Hi everyone,
After a few days lazing on the beach in Ko Phi Phi, we decided we really ought to start doing something, so we caught the boat to Ko Lanta so we could laze on the beach there instead....
To be fair, we'd done a bit of kayaking in Ko Phi Phi and on Ko Lanta we've spent a day snorkling and hired a moped to have a look round the island. Though there's still been quite a bit of lazing on the beach inbetween.
Ko Lanta is a small island (about 20 miles long) south of Ko Phi Phi off the west coast of Thailand. It's a bit less developed than Ko Phi Phi and feels a bit more easy going and relaxed.
The beaches in Ko Lanta are great too. We've based ourselves at Long Beach, which lives up to its name, being about a 30 minute walk from end to end. Typical days have consisted of:
8am - get up, have breakfast go to beach
9am - sunbathe, swim, sunbathe, swim, sunbathe, swim, etc.
3pm - lunch, lounge in bamboo hut, drink beer (Phil) or coconut juice (Sarah)
5-6.30pm - watch sunset
6.30-7pm - get changed
7pm - dinner and more lounging around.
By the way, apologies to anyone who's reading this at work on Monday morning. Though don't worry, it's not all perfect here. Sometimes the waiters take more than a minute to bring cold beer from the bar, but hey you can't have everything can you? Oh, and it's been bright sunshine and 30 degrees all week. Sorry!
We went snorkling on Thursday to Ko Rok, Ko Mok and Ko Ngai islands and also stopped off at the Emerald Cave, which was amazing. Our longtail boat (long wooden boat which holds about 10) dropped anchor by what looked a like a cliff face, with a small cave entrance on the water. We assumed we were going to have a look at an underground cave, but as we swam through it, light appeared at the other end and eventually it opened up into a circular beach which was completely enclosed within 100 foot cliffs. It was pretty mad and felt a bit like a real life "The Beach" moment.
As you can probably tell, we've really enjoyed Ko Lanta but we're heading back to Bangkok today and plan to spend a few days looking round the city and sorting out visas for Laos, Vietnam and China.
After Bangkok, we're planning to head north to Chiang Mai then cross into northern Laos and get a slow boat (1-2 days) down the Mekong river to Louang Probang (old capital of Laos). Then we're hoping to get the bus to Vientiane (current capital of Laos) via Vieng Viang. After a few days, we'll get the bus into northern Vietnam and spend 10 or 14 days there before getting the train into China.
Hope all is well at home!
Love from Phil and Sarah x
P.S. we've now addded a new photo gallery for Ko Lanta, as well as a few extras from Bangkok and Koh Phi Phi
