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Published: December 3rd 2010
I won't do a blog for each day in Koh Lanta since you will probably read the same thing: lay on the beach, rent the motorbike, swim in the ocean, drink a lot of beer, read a lot of books, blah blah blah. So, I will combine a few days in each blog to make it seem like we really aren't lazy.
The first night on Koh Lanta, we went to the Red Snapper for dinner. I heard rave reviews about it, and thought it would be a nice special way to celebrate our arrival on the island. It was ok but nothing that great. We ate stuffed porkchops, mussels, and mushrooms in creme sauce. I have to say, the mushrooms in creme sauce were to die for. Zach actually didn't like them. Yeah, Zach NOT liking mushrooms?? The mushroom afficionado!!?? Weird, but I loved them.
I also want to point out the number one reason our stay in Koh Lanta is so amazing: our bungalow. We are staying at Banana Garden Home on Khlong Dao (one of the main beaches). One of the ladies who runs the place, Annie, is the sweestest woman ever. She greeted us when
we arrived with fresh pineapple juice and told us how not to get ripped off with the tuktuks. The bungalows are simple. They have a fridge and air con and hot water. They are cleaned EVERY day. One example of the effort they put in: Zach threw all his filthy dirty clothes in a pile to get ready for laundry. The pile included stanky socks and underwear. We went out for lunch, came back, and alllll this clothes were neatly folded and laid on the shelf.
We get free toast, coffee, and tea every morning. All you do is walk out on your porch and they bring it to you. Every afternoon, they bring us treats. We got spring rolls, papaya, watermelon, a lychee relative that no one knew the name of, all sorts of good things. Annie also books all the activities we want to do for much cheaper than what they cost elsewhere. Plus, you can use one of her laptops with internet absolutely free, anytime you want to.
The beach is about a 30 second walk from our bungalow. We pay 1000 baht a night for all this ($30 or so). If you ever go
to Koh Lanta, stay here but book well in advance. They are always full in peak season.
The first real day on Koh Lanta we rented a motorbike so we could scope out the island. This is where I discover I am scared of motorbikes and Zach is a natural. I got kicked off halfway down the island because I was choking him. I got an exhaust burn when I hopped off, and it hurt terribly. It isn't too bad, but I am sure it will scar.
The island is huge. Takes probably 20 or 30 minutes to get from one end to the other. We stopped at the Viewpoint Restaurant (great view, not that great of food) and then headed down to Old Town. Koh Lanta is very much a Muslim island. There are mosques everywhere. Most of the women here cover their heads. Old Town is definitely the more Muslim of the two main towns (Saladan is the other town, near where we are). We did do some shopping and I finally bought a sarong with big purple flowers. Zach made fun of me because everything I have bought has flowers on it. He wanted me
to buy this ugly brown one, but I tell you, he has no taste in women's clothes.
After scoping out the beaches, in my opinion Khlong Dao and the spot where our bungalow is, is probably the nicest. The beach at the far end, Kantiang, was full of garbage. I had heard this was the nicest, but at the time we seen it, it was filthy and smelled like rotting food. I am sure it will get cleaned up though soon. Everyone on this island seems to take pride in clean beaches. Long Beach is pretty nice too, but it is really shelly and hurts the feet when you walk on it.
That night we ate at the Banana Restaurant, which is right next to our bungalow. Zach really wanted steamed crab, so we ate there. After both of us were bloodied from trying to crack the damn crabs, we realized we didn't like crab as much as we once thought. We left hungry and ate at the Easy Bar next door. They have an outdoor BBQ where they will grill up chicken and corn on the cob and all sorts of other goodies. The BBQ is awesome
and we ate there twice so far.
The Indian Bar, which is on the same property as our bungalows, is THE place to spend each night. Pas "the indian" runs the place, and he just loves Zach. He always asks me how Zach is doing if he isn't with me, and when he is, he will come over and chat. Each night there are fire dancers. They twirl their fire thingies and it is quite fascinating. I recorded it on Zach's camera but can't figure it out how to get it off there yet.
The next day we were supposed to go to Koh Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee) for a day trip. It was rainy, so we ended up not doing a whole lot besides reading and playing the DS. It did clear up in the afternoon and I lounged around on the beach and swam. Zach came out and joined me in the water, but we kept getting stung by some invisible creature. I thought I read about sea fleas somewhere, and sure enough, this is what they were. Apparently all the waters in the area tend to have them. This was the first time we
really got bit by them, and they hurt! At least it wasn't a shark or jelly fish 😊
That night we ate at Easy Bar again and had our BBQ. The Korean BBQ that another table had looked awesome, so we need to try that one of these nights. You grill your own food right at your table.
So not much happened the first couple days. This island is so laid back. It is full of Swedish families. I saw only one baby stroller go careening off towards the sea; otherwise, they had a firm hold on their kids. If you are a lone backpacker, Koh Lanta probably would be too quiet. When we finally did see Koh Phi Phi, I was glad we were staying on Lanta. When you can barely walk the streets without running into people, it is too crowded.
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Ankur
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