Yes, still here, Koh Lanta Day 4

Can we really spend that many days at the beach?

The answer is yes. We tried to add an excursion into the mix today as I really wanted to go snorkeling off white-sand beaches into turquoise waters. Although, I had done snorkeling in Honduras and been diving in picturesque waters in Belize, I thought Mer's new love of goggles could coalesce into fun snorkeling. 

Alas, we never got the chance. I woke up to rain as Mer woke up to not feeling well. It added up to a likely disaster on a boat for 8 hours with not much fun snorkeling. I found our bungalow owner and canceled our trip just 20 minutes before we were supposed to get picked up. All parties were very considerate in refunding our full 2,000 baht ($57). Instead, we took this snorkeling picture. 

I got to work figuring out where we'd be in Bangkok. The city is a bit overwhelming. I've read it's big, busy, and bustling. And I was having trouble finding a place with the proper mix (price, location, double room, private bath, AC, breakfast, etc)

Eventually, I had to get Mer up and out to the beach. Since I got so sunburnt on our first day, I needed a little extra protection. Mer was happy to lend me her SPF protected top and even happier to take pictures. 

The rain had cleared for a moment, so out we went. We then came to dry off in our lounge chairs. 

However, storm clouds weren't far away. 

We alternated from cribbage to Ticket to Ride and from coffee to Coca Cola. The day provided a lot of overcast and incoming rain pictures. 

We went out a couple of times, even though our black windguard and plastic rain cover were down most of the day. 

We even got caught up on some of our Last Week Tonight. 

For dinner, we finally tried the place right down the street from us. We were the only ones there. Mer got the satay. 

I opted for a Muslim dish, mousman. 

We wanted to go for an evening swim, but the storms didn't allow it. Alas, more games were played. 

Our last full day in Koh Lanta was not as fun-filled as we would have liked, but it was still nice nonetheless. Whatever island we could have gone to next just wouldn't have added up to our place at Baan Rim Lay. Maybe it was nicer, but probably not next to the ocean. Maybe it had nicer amenities, but probably way more people. For our longest stay anywhere yet on this whole SE Asia trip, Koh Lanta sure made for a relaxing stop. Having our own bungalow steps away from the beach was just marvelous. We'd get one more morning there before a likely arduous trip onto Bangkok. Storms and all, Koh Lanta has been great. 

Ko Lanta-day 2

The sun is out!!

For the first time in 2 weeks it isn't raining!! Oh glorious sunshine-we have missed you. 

We took breakfast on the porch (cold ham & cheese sandwiches & yoghurt), lathered on sunscreen (or so we thought) & headed into the beach. I wanted some beach photos before we climbed in the water. The selfie stick was cooperating & we got some squinty eyed, joyful smiles. 

I wouldn't believe it-the sun was beating down on us. Blue skies & whispy clouds. How nice to be hot before climbing in the cool water. I love the first minute the waves crash up and touch your feet. I'm accustomed to cold water from Lake Michigan, but the Indian Ocean is warm. It's also strong, beckoning you to enter when the tide pulls out.  

Chris of course, was the first one to go & play. Can you see hit head as the waves crash over?

I had my own fun riding the waves. 

The tide was coming in and the waves which typically come in pairs-were coming in sets of three. They were so much fun-and it was sunny outside!! ☀️This was exactly what we had hoped for when returning to Thailand for a few days at the beach. Chris couldn't believe his fast paced, see it all wife was willing to slow down & wanted to just sit at the beach & do nothing for a few days. Today was exactly what I had envisioned. 

As the tide comes in, the waves come stronger & the under current is stronger. Most of the time we're floating on our bellies, we could easily stand up if we wanted, but it's so much more fun to be in the water.  We found a fun place where the waves come at different directions and you wave jump & sometimes get pulled back out before the next one comes in. In looking at a wave, you can see where it'll crest, but you can't tell its strength. A few times I got free Netty pot sessions (water up my nose). I sputtered & gasped & stood up to recover.

You'll notice that I wear sunglasses. My eyes are very sensitive to the sunlight as well as water-especially the salt water. My sunglasses just give me an added layer of protection against the splashes & droplets that come from playing in the waves. A few times I had to climb back on the shore to dry out my eyes. A couple times Chris had to lovingly lead me there. 

Well, remember those waves coming in but you can't tell the strength? I was recovering from water up my nose & in my eyes & trying to stand up when another wave came & knocked me down & tumbled me to shore. This wave was huge & came over my head & left me on the beach-sans sunglasses. I was still recovering from the near drowning before I realized they were gone. Chris was laughing from the thrill of it, asking if I was OK & as he chased after my sunglasses. We could see them the first few moments & feel them-but the tide kept them at bay. They disappeared into the foam zone-they were gone. 

