Travel Diary » Koh Lanta and our unforseen adventures in Thailand
Koh Lanta and our unforseen adventures in Thailand
After leaving Long Beach Krabi Villas, we decided to head to Koh Lanta. Unfortunately, getting to Koh Lanta in low season at the last minute turned out to be an adventure. After the well organised public transport in Malaysia, where you are informed of every step of getting from A to B before purchasing your ticket and no one tries to scam you, our journey from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta was a shambles.
Our taxi, an open back cab with bench seats took us into Ao Nang to a flash looking mini bus with a driver who spoke minimal English but assured us that his was the bus we had purchased a ticket from through Long Beach Krabi Villas. Hoping for the best, we piled in and the driver headed off to pick up his other passengers. So far so good we though - half full, air-conditioned mini bus and we're on the road on time!
Unfortunately 10 minutes down the road the driver dropped us off at a tourist bus stop and told us to wait for the next bus. We spent half an hour there eating ice blocks and getting convinced by the local travel agent to book another hotel in Koh Lanta that was cheaper for the same facilities than the one we had booked, had WIFI and was right in the middle of town. Normally I don't like being talked into things without researching them but the pamphlet looked good and the guy seemed genuine so we thought we'd give it a go. We paid a two night deposit, fearing to pay the full five night amount like he asked. Eventually our next bus arrived - or rather a "bus" that looked surprisingly like an old red ute. Col ended up in the open back with another passenger and the bags whilst the kids and I crammed into the cab.
Another 10 minutes down the road we stopped at another tourist travel agent/bus stop and were told to get out. Another 10 foreigners all crammed into the ute saying they were heading to Koh Lanta too, while we were left bewildered at the side of the road. A wild eyed Thai lady inside told us our bus would be along in an hour so we sat down with some snacks to wait. She also managed to convince us that purchasing return tickets to Krabi through her were the cheapest way to get off Koh Lanta now that they high season ferry to Phuket was not running. Two hours later, having seen the red ute drive past 6 times, Colin went back in to find out what was going on and ended up yelling at her. She just kept promising another 5 minutes and the bus will be here.
We got our revenge by sending the kids in to raid her business cards, staples and hole punches. Her wide eyes almost fell out of her face when Hayley walked back in to hand her a "ticket" - part of her note pad filled with holes and scribbles. Small revenge but it made us feel a little better at least.
Finally a decent looking mini bus arrived to take us to Koh Lanta. Of course our adventures weren't over yet. The bus driver stopped every 5 minutes for the next 2 hours picking up groceries, washing or just to generally chat to friends along the way. Eventually we made it to the two car ferries to Koh Lanta and arrived at our accommodation 6 hours after we started out. A journey that should take just under 2 hours!
The accommodation we'd been sold made a good first impression (although that didn't last... ). Lanta Riveria looked just like its brochure and the rooms are great. Of course as a fitting end to our travels its had nothing that we were promised - the resort was nowhere near town, the hot water in the shower isn't working, it's not on the best beach like we were told and does not have WIFI. Turns out our original accommodation that wasn't supposed to be in a great location is actually in one of the best spots. That will teach us to be so naïve!
Still we now have a swimming pool and AC all day.
The beach is beautiful and shady, although rocky at low tide and the kids are enjoying their sand castle building. Last night we sat at the hotels rustic beach front bar watching a storm pass by out to sea. Tonight we visited the reggae bar next door - right on the beach with groovy music, cushions on the floors, hammocks and disco lights. A little crazy but the staff were wonderfully friendly and the food delicious. Unlike Riveria that specialises in grumpy, characterless staff, the staff here were so happy and enthusiastic it was impossible not to enjoy yourself.
Of course the night ended on a slightly less happy note when Noah got electrocuted by a wire hanging off the balcony over the beach. He was unlucky enough to be playing near it just after a storm so the wire and sand was wet. Thankfully it was just a small shock and apart from a dead arm for a few hours and many tears he's OK.
