Scooters and sea gypsies - Ko Lanta
Trip Start
Oct 31, 2008
1
8
10
Trip End
May 27, 2009
Ko Lanta,
Thailand
Friday, November 21, 2008
She raced off into the complex of bungalows and took a right up some steep stairs into the forest. Cozy Hill is actually four dilapidated bungalows amongst overgrown forest and teaming with insect life. She cautiously opened the door and drew the curtains and screamed at the top of her voice and jumped back, hmm I thought, this does not bode well. It was merely a gecko however so all good and then she explained that she didn't like the friendly little reptiles. She quickly left us to explore our bungalow.
As we silently looked around our new digs at the filthy floor and furniture, the flooded floor in the bathroom, the ants swarming on the beds and the new family of geckos we had acquired, whizzing around the ceiling, I glanced down and noticed two large striped mosquitoes on my leg
bungalow on the hill
. I annihilated them but was too late and blood splattered across my shin. Two itchy as hell bumps came up immediately. I had already been bitten before but not where the bites come up straight away and not in the daytime. I later learned that these were tiger mosquitoes which bite in the day and carry dengue fever. I also learned that Kaw Kwang Beach Resort was their mother-ship! I went on a mass killing spree around the room and we put our nets up for the first time. Aside from the ghetto digs and constant blood thirsty attacks, Kaw Kwang is a fantastic place to stay, mainly for the location, the friendly one eyed chef (who is a culinary master) and the pool bar lad who is exceptionally gifted with fire poi and spent many hours patiently teaching me to spin some new moves. If you don't like bugs then stay elsewhere, one morning I was sitting on the loo and noticed a small scorpion walk past my face on the bathroom tiles, sufficed to say it didn't make it far before I dealt out death and destruction on it's world. We also saw a really cool green pencil snake whizz by whilst chilling in the pool!Ko Lanta is a more chilled out alternative to Ko Phi Phi Don. I spent my mornings eating fine Thai food for breakfast whilst gazing out into the Andaman Sea. The afternoons were spent scooting around the island on our twist and go's and the evenings spent down on Long Beech at the ultra mellow Klapa Klum bar which plays an array of decent tunes and has regular fire shows that will absolutely blow you away
infinity pool looking over the sea
. Look out for a Thai rasta called Coco who hangs around this bar and is a master with the fire staff, twirling it around in a stoned haze shouting "AGH...AGH" like a militant Nigerian. Renting a scooter and zipping round the island is an absolute must as once you get down to the South End you will find a Sea Gypsy village and some real island life as well as a small selection of bars on the coastal roads with epic panoramas of the sea. I recommend riding down to the southern beaches for the afternoon and then stopping off at Mong Bar on the way back for a Thai green curry on the beach and a sunset that will take your breath away, and it's called the Mong Bar which has gotta be worth a stop! Be prepared to take your scooter off road though to get to some of the beaches.
I really loved Ko Lanta and the layed back island lifestyle. One evening we walked out onto the beach from our shack along the beach to the most amazing sunset I have seen to date. the whole sky was awash with blues, purples, scarlets and pinks and I took shit loads of photos as the sea merged with the sky into a priceless Turneresque vista. We walked to a resort ten minutes down the beach to meet my godmother Ann and her daughter Karen who I haven't seen for at least ten years! It was a mad coincidence that they were staying on holiday on the same beach as us! we had a great meal and chatted about traveling around the world as Karen is a seasoned pro and had a good old laugh.
We took a couple of day trips from Ko Lanta so see the next couple of blogs for more including thieving monkey madness, mono claw crabs rucking, "The Beach" and a James Bond pickup in the morning....