Chris lovingly searched the waters for them long after I gave up. That's our second pair of sunglasses casualty on this trip. That's why all the guide books & blogs state to leave your good sunglasses at home & just bring a cheap pair. I've never lost a pair traveling. This is a trip of firsts. That means a mandatory trip out to find some sunglasses tonight. 

We had a lunch of noodles out on the porch-with some bread. I told Chris I wasn't leaving the bungalow except for dinner. He thought I was kidding. Nope. Just want a lazy day-took an afternoon nap & played ticket to ride. I started re-reading Outlander in my Kindle (I highly recommend to anyone needing a good book). We played Cribbage on the lounge chairs. 

About this time we also made a sad discovery: sunburns. I'd just been chatting with a fellow ginger friend about how Chris is really good about applying my sunscreen. She insists to only trust another ginger. She was right. I have an odd upper back burn, except for my bathing suit ties. 

 

And Chris' white back & shoulders are of 

Lobster proportion. He asked me to do his back, I was doing something else-and neither one of us remembered. He was un-sunscreen-ed. We even sat outside on our lounge chairs in the sun to dry off, basking in the heat. What fools we were.  

 

This picture is the day of the burn-it has since progressed & gotten worse. 😞 I did not bring aloe on this trip. I brought $30 worth of sunscreen. Two bottles for the body. Two sets of face sunscreen. Plus my Laura Mercier sun shield (SPF 40) and my face lotion that has SPF 15. I quit wearing make up after day 1 in Hanoi, but I do have 2 tinted moisturizers with SPF 20-35 with me. Plus a couple of my shirts have built SPF 50. With all that SPF, who needs aloe? 

We do. Aloe was $8 and regular lotion was $3. We got the regular lotion-it was hard to find some without whitening. I asked Chris, if we apply lightening cream to a sunburn, will it go away faster? Lol. 

We headed out in search of aloe, sunglasses, and some dinner. This time we headed towards the 7 Eleven, hoping there would be more food options. Most places were closed. We wondered how a Big Boy statue made it to the island-where his name is Bobby. After finding nothing, we returned to a road side stand. 

I tried the mango salad with a piece of chicken and a side of sticky rice. Chris tried to get something new, but they wern't serving it (low season) so he got-you guessed it, pad Thai. At least we alternate who gets it. 

The sticky rice was quite fun. It is rice that is stickier than regular rice so that it can be rolled into balls & dipped into a sauce. We dipped it into the mango salad liquid. We more so just wanted to try it. 

We headed back near the 7/11 for some shopping. I got a new pair of sunglasses for $4.30 which were not only the best we'd seen by far-but also fashionable. The shop also had goggles. Wouldn't that make playing in the waves more fun? As I hemmed & hawed over these non-budgeted purchases on our already over extended budget (due to last minute flights), Chris insisted. I bargained her down a bit-saved a total of $2.84 in bargaining-and off I walked with new sunglasses & a pink pair of goggles. 

Those goggles may win best purchase on this trip. Even more so than my elephant pants & shorts. Maybe they tie with each of our sunglasses as sunglasses really are necessary...

We returned home and the tide was out. Chris quickly threw on his bathing suit & went in search of my sunglasses, hopeful the tide had left them on the beach. I adjusted my new goggles and off we went into the water. They was the MOST FUN I have had in the water. I could dive into the waves and splash around. I could play with Chris in the waves. I felt like a fish-no wonder Chris had loved playing in the ocean-it was a lot more fun when I could get my face wet. I loved letting the waves crash into my face. We don't have any photos-we were too busy playing. Yes the current was strong. Yes, the tide was going out. Yes, we stayed within arms reach of each other. Yes I thought my mom would have called me in if she was here. Eventually it got too dark to be safe & we came ashore. 

We ended the evening on the porch, playing Cribbage as our swim suits hung on the line to dry. Today was a perfect day at the beach. 

Ko Lanta - Day 1

We couldn't exit Phuket fast enough. We'd been awakened by blood curdling screams in the middle of the night-twice. When we arrived downstairs, there was a group from the night before, still drinking & smoking-at 6:45am. Our guesthouse could not provide us with breakfast at that early hour, yet was still serving alcohol. 

We did get a chance to see a lady-boy which are famous in Phuket. These famous men are gorgeous women, dressed head to toe for a night out. They're quite a big attraction as well as can be a scam in Phuket. I'd been intrigued when we first heard about them-but the reviews of their show said they're unchoreographed & pictures are $6 each. This came off our agenda after the oppression & solicitation we were feeling on the streets. But I'm glad I got a free glimpse, in action. 

