Our Daily Companion Coffee This is a blog for the animal lovers, those that want to hear about happy life’s for furry friends who have suffered and the incredible people who volunteer their time and skills to ensure animals are cared for in the local community. We spent four nights at Chill Out Village in the small sea gypsy town of Ban Lampho surrounded by nature, wildlife and rescue animals. It was the most soul filling, rewarding time meeting the 3 dogs and 13 cats that called the village home during our stay, the number of residents fluctuates depending on who gets adopted or if someone new joins the family. Located about 20 minutes from Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach it felt like we were miles away from everything in the best way possible. Olly-Ang Driving along small village roads we initially wondered how our time in the back of beyond would be, with questioning looks from our driver we arrived to a welcoming committee of barking dogs alerting staff someone was at the gate. After a warm,...
You know how there’s some places you feel calm, content and at peace? Like you just belong? Well Koh Lanta felt exactly like that for us. The people were beautiful, the beaches stunning, the food incredible and life felt like it slowed down.
Unfortunately the day of our travel Hugo had woken unwell during the night, we knew the day ahead was not going to be easy. At 7am we started our one hour car trip to the ferry terminal, spew bag in hand and worried about our boy.
Once on the boat we found a sheltered seat on the upper level in the fresh air, the 2 hour ferry from Phuket to Phi Phi was pretty good, comfortable enough and the seas weren't too bad, however with Hugo head deep in a bag we didn't take in much beauty of the surrounding islands.
The smaller ferry to Koh Lanta was not for the faint hearted, an hour bouncing around in a crammed, hot cabin with a few open windows and old fans was the hardest part of our day. Hugo was at his worst by this point, his little body was exhausted and he looked about ready to pass out. Getting off that boat at Saladan pier on Koh Lanta was a feeling of utter relief. As a precaution I had taken Dimenhydrinate (a common travel sickness tablet) first thing in the morning and was certainly happy I did.
Sunset on Khlong Dao Beach
Our accommodation at Tara house was a quick 10 minute Tuk Tuk drive from the pier where we spent the afternoon nursing Hugo back to health. Our room was basic but clean and comfortable in a faultless location, we really enjoyed the daily alarm of monkeys running across our roof and spent many mornings sitting on our little balcony watching them jump from the trees. A 3 minute walk from our room was the picturesque Khlong Dao beach with the softest sand that almost squeaked underfoot and calm crystal clear water that felt like soaking in a bathtub, daily beach visits for swimming and chilling out instantly became part of our new routine.
We were lucky to have a variety of local shops, eateries and marts within walking distance so spent our first couple of days taking it pretty easy. We used the downtime to find our feet educating Hugo, maintaining our fitness, playing games, watching movies on the laptop and creating some sort of routine.
After much needed recovery time we felt ready to explore the island and what better way to get around than by scooter! We hired a little pink Honda scoopy for 200 baht a day from a local rental place, you'll need to take your passport with you if you want to hire your own wheels. Personally I would only recommend hiring a scooter if you are confident, have driven one before, know the local road rules and remember to take it easy. Otherwise you are best to use local drivers to get around.
Our Scooter "Rosie"
Helmets and sunscreen on the three of us piled onto Rosie (yes, we named our scooter) and travelled about 30 minutes to Lanta Old Town, the drive was easy and the roads were fantastic. The historic town was once the main trading hub of Lanta and home to a melting pot of cultures, now dotted in the 100 year old wooden homes were restaurants and shops offering clothing, local handmade goods and souvenir galore. After a wander down the pier we grabbed lunch at Shine Talay restaurant, where we had what had already become our typical Thai meal of fried rice and fresh local juices.
Shine Talay Restaurant In Old Town
The islands community museum is located in Old Town and was a spot we wanted to visit, not only was it great to learn of the local history it served as an education experience for Hugo, it is a small museum with many old artefacts in a building that was once the former Sheriff's office, giving it a true nostalgic feel. Before choosing to visit the museum I had done some research into the history and what was in there, this definitely made it easier as most of the exhibits were in Thai, with the little knowledge I had and google translate we managed to understand how the early days were on Lanta. The museum is maintained by friendly locals and entry is by donation which goes toward helping maintain the vintage building and the many precious local treasures inside.
An Old Town Resident
Our second day with Rosie we headed to the Mangroves, there's lots of options here for what to do, you can explore the mangroves on self guided kayaks, long tail cruises with a local guide or wander the raised concrete loop walkway. We opted to take things at our own pace and ventured along the walkway which was also the shortest and cheapest option, the one hour walk was included in our 100 baht entry fee which helps the locals to care for the village. We didn't see wildlife other than crabs and mudskippers but we also didn't see other people after 10 minutes into our walk. Later in the day we looked into what animals call the mangroves home, we read about the usual suspects of monkeys, monitor lizards and various bugs but what we didn't realise was the mangroves are also home to pit vipers and reticulated pythons! Apparently snakes are hard to spot in the mangroves but I'm pleased we weren't aware they could be lurking nearby before our little adventure.
Tung Yee Peng Mangroves
An afternoon swim to cool off then back on Rosie to check out Walking Street, a nightly food market near Saladan pier that offered endless food stalls featuring local Thai food and western favourites. The food here was cheap and snack sized, a great opportunity to try a few different things, the Nutella and banana Thai pancake was pure perfection.
A Local Making Thai Pancakes at Walking Street
After returning our scooter we spent our days doing more of what we had in the beginning, swimming at the beach, playing games, school work, exercise and a whole lot of nothing much, exactly what was needed. With an abundance of restaurants and marts near our accommodation we were spoilt for food choices. Fresh fruit stalls were dotted along the road sides so we stocked up on the good stuff, pineapple, mango, watermelon, dragonfruit and bananas, the fresh local pineapples were the stand out and started at 10 baht!
Drums And Bass Meal At Home No.8
Some of our favourite eateries were Tida bakery which supplied the most delicious cinnamon rolls, Yoksod was the spot for incredible fried rice and local Thai curries, Home no.8 served up mouthwatering vegan options and The Kitchen delivered the best massaman curry in a fun setting with the most welcoming staff.
Getting To Know the Locals
The biggest surprise during our time on Lanta was the abundance of cats, wherever we went there were friendly, furry, locals lounging around ready for attention, absolute bliss for a cat loving family like us. Beaches were incredibly relaxed, not once did we see people trying to sell on the beach or charging for a spot under an umbrella, you were free to find a uninterrupted spot anywhere along the sand and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Even markets were calm and pressure free on Lanta, though you could still barter we found the prices fairly reasonable so don't push the locals down too much. Remember every baht makes a huge difference for them and really doesn't impact your overall spend.
Cats Galore On Koh Lanta
One week on Koh Lanta was perfect for us. We left feeling rested, grounded, slightly adjusted to the heat and ready to take on the rest of Thailand.
Koh Lanta we will be back!
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Koh Lanta sounds an amazing place
ReplyDeleteIt was absolutely incredible! Highly recommend if you visit Thailand
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