Blogs from Ko Lanta, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 34

We (reluctantly) left Koh Chang to head to Bangkok to meet up with Laura, Nick and Alexes. Poor Alexes had been stranded in Shanghai for a week thanks to the epic snowfall that devastated much of China. She had been planning on returning to Wuhan before meeting us in Bangkok, but she could get an international flight before she could get a domestic flight. So, she was anxiously awaiting our arrival. It was great to see her and start to share all of our stories. Alexes, Katie and I had a pool going on when Laura and Nick would show up. Alexes and Katie each thought that Laura would show up first, but on different days. I took the long shot and put my 20 baht (60 cents) on Nick. They ended up getting to the ... read more

Sometimes you end up in a certain situation, in a certain place, at a certain point in time and wonder how did you get there? This is one of those times. It's late. Or early. It depends on your perspective. Either way, I'm tired, and a little drunk. And I'd like to go to bed. But i won't for a little while. There is a more pressing matter at hand. There's the drunken Thai guy shouting. There's a drunken Thai guy shouting at me. There's a drunken Thai guy with a knife in his hand. And again, i think to myself, how did i end up here? The situation seems incongruent with the island. Ko Lanta is not a crazy sort of a place. It's popular with families and Scandinavians (and how laidback are they - ... read more

After an excruciating 18 hour push, we arrived to our second island destination, Koh Lanta. Not a whole lot of activity on the island. We found a smart little bungalow and intended on relaxing--something we may be becoming a little too comfortable doing. Ha. Our days were filled with motorbike rides along the coast. Aaron is learning day by day how to drive a manual. It is about $3 cheaper than automatic, AND uses less gass, so why not? We took some great rides, basically circumventing around the island. If I went over about 20, Ely respectfully gave me a knee to the back. In the southwest corner of the island, we found a nearly deserted rocky little beach. Quite beautiful. Somehow, a little restaurant was perched up against the cliff. Crazy. Renter's insurance must be ... read more

Staring into the Andaman Sea whilst enjoying a meal with the water lapping below your feet is a glorious way to dine! Such is the beauty of the beach at Koh Lanta Yai. We made our way here after an interesting couple of bus (read: dilapidated mini-van) trips from Ao Nang. Our driver from Ao Nang to Krabi seemed to be discovering as he went along where he needed to pick up other passengers, via his mobile phone as he was driving. This man really had to be seen to be believed, for he had one specific feature which simply MUST be described. I've been told that cats have whiskers that grow to a length which enables them to detect which gaps they can slide through. I can only assume that the thick, black and astonishingly ... read more

Hyvat ystavat, HYVAA YSTAVANPAIVAA !... read more