We went to 7 Eleven for another breakfast of champions and waited for the bus to pick us up to take us to Koh Lanta-our island destination that we hoped would be an oasis. 

The bus was late to pick us up & just about the time I was wondering if we'd been forgotten, a van showed up. The van tore across town. Thankfully I'd learned my lesson at the waterfalls & took motion sickness medicine in advance. It was interesting to see all the cars trying to get into Patong-there were motorbikes, mini vans, and cars all trying to make their way on one main road. 

The van arrived at a bus station & 3 passengers got off but we were told to stay. Then we pull into a gas station & wait for 20 minutes. Two more passengers leave & get inside another mini bus. Only us left now...This was yet another situation where we had no idea what was going on & had to trust that we would be delivered where we needed to go. We eventually were connected with a significantly worse van on which I could read the words Phuket-Ko Lanta. They strapped our bags horizontally by the sliding can door & we were off. We were the only foreigners on board. 

We'd read about problems with looting of bags on buses in Thailand, so even though rows 3 & 4 were completely empty, Chris had us move up to row 2 to keep an eye on our bags. The good news about this seat, I could put my legs in the "aisle" & sleep. 

Thanks to Dramamine, I had a lovely ride & slept. I woke up for bathroom stops-but got a good 4-5 hours of sleep as it rained outside & our driver sped along the roads. I swear we didn't take a single major road. There were times we were on dirt roads full of pot holes. 

I did manage to capture a couple photos of the scenery. 

We bought a ticket for a bus-boat combo. We thought we'd be on a big ferry boat for 2 hours from Krabi to the island of Ko Lanta. I do quite well on boats-and time on a boat would make me feel better about our expensive transportation. We were on a barge-didn't even get out of the van as we crossed from the main land to Ko Lanta.

We arrived in Ko Lanta town. Being monsoon season, much of the island is closed & there aren't many tourists. There weren't many transportation options to get us the 7km to our bungalow. I'm pretty sure we paid more in transportation to actually get to our bungalow than the amount we paid for 3 nights staying at it. 

We arrived to a desolate building with no one in sight. The tuktuk driver thought the place was closed-it looked abandoned. We checked the reservation & he started inquiring with neighbor's. The main entrance was closed-but he found our host and she showed us to our magnificent bungalow. 

This is our room. 

Which has a lovely porch. 

From which we walk to our own private beach chairs & cabana (we said no need for the cabana).

And down those steps to the beach Hat Khlong Nin, on the west side of Ko Lanta. 

This is our view from the ocean of our place, to give you perspective. 

The rain had stopped & we quickly changed into swimming suits to go & play in the ocean. Although we hadn't eaten since 7 Eleven breakfast, the prospect of playing in the ocean was more exciting. The Indian Ocean-our first time in the Indian Ocean. 

The waves were great for jumping. Chris laughed like he only does when he's on school vacation. It was like being a child again-wave jumping, being tossed around in the waves and sucked back in the under current. I had to ease myself into the water as the waves were so powerful. At times the waves would be cresting over my head, and when I stood up the water wasn't even to my waist. Chris just let the waves pour over his head as the flailed around & laughed with delight. For as much fun as I was having pretending to be a mermaid & singing tunes from the little Mermaid, I had equally as much fun watching Chris. 

We played in the waves for about an hour. We got bathing suites full of sand-this is a sandy beach. Not fine white sand, more like large sand granules that you find EVERYWHERE. This bungalow even has an outdoor shower. Have I mentioned we're the only ones here?

We headed up the street to where there were many restaurants, to find only one place open. They were expensive and on the beach-our hunger won out & we had an $8 meal. I had Pad Thai and Chris had  chicken fried rice. We're not going to take a picture of every plate of Pad Thai-but this one has the ocean in the background. 

The only downside of our bungalow-no breakfast. But this place does have a hot pot & fridge. We got some noodles from 7 Eleven for lunch & stocked up on breakfast items. We decided on two meals at the bungalow, one meal out. Bless 7 Eleven. 

This place reminds us of our honeymoon.  Nothing to do except enjoy each others company (except this time we have smart phones). We played cribbage & drank coffee on the porch, listening to the waves roll in. 

The sunset was spectacular. 

Chris had an evening swim as the tide went out. He seemed so far away from the shore, but would stand up & the water was to his waist. We went to bed thankful to have arrived at our oasis after a long month of traveling. We've decided no plans to make, excursions to take, just 3 days of doing nothing except enjoying the beach-Chris' kind of vacation. 

Good night from Ko Lanta.