber explore Ko Lanta!

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Hello again!

So we have left Ko Lanta and travelled for 12 hours today to find ourselves in Kanchanaburi, 150 kms east of Bangkok - home to The River Kwai, Hellfire Pass and The Tiger Temple. We have 2 nights / 2 days here before heading off for Cambodia so I thought I would give a rundown on our time in Lanta. The good and the NOT so good!! Originally this blog was titled Ko Lanta - From the Pits of Hell to a Slice of Paradise (and you will soon work out why!) however I found a better title! Hehehe! However lets start where I left off with one of the previous blogs and we had just gotten off the ferry from hell and were on our way to the perfect resort where nothing could go wrong right!! After all I had done hours of research! How wrong could I be?! VERY!

Lanta Long Beach Resort - A Total Nightmare

We arrived at the resort - LANTA LONG BEACH RESORT - and checkin seemed smooth... until we were shown to our bungalow..... which apparently has a double bed, a single bed and views of the ocean from the bed..... We walked in to discover two single beds, threadbare towels and dirt everywhere... you have to be kidding right?! The place was disgusting but our main concern at that stage was the single beds... so much for a romantic beach getaway..... The girl said we would have to go back to reception to sort it out.... hardly the last thing we felt like doing at 5pm as we had visions of watching the sunset at the beach bar.... but off we went....

Well the reception staff wanted nothing to do with it. They told us that if we wanted a double bed then we should of requested one.... hmmmm ok.... well we didnt think it was necessary to request a double bed but they needed to fix it.... sorry we are booked out... fine then give us a refund.... no can do you have to go through your booking agent... who they promptly rang and passed us the phone....

I dont want to sit arguing with someone on the phone I want the resort to do something about it.... move us to a different room..... they left us sitting on the front steps of their reception for 2 hours, while they ignored us everytime we tried to ask what could be done.... we asked to speak to a manager several times and were told he wasnt there (even though later we were to discover not only was he standing next to us the whole time this was happening but he was one of the persons we spoke to!!!!!!!) SERIOUSLY!

They eventually told us that the room was fixed and that they would try to move us the next day. We went back to the room where the two single beds had been pushed together but were still made as single beds with separate mosquito nets... the place was still filthy and the towels remained.... as for the seaview.... well if you went on the balcony and climbed on the railing and leaned really far over I think that could be classed as seaview!! After we went for some dinner down the beach and a few wind down cocktails I went back to reception to see if the manager was there only to be rudely asked what my problem was.... when I replied with a "the treatment I have received over the past two hours was disgusting and I would like to make an official complaint to management" to which he smartly informed me I had already spoken with the manager.... lets just say my reply was unrepeatable here!!!!

The night was spent quite uncomfortably... we had to pack our bags in the morning and leave them there to be moved to a new room while we went snorkelling. We decided to go have our 'free' breakfast, forget the day before and look forward to the rest of our stay... oh how the gods were laughing at that moment!

Would you like some scrambled eggs with your flies sir?!

The breakfast buffet was to die for..... literally! We arrived half an hour after it had started and we could have cold coffee with fake milk, warm pineapple juice, cold scrambled eggs or fried eggs with plenty of flies and small frankfurts (again with plenty of protein in way of flies).... I didnt realise Thailand had so many flies!! Oh and there was one small slow toaster to service the whole resort! Breakfast consisted of toast with butter (again the communal jam pots were abuzzing with those pesky protein packed flies) and while I attempted the coffee it was just too cold to dissolve the fake powdered milk which just congealed in the coffee leaving an undesirable effect at 730am..... Not really the best start to Day 2. Heath and I were thankful for snorkelling otherwise I think we would of killed each other!!

After our snorkelling day trip we arrived back to a new room which was slightly closer to the sea but the problems just got worse! First there were the two used towels still on the balcony along with the previous tenants used magazines (alright I was slightly stoked about free magazines), then there was the fold up bed still in there set up, the half used bottle of water, the dirt on the floor .... oh and wait I almost forgot.... the 4 used towels still laying all over the place in the bathroom (which surprise surprise was still dirty!!). Gritting our teeth we both used the one last CLEAN towel that the previous tenant forgot to, got ready and left for our New Years celebrations.... just one more night after that we thought!!! We had paid for the compulsory NYE celebration with the resort but there was no way we were spending another minute in this dive.... 2000 baht down the drain!

The following day we avoided our hotel and its free breakfast like the plague spending the day at the little restaurants along Long Beach..... so much for our long awaited pampering at Ko Lanta!! After another restless night we moved on to Relax Bay hoping for a bit more than what we had experienced..... We paid 2000 baht per night at LLB and it was disgusting... it was no use complaining as they obviously didnt give a shit!!

A Peaceful Paradise

A quick tuk tuk ride away we arrived at RELAX BAY where we were greeted with big friendly smiles.... nice start... we were told to take a seat in the restaurant while they sorted out our reservation... I had a strange feeling something was wrong but we were already impressed with their professionalism! Within a minute of sitting down we had fresh juices in front of us and a manager approached saying there was a problem with our booking but a huge apology followed along with an upgrade for one night to their VIP suite. The fact we had to move the next day to our original booking didnt bother us in the least as the whole situation had been dealt with to our satisfaction without us having to ask one question.

We were shown to a gorgeous little bungalow right on the beach! I just wish we could of stayed there (however when I looked up the pricing I realised at 4500 baht per night it was out of our price range!!)... we then headed straight for the gorgeous beach bar for drinks and the most amazing sunset! A great start! If only we had stayed there the whole time!

Looking back the only thing we didnt like was the restaurant... the food was overpriced, not so special and terrible value however the resort and staff were all really amazing and we would not hesitate in recommending the place or returning there ourselves... we would just be inclined to eat meals elsewhere.... we also didnt think the VIP was worth the peak season price tag but any other time of the year may be ok.... Having said all that we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and were glad to put the nightmare of Lanta Long Beach behind us! That place TRULY SUCKED!!!!

The Adventures of Dumb and Dumber

On our last day on Ko Lanta we decided to hire a motorcycle and see more of the Island. The roads are really good, there isnt too much traffic and it truly was one of the best times we have had! However with our bright red helmets and the two of us on the scooter we did look like the Aussie version of Dumb and Dumber!!! Especially doing the speed wobbles around corners!!!!

We headed down the coast for a quick look in the morning then headed over to Old Lanta Town as I wanted to check out the Hammock House.... We had some nibbles and cold drinks at a funky little bar/restaurant/guesthouse called Mango House... afterwards we headed back to the resort to do some swimming and sunbaking.... When we got back to the resort we realised I had forgotten to buy a hammock... doh! So Heath eagerly volunteered to go back by himself while I sunbaked!

Once the sun started to set we jumped back on the bike and headed back into Ban Sala Dan and had a quick dinner and look around then called it a day.....

And that leads us to here... I am officially all up to date! I hope everyone is well... only about 12 days until we are home.... Love to you all, keep the messages coming as they have slowed down and I am feeling unloved! :-(

Love Reet and Heath xxxx

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