Koh Lanta – 2 Days/3 Nights (July) – Just Relax!

Koh Lanta – a special vibe

After a whole day travelling in ferries, minibuses and dodgy pickups, we finally arrived at the Sri Lanta Resort. We were about to have our well-deserved two-day vacation.I took advantage of the long travel to write some blog posts and when we arrived I was still busy and not paying attention to the scenery. The minibus driver was kind enough to drive us all the way to the hotel. The minute he stopped, James said: “come on, we are here“. I stepped out of the van and immediately felt I was is a special place.

There is something about Thailand that is very unique, starting with the way they greet, with big bright smiles accompanied by the lifting of hands in prayer position as they simultaneously bow their heads, in a uniquely gentle way, followed by a friendly “Kop Kun Kah“, if it is a female greeting or “kop kun kahp” in case of a male. I could breathe the Buddhist vibe.

The ocean is always the first thing that catches my eyes and this time was no exception. I barely looked at the steps on the way down, hypnotized by the beauty and movement of the ocean. At the bottom of the steps, to our left, there was an open space reception and next to it an open-air yoga studio, with a view to one of the two swimming pools and the ocean. Opposite to the swimming pool was the hotel restaurant, with a combination of three settings: indoor, outdoors on the large esplanade or outdoors on low tables, all in traditional Thai style.

DAY 1 – HOMING INTO KOH LANTA

When we arrived at Sri Lanta Resort the sun was getting ready to set and it looked like it could rain at any moment, although luckily for us it didn’t.

We were tired and hungry and just wanted to relax after our ten-hour trip. We walked into our typical traditional Asian bungalow, decorated in classical charming Asian style, with bamboo, wood and straw mats on the walls, great mosquito net over the bed, a lounge area set on the floor, a western type bathroom and a balcony.

We decided to chill out a little bit and enjoy our lounge area before getting ready to go out for dinner. James immediately found himself a beer and I just stuck to good, old, healthy plain water (my favourite drink lately!). We opened the big glass doors to enjoy the peaceful view over the garden and were immediately attacked by mosquitos. Well, I was, as usual. Opened doors were definitely not an option to enjoy! Not at dusk, anyway.

After a nice soothing shower, we took off to explore the long dark road, in search of the suggested restaurant. As we walked along the road we were surprised to notice how the rainy season affects this island. Most restaurants were closed or had no clients. I am not sure how far we walked but soon enough we found Cook Kai, the restaurant we were looking for. I was a bit annoyed because there is a limit to the amount of vegetable fried rice and vegetable fried noodles I can eat! I was pretty much on my limit. Not to mention that all the mosquito bites were really itching and making me more irritable. Being a vegan with sweet blood has its difficulties when you are on the road!

There was not much I could do about my choice of food, so vegetable fried rice it was. To start off we had a mix of tempura vegetables and James had a red curry. Looking back, with a calm mind, I must say everything was very nice and, as usual, people were very friendly. Some even too friendly! (That’s a story!) After we finished, a big lady approached us to ask if we had enjoyed our dinner and, at the same time, to control her young son who was playing right behind my chair. He and other kids had been yelling and running around our table for most of our dinner. The lady’s cheeks were so chubby that her eyes were almost closed. She continued asking questions and talking, talking, talking. We couldn’t understand most of what she was saying. It would have been quite an amusing experience if I hadn’t been in such bad mood.

After dinner, we returned to the hotel for a restful night. I was missing my little kitty so much that I cried myself to sleep, for the third night in a row.

DAY 2 – A VERY PAINFUL WAY TO GET A HOTEL UPGRADE

I finally managed to sleep a full night without all the animal noises we heard every night at our bungalow at Alamanda Villas. Nonetheless, the next morning, I woke up early and, once again, with a big emotional hangover and puffy eye. I couldn’t stop thinking about my little kitten. In my heart, I was still hoping we could take him home in September when we are due to return home.

Despite my emotional state, I decided to enjoy those two days to the fullest. I made a cup of coffee, put on the robe and sat on the balcony to enjoy my first coffee in days. James joined me with tea. We had a nice long talk about the way I was reacting to the letting go of Yoga, the kitten, and the reasons why that was happening. It was a soothing talk that made me get in touch with some obvious inner issues. It was quite a peculiar scenario because as we sat there talking, there were literally hundreds of mosquitos flying around us, but strangely I walked away bite-free.

I felt good and relieved after our conversation and was ready for a shower to kick-start our short break.

The lukewarm water ran through my body while I indulged in the scents of the shower gel, shampoo and coconut oil. While my thoughts ran free and my mind travelled, in a fraction of a second, I found myself on the floor. The soapy and slippery products made the already too inclined floor so slippery that I slipped without control and landed on the right side of my face.

