Blog #5 Koh Lanta, Thailand

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Hello Friends and Family

We arrived on Koh Lanta after a long journey from Malaysia. Three ferries and two mini-vans later we were dropped off at Coco Lanta Resort greeted by our good friend Vicky who manages the hotel. It was so great to re-connect with her again since we met her 3 and 5 years ago working at the bungalows we stayed at then. We have been keeping in touch with her through Facebook and she encouraged us to stay at her new place of employment and we're glad we did!

The resort is fabulous and just perfect for us. The hotel is only a year old so everything is new, modern and spotless. We have a cute little bungalow with lovely linens, spacious bathroom and a king size bed. It's right on the beach with lots of chairs and lounges. It features a restaurant, beach bar, massage and a large beautiful pool perfect for laps. The grounds are well kept with lots of palm trees and shrubs. Need I say more? Very happy to pay $50 a night which includes a great breakfast. You certainly couldn't find places like this at home for that price. Another bonus is the massage on the beach. . . a mere $10 for a full body and one of the best massages we have ever had. The Thai ladies really know their trade. Pedicures and manicures are $3.

This is our third visit to Koh Lanta. We keep returning as the island really suits us. Fairly slow, lots of local culture, fabulous food and wonderful people. It is very popular with Swedish people especially families with young children. We've met a few Canadians as well - Regina and Wynard!! On previous visits we met some great Thai people and we have been lucky to find most of them again at their work or new place of employment. We visit them often and learn a lot about the island and their way of life. Most of them have a full Thai name, a nickname and English name. Vicki's Thai name is Wippawady, her nickname is Add and of course her English name of Vicky. It is amazing that they recognize us right away after 3 years and refer to us as "Mama and Papa". Most of the Thai people working in the tourist industry speak English quite well. This is one of the advantages of staying a month as you have time to get to know people.

Koh Lanta is about 35 km long and narrow. There are about 5 beaches stretching along the island. We are at the third beach called "Klong Kong" Beach which is about 10 km. from the main town of Saladan where the ferries arrive. To get around we have rented a cute little yellow scooter for $4 a day. Warren is in his glory scooting around. The traffic along the road is very slow and quite safe driving as long as you remember to drive on the left!! There are a few bumps but in general quite smooth.

I have to mention the food!! We really love it and appreciate having authentic Thai food. We never tire of it. Once in awhile we will have pizza or spaghetti but Thai cuisine is our staple. Green curry, red curry, yellow curry, massamin curry, noodle veggie soup, pad thai, fried noodles, fried rice , sweet n sour and mussels are a few of our favourites. My absolute best meal is fresh grilled red snapper with garlic.. We order it in the morning at a local Thai friend's restaurant and the owner Danny goes to pick it up at the fish market and cooks it special for me. It's delicious and works out to be about $5. A lunch for the two of us costs around $5 and $10 for supper. A beer is 60 bhats ($2) and a glass of wine 100 bhats. So you can see how we can afford the holiday!!

The days seem to fly by. We seem to have settled into an enjoyable daily routine. Breakfast at 9, beach for the morning, lunch, afternoon at the pool interspersed with social media, Skype, reading and X-words. Later in the afternoon Warren goes to visit his friend Danny while I do my exercises. Some days we have massages, go to town to shop or visit another beach. Cocktail hour and then out for supper. I know it's pretty tough! We feel so fortunate that we are able to travel and experience Thailand. We are 13 hours ahead of Saskatoon so sometimes it's tricky finding a good time to call our family.

I may not do as many blogs from here as we have done all the special tours and activities in prior visits and I have already done two blogs from Koh Lanta in past years. I don't want to bore you or start repeating myself. Until next time!



Mallory and Warren

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Photos

We really enjoy the pool
It's so clean and refreshing!

The cleaning staff
Such nice people and we tip them well