Stepping off the ferry at Koh Lanta after 3 days on Koh Phi Phi felt like returning to Thailand and 'real life'. There were motorbikes and songtaews on the roads (there were roads!) and we could smell grilled chicken from the road-side stalls.
You can see local life; children playing in the street, schools, hospitals, people's homes and the places they eat. Don't get me wrong, there's tourism in abundance but in amongst the sports bars and neon lights there are rice shops with tin tables where you can eat and chat with local people.
Koh Lanta feels spacious; it's a big island and not saturated with tourism. The port is on the northern end of the island and as you travel down the East coast the bars disappear and the beaches get more secluded.
Most people rent scooters to get about the island and we were no exception. My little Scoopy cried at the sight of a hill and twice simply gave up on me but with a lot of encouragement it did the job!
We started of by driving down the west coast where there are fewer beaches and barely any development. There are plenty of locals about and if you peek through the trees you catch some beautiful views :)
We stopped off in Old Town and found a great little local restaurant where a lovely lady made us some delicious classic fried rice.
Refuelled, we made our way down the East coast of the island, stopping whenever a beach took our fancy for a wander, a dip and maybe a drink. Most of the beaches had only a handful of people on them and it was wonderfully peaceful.
Finally we arrived at the lighthouse at the very tip of the island and settled down, eagerly awaiting the stunning sunset that everyone had been gushing about.... Unfortunately the clouds obstructed our view so we didn't get the postcard shots, but it was a gorgeous place to be nonetheless.
Koh Lanta is part of a Marine Park that includes 15 small islands. We signed up for a day trip that involved visiting some of the other islands, snorkelling and seeing the Emerald Cave. The cave was an amazing experience, we swam through in complete darkness until it opened out at a small beach. Looking up, we could see the brilliant blue sky - the island had a hole in it. We had great fun splashing around in paradise and making friends with the local fish!
We left Koh Lanta determined to return. Next time I think we'll rent scooters for a week and discover what else the island has to offer.
We stayed at New Coconut Bungalows on Khong Khlong beach. The pool was a nice feature as during low tide the beach looked like this:
Koh Lanta feels spacious; it's a big island and not saturated with tourism. The port is on the northern end of the island and as you travel down the East coast the bars disappear and the beaches get more secluded.
Most people rent scooters to get about the island and we were no exception. My little Scoopy cried at the sight of a hill and twice simply gave up on me but with a lot of encouragement it did the job!
We started of by driving down the west coast where there are fewer beaches and barely any development. There are plenty of locals about and if you peek through the trees you catch some beautiful views :)
We stopped off in Old Town and found a great little local restaurant where a lovely lady made us some delicious classic fried rice.
Refuelled, we made our way down the East coast of the island, stopping whenever a beach took our fancy for a wander, a dip and maybe a drink. Most of the beaches had only a handful of people on them and it was wonderfully peaceful.
Finally we arrived at the lighthouse at the very tip of the island and settled down, eagerly awaiting the stunning sunset that everyone had been gushing about.... Unfortunately the clouds obstructed our view so we didn't get the postcard shots, but it was a gorgeous place to be nonetheless.
Koh Lanta is part of a Marine Park that includes 15 small islands. We signed up for a day trip that involved visiting some of the other islands, snorkelling and seeing the Emerald Cave. The cave was an amazing experience, we swam through in complete darkness until it opened out at a small beach. Looking up, we could see the brilliant blue sky - the island had a hole in it. We had great fun splashing around in paradise and making friends with the local fish!
We left Koh Lanta determined to return. Next time I think we'll rent scooters for a week and discover what else the island has to offer.
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