Island life

---

---

Koh Lanta, 5-11 February

Koh Ngai, 11-24 February

Koh Samui, 24 February-4 March

Bangkok, 4-5 March

Koh Lanta was very relaxing and very beautiful. We spent the first few days just enjoying being settled in one place, wandering around Saladan where we were staying (the main dive and tourist site) and sampling fresh seafood caught just metres from where we ate. It was my birthday a couple of days after we arrived so we booked a boat trip out around the islands. The day began with an early morning drive from the north of the island right down to to the boat port on the east coast near to the Old Town. As we drove, it got more and more green and lush, the jungle ferns got bigger, the undergrowth around us more dense and the touristy shops and restaurants just fell away until we were greeted by an untouched and near-silent landscape save for the roar of the engine and a few passing cars. Our boat was a longtail, chartered just for us with a driver and his friend. Off we set and it was, as I have said so often on this trip, immediately so incredibly beautiful with crystal clear water, islands in the distance and the sun shining down, baking hot even in the early hour.

After awhile, we stopped off at a place called the Emerald Cove and jumped into the water to swim after the guide who beckoned for us to follow. All we could see was the mouth of a cave and, as we swam after him and under the rock, he told us that this cave was where pirates used to hide the treasure they had plundered. Inside it was almost pitch black but our guide shone a torch so we could swim after him. The water was warm and as we drove through we could just about make out intricate cave formations around and above us. The cave itself was 80 metres long and as we swam around a corner near to the end, we could see the opening. And then, there it was. A tiny little paradise beach with jungle foliage that climbed 100 metres high behind the pristine sands. It was idyllic. We swam up onto the beach and revelled in the beauty for a few minutes. What a perfect place to spend my birthday. Then, just as we were thinking how peaceful and tranquil it was, a line of tourists appeared from the cave and began descending onto the beach, clutching their waterproof cameras. They were North Korean, there must have been 150 of them at least (no exaggeration) and every single one was holding onto the shoulders of the one in front, a bit like they were doing the conga. I saw at least two wearing headscarves too which looked, inexplicably, completely dry. We swam back through the cave without looking back, just to preserve the memory of the tranquility.

And then it was time for lunch. We sailed for about another half hour and drew up on an island that was almost a parody of perfection. This was Koh Ngai. The water was the cleanest I have ever seen and you could practically see the entire island from where we stood. It was that small. There were no cars on the island as there were no roads, it was all just sand or jungle pathways. It must have taken about half an hour to walk from one end of the island to the other. Turns out when you fly two hours from Bangkok, drive for three hours and get a boat for another two, it is possible to find peace. We ate lunch at a place called Koh Ngai Seafood, which doubled up as a bungalow hotel. I had white snapper covered in lime, chilli and green veg, some of the freshest fish I've ever tasted. This was the beautiful island we had been looking for to spend time on before we went home to the madness of the rat race all over again.

Within an hour, we had seen five of the six hotels on the island, chosen our favourite and booked it to return a few days later. It was that simple. Koh Lanta was like the Ugly Sister to this island's Cinderella. We then sailed back to Koh Lanta and drove back to our hotel, passing an elephant on the way. This was the first time I had seen an elephant in real life that was not in a zoo and it was a pretty special birthday present. Later, we had a lovely dinner by the sea and then drinks with some random Norwegians we met, one of whom took it upon herself to convince C he must have babies with me and settle down as she had done by the time she was my age. Luckily, there were enough drinks flowing that meant he wasn't completely freaked out. C also treated me to a beautiful handbag, which I bartered for hard despite a rat running across the shop slightly too close for comfort.

The next few days passed in a flurry of hot, sunny days and beachside reggae bar cocktail nights and before we knew it, it was time to go to our paradise island. We spent two weeks on Koh Ngai and the time just flew. Our bungalow stood in the white sand and backed right onto the undergrowth so we woke up and fell asleep to the sounds of the jungle. One gecko in particular featured very prominently and on our very first night too. We had decided to give each other impromptu foot massages so I went back to the bathroom to get some lotion. Then, as I turned to leave, what I can only describe as a mini dragon stood in the doorway. I (admittedly) completely freaked out and yelled for C to come in.

He was a bit worse for wear at this point and thought the whole thing was absolutely hilarious. He stood, staring at the gecko (admittedly not a dragon) and going, "ooh, that's quite big isn't it?" We then called the woman at reception, who then brought four of the guys that worked there into our room armed with sticks. They started banging on the floor with the sticks and I realised they were trying to kill the poor thing. "We don't want to kill it," I explained. "We just would rather it's not in our room." Apparently this was great fun for them and, I suppose, one of the most exciting things that can happen if you live on an island that peaceful. Thankfully, though, they didn't kill it and we then resumed our position on our verandah. The most exotic animal we saw after that was a frog and some much smaller lizards.

