Ko Lanta March 2013
Day 1
Today I decided to take a minivan and a boat to Ko Lanta, a pretty chilled island near Krabi province. The minivan picked me up from Ao Nang at 1pm and takes 3 hours and costs 300 baht/£6/$10. After I got on the minivan without air conditioning we were taken to a tour office for some reason. I asked why we were here and when the ferry to Ko Lanta was. She said they were waiting for more transport as the minivan we got into before wasn't good enough apparently. I waited for about 30 minutes before a truck came and took us to another unknown destination of a port. There were several other travellers there which made me feel a bit better. I once again spoke to the tour guide there and he gave me a sticker with Lanta on it and told me to wait for another minivan, time frame unknown. It's about 2pm at this point and I'm about a 15 minute drive away from Ao Nang so I come to the realisation that I will not be in Ko Lanta at 4pm.
A few minutes later another minivan arrives with mediocre air conditioning. We were not told how long it would take to get to the ferry but had to deal with the drivers many stops to use the bathroom and get food and lunch as he clearly has his priorities in order. We finally arrive at the car ferry which takes us to an island between Ko Lanta and the Thai mainland. We then go on another car ferry until we arrive at Ko Lanta. The ferry journeys were about 5 minutes each.
Once we arrived at Ko Lanta at around 5pm the driver starts stopping passengers at their hotels or bungalows along the way. My English friend Etta I had met whilst in Bangkok was staying at Hutyee Boat House on Long Beach with two Norwegian girls (Pernille and Christina) she had met in Koh Phi Phi so I decided to stay with them. Luckily I saw the sign for the Boat House whilst driving so told the driver to stop so I could walk back to the bungalows.
When I arrived at the reception I spoke to the owner and he showed me my bungalow which was quite rustic but cool. I felt like I was officially in Thailand, it had a double bed with a pretty large bathroom, a fan, veranda and hammock. The rooms are 600 baht/£13/$20 a night which is average and better if you're sharing with someone as you can split the price of the room.
That night we got some Thai food and then proceeded to find a cool bar, we landed on a beach bar and found 2 German guys along the way. After playing ring of fire several times and going through about 20 beers collectively we decided to settle the tab and sit on the beach until hunger got the better of us at 2am and the cheese toasties at 7 Eleven beckoned. After a somewhat delicious late night snack we made it home for a good night sleep.
Today I decided to take a minivan and a boat to Ko Lanta, a pretty chilled island near Krabi province. The minivan picked me up from Ao Nang at 1pm and takes 3 hours and costs 300 baht/£6/$10. After I got on the minivan without air conditioning we were taken to a tour office for some reason. I asked why we were here and when the ferry to Ko Lanta was. She said they were waiting for more transport as the minivan we got into before wasn't good enough apparently. I waited for about 30 minutes before a truck came and took us to another unknown destination of a port. There were several other travellers there which made me feel a bit better. I once again spoke to the tour guide there and he gave me a sticker with Lanta on it and told me to wait for another minivan, time frame unknown. It's about 2pm at this point and I'm about a 15 minute drive away from Ao Nang so I come to the realisation that I will not be in Ko Lanta at 4pm.
A few minutes later another minivan arrives with mediocre air conditioning. We were not told how long it would take to get to the ferry but had to deal with the drivers many stops to use the bathroom and get food and lunch as he clearly has his priorities in order. We finally arrive at the car ferry which takes us to an island between Ko Lanta and the Thai mainland. We then go on another car ferry until we arrive at Ko Lanta. The ferry journeys were about 5 minutes each.
Once we arrived at Ko Lanta at around 5pm the driver starts stopping passengers at their hotels or bungalows along the way. My English friend Etta I had met whilst in Bangkok was staying at Hutyee Boat House on Long Beach with two Norwegian girls (Pernille and Christina) she had met in Koh Phi Phi so I decided to stay with them. Luckily I saw the sign for the Boat House whilst driving so told the driver to stop so I could walk back to the bungalows.
When I arrived at the reception I spoke to the owner and he showed me my bungalow which was quite rustic but cool. I felt like I was officially in Thailand, it had a double bed with a pretty large bathroom, a fan, veranda and hammock. The rooms are 600 baht/£13/$20 a night which is average and better if you're sharing with someone as you can split the price of the room.
That night we got some Thai food and then proceeded to find a cool bar, we landed on a beach bar and found 2 German guys along the way. After playing ring of fire several times and going through about 20 beers collectively we decided to settle the tab and sit on the beach until hunger got the better of us at 2am and the cheese toasties at 7 Eleven beckoned. After a somewhat delicious late night snack we made it home for a good night sleep.
Comments
Post a Comment