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Published: January 16th 2012
Marine National Park
A nice hike around Marine National ParkKoh Lanta
We reached Koh Lanta late on Thursday January 12
th. After seeing Lindsay off on our boat from Koh Yao Yai to Krabi, who was headed back to the states via Bangkok, we took a car from Krabi for 3 hours to get to Koh Lanta. We were staying at
Baan Rao Bed & Breakfast, which we found through
airbnb.com. It was a challenge to find the B&B in the dark, but with a little cell phone back and forth and a flashlight we soon found it. We were welcomed warmly by Aruna & Chai, and their little son Shaan, who run the B&B. To anyone visiting the island, we recommend staying at Baan Rao! They set us off with a flashlight and a hand-drawn map of recommended local restuarants. We had a great meal for 2 with sodas for under USD $5, it was great! The next morning we hired a car to take us around the island. We had a delicious breakfast at the Drunken Sailor restaurant and coffee bar, and met with
Scubafish dive shop to arrange a snorkeling trip for the next day. We then headed south to the Marine National Park and hiked around, enjoyed some great vistas from the
Lighthouse
Marine National Park view of Lighthouse lighthouse, and got up close and personal with a small group of monkeys. After, we went to a nice beach spot for a drink and to see the sunset at the restaurant bar samesame but different. We then continued on to Old Town, where we sampled some great hammoks and did some window-shopping. We then went back to our B&B and freshened up for dinner with Elena and Anders at Red Snapper. Elena has been living in Thailand for a number of diving seasons, she has moved on from her previous banking lifestyle at JP Morgan to instruct diving and is also a professional underwater photograhper. Her passion for the island, the reef, and Thailand was inspiring. It was so great to meet up with her, share our travel stories and get her local perspective on what to see and do in Koh Lanta. Thanks to Brigid, Kelly, and Dana for making the connection!
The next a.m. we were up early to head out on our snorkel tour. Scubafish was a very professional outfitter, we had a great time with exception of a lacksadasical uninformed snorkel guide. The visibility was great, fish and coral were colorful and plentiful
Kostek enjoying the view
Soaking it in at Marine National Park and there was more to see than on our previous snorkel from Koh Yao Yai. After the snorkel tour, we went to the highly recommended
Serenity Spa for 90 minute Thai oil massages – it was heavenly.
We then met with Elena and Anders for dinner at a local delicious Thai restaurant just south of the main town in the north, Saladan. We then headed over to a local karaoke bar to sing and celebrate Elena’s colleague’s birthday, it was a great way to finish off our too-short time on Koh Lanta.
Next stop: Koh Samui!
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Vlad
non-member comment
Great Pics!
Suzi, Kostek, Glad to hear from you and about all the great experiences you're having. Keep the photos and blog going! By the way, it's 35 degF today - just seeing your photos makes me feel better :-) Vlad