So far we're not enjoying Thailand as much as Malaysia. The amazing melting pot of foods and cultures in Malaysia was a lot more interesting than here. Instead of walking out onto the street to choose between Chinese, Malay, Thai, Indian or western foods we're pretty much stuck with Thai or bad western imitations. The Thai food is fantastic but we're missing the variety of Malaysia and our ridiculously cheap Indian breakfasts. Still we're here for now enjoying the beautiful beaches of Koh Lanta, rather than working busy lives in Brisbane so it is hard to complain too much.
Here are Colin and Tracy's attempts to take artistic photos...
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14/05/2010 9:40am (2 years ago)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Colin Burns. Colin Burns said: New blog post - http://ow.ly/1KZ4b - "Koh Lanta and our unforeseen adventures in Thailand" [...]
15/05/2010 1:06am (2 years ago)
Try not to be too put off by the touts. They are an unfortunate fact of traveling in Thailand and you will need to figure out how to ignore them. Whenever you can, try to take the same buses the Thais take, not the tourist buses. That means taking a tuk-tuk to the actual bus station and buying your ticket. The first class buses are great and not that much more money. The seats are roomy, there is air-con, a washroom, and a stewardess serving snacks and cold drinks. I'm sure you have learned your lesson on booking a room in advance too! It's always best to show up and check things out to see what appeals to you. Most Thai people are the most amazing and friendly people in SE Asia and I'm sure your experiences will get better once you get into your Thai groove :)
I'm interested in knowing where you guys are planning on going in Thailand, and how your budget will fair. We found Thailand to be much cheaper than Malaysia (and we liked it more too). It's where we plan on spending a lot of time when we head to SE Asia. Do you guys find it hard to find rooms that have two big beds? And when you do are they a lot more money than the conventional huts/rooms?
Enjoying your posts and I can't wait till our family is doing this too!!!!
15/05/2010 1:06am (2 years ago)
Try not to be too put off by the touts. They are an unfortunate fact of traveling in Thailand and you will need to figure out how to ignore them. Whenever you can, try to take the same buses the Thais take, not the tourist buses. That means taking a tuk-tuk to the actual bus station and buying your ticket. The first class buses are great and not that much more money. The seats are roomy, there is air-con, a washroom, and a stewardess serving snacks and cold drinks. I'm sure you have learned your lesson on booking a room in advance too! It's always best to show up and check things out to see what appeals to you. Most Thai people are the most amazing and friendly people in SE Asia and I'm sure your experiences will get better once you get into your Thai groove :)
I'm interested in knowing where you guys are planning on going in Thailand, and how your budget will fair. We found Thailand to be much cheaper than Malaysia (and we liked it more too). It's where we plan on spending a lot of time when we head to SE Asia. Do you guys find it hard to find rooms that have two big beds? And when you do are they a lot more money than the conventional huts/rooms?
Enjoying your posts and I can't wait till our family is doing this too!!!!
15/05/2010 1:35am (2 years ago)
Hi Amy! Thanks for the advice on buses. It was the same in Malaysia - local buses were the best and cheapest way to travel. We'll be sure to do that next time. After two months in Malaysia where no one really tries to take advantage of you we needed the whole bus/tout experience to open our eyes again! We'd gotten too naive. As you say, we just need to find out Thailand groove.
At the moment we're only planning on visiting Krabi, Koh Lanta and Phuket in Thailand, plus a few of the nearby islands. With the Red Shirt unrest we'll leave central and northern Thailand for later. Southern Thailand has been a lot more expensive than Malaysia. Of course we're visiting beach and resort destinations but even the cheap double and family rooms we've seen have been more expensive than we what we would have paid for the equivalent accommodation in Malaysia. Food in a restaurant or cafe is much cheaper in Thailand, but Malaysian street food was a lot cheaper again. We haven't really been able to find many street stall places on Koh Lanta to eat. Perhaps again its because we are in tourist destinations and its low season so many places are closed. And we had gotten used to Malaysia and knew where to look for cheap foor and transport so I suspect if you give us a week we'll do better budget wise. If we stick with budget accommodation we're spending around $100 per day. In Malaysia we were spending closer to $70 a day outside KL and $100 a day in KL. I think once we're away from the tourist beaches and up in northern Thailand food and accommodation with be a lot cheaper than Malaysia.