We spent the days floating on our lilos out into the lagoon, sipping mango shakes and eating chicken satay, fresh seafood salad and grilled fish. Evenings were peaceful as it was impossible to have dinner on the island later than 9.30 and the entertainment after this consisted of just two tiny bars - one at each end of the beach - full of people who had come to the island and never left. Standout moments were the absolutely incredible crab curry that we waited days for as the crabs could only be caught at low tide, but it was well worth the wait. We also spent a lovely night at the only really swanky hotel on the island that was made almost entirely out of coconuts and coconut-related materials. It also happened to be the perfect place to sip a cocktail and listen to the sound of the waves. The walk home was interesting to say the least as we were not wearing shoes and there were a fair few spiky things on the beach but it was lovely tripping along, feeling the waves on our feet and every so often spying a crab scuttling over the sand. By this point, C had the record of not wearing shoes for a full six days on the island as there really was no need.

It felt like the island just existed on its own, as a law unto itself and that the rest of the world had no relevance. This belief seemed to be substantiated when C lost his Ray-Bans in the sea and then the next day, as he floated blissfully on his lilo, a wave pulled his sunglasses in right next to him. He picked them up and just popped them back on, slightly battered though they were. We spent our one year anniversary on Koh Ngai, blissed out and as relaxed as could be.

Then, despite the fact we were intending to stay on the island until we left to return home, we began to get itchy feet. We were craving a bit of excitement, a bit of colour, a bit of something new to look at. We decided to leave the island that morning and by the afternoon we were booked to fly the next day to what has come to be one of my favourite places in the world, and has always been one of C's. Koh Samui.

The next morning, we had a leisurely final breakfast looking out over the lagoon that had been such an incredible backdrop to the past two weeks. As we drank our coffee, a very strange thing happened. A young guy came and sat on the table in front of us on the beach. He had a box which he placed on the table and inside the box were two tiny chicks, one dyed green and one dyed hot pink. They were incredibly tame and were climbing all over him as he sat and wrote in his diary. It was such an odd sight. In the end, I asked him how he had come to have these chicks and he showed me a video on his iPhone of when he went shopping in the market in Koh Lanta and on one of the stalls were chicks dyed all different colours. He had bought two of them as "I thought they were so cute" but he didn't seem to have thought through what he was going to do with the chicks once he finished travelling. It was all very strange.

But there was no time to think about that. Shortly after this, our boat pulled up and two guys hauled all our luggage aboard and we were off. This followed an hour's boat journey to Trang, an hour in a van to Trang airport, an hour's flight to Bangkok, a taxi across Bangkok to the international airport and an hour's flight to Samui. We arrived at the airport and got our pick-up and then it was all very cat and mouse as we had been told that our hotel was only accessible by jeep as it was high up in the mountains. We were driven by taxi to the bottom of the hill, at which point our driver made a call and five minutes later a Jeep appeared. All our bags were thrown onto the back of the Jeep, we jumped up on the back too and off we went.

The drive was ridiculous. Perhaps accentuated by the fact that it was pitch black and we were outside on the back of a Jeep, but even so. It was not difficult to see why regular taxis did not come up this way. At some points, I literally had to hold on to stop from falling out of the back as the hills were so steep. The drive was short though and after about five minutes we levelled out and followed a lantern-lit road down into the hotel. The view was incredible. Even at night, we could see panoramic views across Samui. The infinity pool hung over the edge of the hillside and dropped down to beautiful jungle views. The 'salas' stuck out with wooden roofs and big sofa-style cushions around low tables lit by candles. It was the ultimate place to relax just minutes away from the excitement of Samui. It felt good to be back.

We spent our second time on Samui just playing games, planning our lives for when we got home with the benefit of a stunning backdrop and lovely weather. We went to see Grandma, our favourite foot masseuse, who was ecstatic to see us again, and had a fair few pampering treatments in our final week. We ate lunch at The Library as a very special treat where we tried the most exquisite fresh tuna and went back to The Tree, our other favourite restaurant from our time on Samui. It was romantic, it was quiet and it was just what we needed to reflect on the most incredible few months of travelling we had just had. It just reinforced how incredible our journey had been as we visited the same places we had been to just three months before but having seen and done so many things.

Then all too quickly the ten days had flown and we were back on a flight to Bangkok. We had our final night of fun by revisiting the first restaurant we went to in Bangkok and the first place I ever tried Thai food. We then revisited our old friend Apple (see entry 'Let's talk about sex baby'😉 and revelled in the colours and smells of Asia for the last time. And that was it.

..........

More photos below...

---