Lanta Time, And the Livin' is Easy...

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The lure of Ko Lanta was too much for us. Despite already having spent two months here around Christmas, we decided to come back for another month. One reason is that it's such an easy-going kid-friendly island. Another was the fact that we knew it had access to fast wifi and cheap phone calls. After spending two months in the Philippines where none of this works, we had a huge "to do" list built up in terms of flights and accommodation to be booked. We also had to call Bank of America AGAIN to sort out yet another screw up.



We'd planned to go back to stay at Best House again but arrived to find it being packed up and closed down for the end of the high season. Luckily, we landed a bargain at Arrow House, just steps away from Best House. We got a lovely tiled room with a/c, hot water, fridge and TV for just 900B ($26). It had been double this price in high season.



We soon slipped into our old routine of getting our breakfast on the platforms overlooking the beach at Somewhere Else Bungalows, followed by hanging on the beach all day and playing in the grassy area behind. Jake and Kyla found that one of the trees had lots of helicopter seeds, which made for a fun toy, and then of course there was always the hermit crabs. At sunset we'd head out for dinner, usually to one of our two favorite restaurants:Thaim Out to take advantage of their indoor kids' corner, or ThaiCat so that the kids could play on the beach with all of the restaurant's toys while we actually got to talk a bit.



After about two weeks of this, a little storm came by, bringing a swarm of big brown jellyfish. They were strewn along the length of the beach about every three feet. What was far worse, however, was the amount of garbage that got washed up onto the beach, and the fact that a brown yucky slick appeared on the surface of the ocean. Our beautiful beach had turned into an unappealing mess. After two days of not really going into the sea, we decided to look into hotels with pools.



Our Canadian friends we'd met here at Christmas were also back and said that the place they were staying at had some great deals. Nakara Resort was just along the beach, so we decided to check it out. Surprisingly, a room cost only 1,500 baht ($44), which wasn't bad considering it included a buffet breakfast for all 4 of us and use of three pools. The perks of traveling in shoulder season! (The same room costs 3,500 baht in high season!) The kids saw the pool and begged us to check in, so we decided to book a room for the last five nights. What is it with kids and pools?!



The next day was Songkran, the Thai new year. Everyone in the country celebrates by chucking water over each other to welcome the rainy season. Lanta was the perfect place to do it - not as crowded and crazy as when we did it in Bangkok years ago, but still fun. The activity was centered along the main road from Saladan, where the port is. We got into a tuk tuk with our favorite (safe!) driver, Ay, and her three children came along for the ride. We were all armed and dangerous with our fully loaded water guns but they were no match for what was about to come! All along the road were stations of people with water guns or buckets, ready to drench you as you passed by. Kyla and Jakey were at first upset that their clothes were wet and they had water in their eyes. We pulled over just long enough to change them into their rash guards and swim goggles and we were on our way. Kyla enjoyed it now but Jake was a bit freaked out, especially when he had ice water thrown at him rather than the usual nice warm water. It really was like being in a car wash!



By the time we got to Saladan town, we decided it was time to get out and give Jake a break. We joined in with the first group of people on the road from the port. They had a huge portable swimming pool full of water. The funniest times were when a ferry had just arrived. Truck-fulls of unsuspecting tourists were arriving in open trucks or tuk-tuks with their backpacks either on the roof or with them. Most had no idea of the sheer carnage that was about to happen to them until it was too late. The more they tried to stay dry, the more the crowds drenched them! Note to self: never travel in Thailand during Songkran!



After about two hours, we decided that the kids were burnt out and so started looking for a ride back home. Jake became worried as he didn't want to get drenched again so we found a truck instead of a tuk-tuk. The driver was nice enough to close the plastic windows on the sides, giving him a lot more protection. We had a few people throw water into the back as we passed them by, but it was nothing like on the way. Soon enough we were back on the platforms at Somewhere Else Bungalows, overlooking the serene beach, and it was almost as if Songkran hadn't happened!



By now the beach had returned to its original lovely state so we happily slipped back into our routine. This only lasted a few days, though, and then it was time to completely shake things up by moving out of Arrow guesthouse and into Nakara Resort. I was fearful that the kids would petition us to just stay at the pool all day, but they seemed happy to do the beach most of the day and the pool for just a few hours in the afternoon. The only bummer was that ThaiCat restaurant was just that little bit further away, making it tough to get to. Instead, we did a fire show at our hotel on the first night, and then watched a beach wedding the next. By night three we couldn't stay away from ThaiCat restaurant any longer so we got a tuk-tuk there, but walked along the beach back home, Jake whining and complaining the whole way!



One thing we hadn't bargained for when switching resorts was the sudden upturn in mosquitoes. Each night before going to bed, we had to stay up later than we'd intended to try to pop them off. Kyla seems to have amazing eyes for spotting mosquitoes so we made her chief-spotter, while Scott was chief-splatterer. My job was to get the kids ready for bed while keeping an eye out for mosquitoes (mommy-in-chief). As for Jake, bedtime isn't his best hour. If he could just hold it together long enough to avoid a meltdown, that's all we could expect! One night we smushed five mosquitoes in a row before bedtime and gave up trying to catch the last. At that point we decided to tell reception we didn't want our room cleaned any more as I think that's when the mosquitoes were getting in. So frustrating! The kids missed seeing the cute towel art each day (swans, elephants, hearts...)



By the time we left Ko Lanta, all the businesses were starting to close for the low season. The weird thing is that we'd expected unbearably hot and humid weather but it wasn't too bad at all. The first week we'd had rain every afternoon, but after that we barely had any, less than in December/January high season in fact! We were glad we'd taken a chance and gone back for another month of easy travel!



*** Lots more pictures below. I swore I'd take very few seeing as we were returning, but hey, you know me! ***

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