Rooms with two double beds have been easy to find in budget hotels. They are a lot more money if you want to be right on the beach but if your happy to be 50-100m from the beach than they are quite in expensive. In hostels its a bit harder and a lot more expensive. We ended up buying Kidco Peapod travel beds for the kids so we really only need a room with a single double bed. And the kids don't have to worry about mosquitoes as their tent is fully enclosed with flyscreens.
Hope your planning is going well. We're having so much fun I can't imagine going back to normal life!
15/05/2010 1:35am (2 years ago)
Hi Amy! Thanks for the advice on buses. It was the same in Malaysia - local buses were the best and cheapest way to travel. We'll be sure to do that next time. After two months in Malaysia where no one really tries to take advantage of you we needed the whole bus/tout experience to open our eyes again! We'd gotten too naive. As you say, we just need to find out Thailand groove.
At the moment we're only planning on visiting Krabi, Koh Lanta and Phuket in Thailand, plus a few of the nearby islands. With the Red Shirt unrest we'll leave central and northern Thailand for later. Southern Thailand has been a lot more expensive than Malaysia. Of course we're visiting beach and resort destinations but even the cheap double and family rooms we've seen have been more expensive than we what we would have paid for the equivalent accommodation in Malaysia. Food in a restaurant or cafe is much cheaper in Thailand, but Malaysian street food was a lot cheaper again. We haven't really been able to find many street stall places on Koh Lanta to eat. Perhaps again its because we are in tourist destinations and its low season so many places are closed. And we had gotten used to Malaysia and knew where to look for cheap foor and transport so I suspect if you give us a week we'll do better budget wise. If we stick with budget accommodation we're spending around $100 per day. In Malaysia we were spending closer to $70 a day outside KL and $100 a day in KL. I think once we're away from the tourist beaches and up in northern Thailand food and accommodation with be a lot cheaper than Malaysia.
Rooms with two double beds have been easy to find in budget hotels. They are a lot more money if you want to be right on the beach but if your happy to be 50-100m from the beach than they are quite in expensive. In hostels its a bit harder and a lot more expensive. We ended up buying Kidco Peapod travel beds for the kids so we really only need a room with a single double bed. And the kids don't have to worry about mosquitoes as their tent is fully enclosed with flyscreens.
Hope your planning is going well. We're having so much fun I can't imagine going back to normal life!
16/05/2010 3:42am (2 years ago)
I don't think Lanta is representitive of a lot of Thailand. We were there in the low season too, and although the accommodation was so much cheaper, everything is so spread out that you don't really feel like you are in a Thai atmosphere...more just a beach resort. We really like Koh Phangan (but not in the few days leading up to and after the full moon party) Next trip we want to go to Koh Jum and Ko Si Boya which are right by where you are now. Supposed to be super laid back (which is what we love) but there are little villages dotted around. I don't think they would have WiFi though. We also want to go to Koh Tao even though we don't dive. Too bad about the protests. Hopefully you will be able to go back later. I'm surprised you are finding the accommodation more expensive. We thought Malaysia was sooooo much more money when we went there. Maybe we just didn't have our Malaysian groove!
16/05/2010 2:43pm (2 years ago)
I've heard Koh Jum and Koh Tao are lovely. You're spot on about Lanta I think. Its is definitely missing villages and life outside tourism. So glad you pointed that out as we hadn't quite put our finger on what was missing! Unfortunately because we are travelling and working we need WIFI so going to more remote islands is hard. It limits us to quick trips to smaller islands... which we still haven't gotten around to doing because we blew our budget on nice accommodation. sigh...<br><br>With accommodation everyone says Malaysia is cheap for food and expensive for accommodation, while Thailand is the reverse. We haven't really found that so far so perhaps we're still missing our Thailand groove. Its strange, we found a lot of hostels in Malaysia for 60-90RM a night with aircon. In Thailand its been closer to 1200+Baht if you want aircon - which is the equivalent of 120RM. But we've only been in Krabi and Koh Lanta so perhaps somewhere less touristy would be different. <br><br>Looking forward to seeing more of Thailand to get a better picture. But at the moment its looking like we'll have to see the rest of Thailand in a few months.