Immediately, I had memories of a bad snowboard accident I had years before. On that occasion, I was transported by helicopter because none of the paramedics wanted to touch me due to my physical state.

The feeling of impotence and the fear of what might have happened to my body made me burst into sobbing tears. I was sure I had broken my jaw and maybe some teeth. James immediately called reception and soon after I received a big bag full of ice to hold against my face.

After confirming that nothing was broken I calmed down. We got dressed and headed to the hotel management to report the occurrence and to complain about the exaggerated inclination of the floor in the shower area. As a result, we were upgraded to a bigger, newer and more modern bungalow. “A better bungalow isn’t going to take away my pain”, I thought. Besides, I was actually extremely happy with our initial rustic bungalow. I would have preferred that the hotel provided a trip to the hospital to check if there was no collateral damage!

As part of our compensation, we were also offered complimentary breakfast. After a hurried meal of leftovers, due to the time, we chose to stay in the hotel to relax and enjoy. After all, I was in no shape to go anywhere. We started by setting ourselves in a big chaise-long for two. The sea was so rough due to the monsoon that we were unable to go in the water. Soon after, as thunderstorms and rain approached, we went indoors.

We sat at the beautifully decorated lounging room, with soothing background music. Our afternoon was spent reading, looking at the photos we have taken so far and I even managed to catch up with some writing. What a peaceful and pleasant day, after the morning commotion!

Later in the afternoon, we headed back to the bungalow as I began to feel nauseous. After a shower, I spent the end of the afternoon reading and napping in our new modern setting. It reminded me of home and for a moment I missed the comforts of the west.

By the time we went out for dinner my right cheek was feverish. It looked a bit red and felt very hot.

We didn’t want to go back to Cook Kai for dinner, so we kept walking and walking on the main street. The only visible light came from the few opened restaurants and shops or the passerby motorbikes. We finally came across Richy’s Bar, a really hip beach bar with reggae music and a very funky decoration. All the furniture and items were cleverly and artistically reused pieces of all kind of different things. This time I was very hungry and did not mind to have vegetable fried rice, again. What a delight! It had vegetables, pineapple and cashew nuts (one of my favourite nuts!). That delicious rice, accompanied by a fruit shake, reggae, and of course great company, was all I needed to forget about my feverish cheek.

DAY 3 – ACTIVE AGAIN

We went to bed early the night before, so I woke up just as early. Too early for James, and probably too early for most people! I tip-toed to the bathroom and grabbed my robe to place it on the floor as a mat. Luckily, my book, The Art of Happiness, by the Dalai Lama, and my clip reading lamp were easily within reach. I laid there reading for a couple of hours until James woke up.

We had coffee and coconut water on the balcony and headed to the shop to rent a scooter and explore the north side of the island. Angie, the resort’s yoga teacher, suggested that day before that we visit Old Town.

The ride was quite an experience! I had never been on a scooter before and just the idea terrified me, but it was really the best way to explore. Off we went and luckily all went well. On the way back I was already fully confident.

We first looked for a cooking course that James had found on the Internet, but because it was the low season the teacher was on vacation! We weren’t looking to do anything in particular, just driving and walking around, while enjoying the experience. Although also touristy, the north of the island is mostly populated by fishermen’s villages, which gives it a different feel and pace.

At lunchtime, we were very hungry, as we skipped breakfast, so after walking around we found Pinto’s Restaurant. Guess what? They had a separate vegetarian menu! I was in heaven! After a difficult choice, I went for fried tofu with peanut sauce and a vegetable green curry and James chose a curry. Wow! That’s all I can say. After many congratulations, tips about ambient music we were almost ready to go. We took some group pictures with the owners and staff, exchanged social media contacts and went for a walk to digest the delicious banquet.

After a swim in the pool we returned to the bungalow and although I am not a fan of bubble baths, I decided to indulge.

On our way out for dinner, we met the friendly bellboy who suggested we try the restaurant of the resort next door. He said it was just as good and much cheaper. We followed his advice and ended up having a lovely farewell dinner with cocktails (virgin for me) at the beach bar, on the sand. This time dinner was noodles and for dessert, I had banana dipped in coconut cream and James had fried bananas with ice cream topped with honey. Sinful! We were happy.

Before going back to our hotel we asked to see some rooms as we are considering going back, maybe before returning home to Portugal. The rooms were spacious and clean, though not as charming as the Sri-Lanta Resort.

All in all, we had three very pleasant and peaceful days in the charming island of Koh Lanta. It will be worth exploring with better weather and ocean conditions.

After a fresh stamp on our passports, we were allowed to stay three additional months in Malaysia.

NOTE: If you want to know how to get from Langkawi to Koh Lanta and back, read My visa run to Thailand – Langkawi to Koh Lanta