My doctor said Ko Lanta

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Jan 30th

Yesterday we went for a swim in the bay on phi phi. It was pretty awesome. The water is

so clear you can see all sorts of fishies swimming around at your feet. We floated around

for an hour or so and then spent an hour collecting sand on the beach. Also collecting red

nasty sunburns.(mostly me) Unfortunately after that the day was pretty much a bust, as I

was sun stroked and unable to move. We spent the rest of the evening in the grungy tara

guest house, basking in the underwhelming power of the single fan. We had some delicious

german potato chips and some tasty pommegranite juice. I passed out at about 6 pm, I

dont think Jenn slept at all.

I awoke this morning in all kinds of pain, I'm sunburnt pretty much everywhere. Also,

while Jenn was in the shower I saw a SPIDER the size of a small dog run across the wall and

UNDER OUR BED!!!!! Thank god we we're checking out. I don't think I would have been

able to sleep another night in that room, knowing that the big spider from Arachnophobia

was hanging out a foot from our heads. I don't really consider myself to be scared of

spiders, but this thing made me jump and squeal like a little girl, I could see the look

in its eyes from across the room, and it wasn't friendly. We sure don't have those in

Winnipeg

Anyhow, now we're on a ferry, about to leave the dock on Phi Phi for Lanta, there are

reps from all the guesthouses badgering us, trying to get us to agree to stay with them.

Its kinda overwhelming. I sorta wish they would just leave us alone. We'll choose our

own accommadation thank you.

I'm excited for Koh Lanta, from the sounds of it, its alot bigger and more spread out than

phiphi, which while it is a beautiful example of nature, its also a perfect example of

tourism coming in and ruining a gorgeous location. I can only hope that we'll find a nice

bit of peace and quiet somewhere on Lanta, if not, we can always go back to krabi town,

where our room was cheap and clean and the vibe was alot friendlier. Anyhow, I can't hear

myslef think over all these touts, so I'm gonna close my computer angerly and hopefully

that will get my message across.

....Here we are a couple hours later....

Well we decided to go with the least pushy guesthouse rep, a quiet little muslim lady who

arranged free transportation from the pier to the "Sunshine Bungalows" A nice quiet piece

of property about 100 meters or so from the beach...
Our bungalow is pretty much exactly what we were looking for. Its got A/C (which is

required for our poor sunburnt bodies.) a private bathroom (with hot shower), a porch on

the front and is FAR from the nearest thumping speakers. It also has a Tv which is pretty

novel, as there are 2 channels in english, not that we want to be watching tv anyhow. All

for 800 baht a night, The same we were paying for the gross room in the spider house in

phiphi. The people who run this place are a family, you can tell because they're all

cross eyed (not being mean, its just something you notice). They're very friendly here,

and super apologetic about the internet not working, which is pretty much a non issue.
There are chickens living on the property, along with a real big rooster, I imagine theres

gonna be a wakeup call tomorrow morning

I just took a walk around the grounds here and it was so pleasant. All I can hear are

birds chirping, children laughing, and the sound of the ocean. I think in a bit i'll sit

out on our deck and play some guitar while the sun goes down.

So far I much prefer the vibe of this island. Its a lot bigger, with alot less people.

The locals smile and I haven't seen a fraction of the d-bag tourists that were on phi phi.
Tonight We're planning on checking out a malaysian reggae band at the irie bar up the

street. Should be a good time. Tomorrow I might rent a scooter for the day and go for a

drive to the south of the island, where apparently the scenery is pretty fantastic. If not

that, then snorkling for sure.

(I just smelled something amazing coming from the bamboo building that I assume is the

kitchen, I know what i'm having for dinner.)

In a couple days, we're going to head back to Krabi town. Tom, the cool thai rastaman is

closing his bar (Jody, named after his canadian girlfriend) to open a new one on the beach

on an island called Koh khao khao (i think) and on the 1st is a big party at the old place.

Based on the people we met there, it promises to be a fun one.

I really hope I'm not deluding myself into thinking I'm someone I'm not, but there are so

many tourists who just seem to have no respect for the country they're in. Tossing

garbage on the ground, being rude to the locals, and generally assuming that their having

money makes them better people. I really don't want to be one of these people. I'm trying

my best to learn a few phrases of thai, and always be respectful, and its really not that

hard. For the most part, the Thai people are very friendly and happy to interact with you.

And its amazing how far a smile and a "khorb kum kap" will get you.

I really like Thailand so far. Sure, like anywhere, you've got your jerks. But overall

most people are very friendly and accomadating in any way they can be.
The Country itself (or at least what we've seen of it) is just gorgeous, everything is

green and lush, the water is blue and clear and the beaches are white.
The food is great. Thai food and western fare are both dirt cheap and high quality. (but

fyi clubhouse sandwiches don't come with bacon here, instead you get a fried egg)
The accomidations have been acceptable, with the crap room on phi phi being the only

exception so far.
The shopping is awesome, kinda... Its really frustrating for me, so many awesome clothes

for next to free, but an xl anything is hard to come by.
So far we've endured no real hardships, spent a little more money than planned (isnt that

just the way it goes) and had a great time. We haven't killed each other yet, and no

robberys or bug/stingray/jellyfish/monkey bites to speak of.

All in all, its going great!!!


We just enjoyed our first thai sunset on long beach lanta. It was great!!! just us and a

few other people and a million crabs. Now were sitting here in the patio of the bungalows,

watching hundreds of geckos eat thousands of bugs!!!

A bunch of new photos, they can always be seen at picasaweb. Go to my previous post for the exact address.

Missing you all, but not the snow.

-Cary

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