Blogs from Ko Lanta, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 6

10th Jan: I was up fairly early as I was leaving Ao Nang today. I wish the weather had been better and that I could have explored the area some more, but I guess that wasn't too be on this trip. I was taking the boat to Ko Lanta and my pick-up was arranged for 9:40 am. That came and went and I was still sitting there. The people who were getting the minivan to Ko Lanta were picked up at 10 am, and I was still sitting there. I was coming to regret my decision to take the boat. The poor guys on reception called the travel company a few times and kept telling me that they were on their way. Finally, well after ten the driver turned up. There were a few people already ... read more

Happy New Year! As often happens in Asia the afternoon leading up to the new year turned stormy and the heavens opened! And I mean opened! the rain poured down for about 30 minutes drenching the beach. Many of the restaurants had spent all morning setting out tables and chairs on the beach adorning them with white and gold table cloths and pretty bows of ribbon on the chairs. I felt so sorry for the staff who had to dry it all off and start again! Luckily by 5pm the rain had cleared and the celebrations got underway big time. Sharon and Scott joined us and we all went to Thai cat restaurant together for dinner. Jake and Kyla performed their ' fire show' for us again. They're becoming little experts! We moved onto Funky Fish ... read more

Kyla (hovering in the bathroom doorway): "Mommy, can you fix my hair clip?" Me (sitting on the toilet): "Not right now, sweetheart, mommy is busy having diarrhea!" Yep, being sick while away from home is never fun, but being sick while taking care of littles increases the misery by tenfold. Another quote came from Jake. "Mommy, why are you spitting out so much water?" as I projectile vomited the contents of my stomach in the street. It all started with an innocent-looking veggie pad Thai noodle at our favorite restaurant, ThaiCat. We'd had a lovely morning, getting out of the house early to make it to the far northern end of the beach to meet my parents. We spent a pleasant morning swimming, snorkelling and exploring an abandoned rock bar. And then it was time for ... read more

It had been ten years since we'd stayed on Ko Lanta and, as anyone who has traveled in SE Asia knows, a lot can change in that time. And change in this part of the world usually isn't a good thing. Quaint beach bungalows can get replaced with high rise resorts, ruining the chilled out vibe and general affordability. Pristine beaches can get eroded away or litter-strewn. We have seen some of our favorite places get ruined over time so we were a little nervous to come back to Ko Lanta, especially as we'd had such fond memories of deep white sand, clear blue ocean, and fun but chilled out night life. Thankfully, Ko Lanta did not disappoint, at least not at first. Despite being a large island with busy roads and lots of development, once ... read more

Well, we've left the cozy jungles and lazy beach bars of Koh Lanta for the crowded jungles and packed beach bars of Ao Nang. Packing up at the abysmally early hour of 10 AM, we piled onto a songthaew and then watched as one, two, and eventually eight other backpackers tried to cram themselves and their massive luggages onto the tiny benches bolted onto the truck's bed. New friends, German and Dutch and French and English, accompanied us all the way to our hotels in Ao Nang. The familiar complaints about sketchy travel agencies, higher prices for farangs, and the difficulty of finding a language we all could comprehend provided an easy basis for casual conversation. We left the songthaew, clambered onto a battered ferry crewed entirely by fifteen year olds, and began put-putting for four ... read more