Although cliche, we started our Thailand trip in the islands. I guess we were feeling a little burned out and needed a break so we decided to check out Ko Lanta, a tropical island on the Andaman Sea. We picked Ko Lanta to stray away from the usual tourist hot spot of Ko Phi Phi which from what we hear is over crowded and extremely over priced. Turns out we picked the right island to be, there less people and…the floods did not hit it nearly as hard!
Krabi
In order to get to Ko Lanta we flew to Krabi, a small city on the mainland. We decided we would spend a little time there… from a bit of research we think it didn’t sound too bad. Now, maybe it was walking 30 mins to our hostel in the pouring rain, the location of our hostel, the fact that the town ran out of water while we were there, the fact that we had to eat at 7/11 or a combination there of but my recommendation would to get the hell out of Krabi. It is a great launching point to the western islands, but there is really nothing to do in the town that will blow your socks off.
Heading to Island Paradise
The morning we were scheduled to take a ferry from Krabi to Ko Lanta the weather was not so hot…but why would anyone tell us that the ferry was cancelled, it might put a damper on the happy island vibe haha. So after arriving at the ferry station we found out all ferries had been cancelled due to 2-3 meter swells…with this we loaded up the minibus and ended up on the car ferry. Now we had just spent a good 2 days drying everything in our backpacks after our sweet walk in the rain, so what better then to have all our stuff strapped to the roof of a minibus in the pouring rain for 2 hours – grr.
Riding Out the Rain with Scooters
The minibus ride was really not that bad…we made it to the island despite the poor seas. Once arriving to the island we hopped a taxi and head to our totally sweet pad for the next couple of days. Now the plan was to spend a few days in Ko Lanta and then check out some of the other island on the west before heading to the gulf. We obviously knew it was raining when we got there, but holy smokers did it rain! Several times we caught ourselves ready for the beach and we opened the door to find a total wall of water haha.
So ends up, the rain on the island was really nothing compared to the mainland. The streets of Krabi were completely flooded as well as most of the mainland between the east and west coasts. So we were stranded on a paradise island for 7 days….ahh shoot! Although the weather was not great for the first couple days, it got better and better…plus there is lots to do on the island besides sit by the beach or pool.
Mostly we occupied our time by renting scooters! With owning a scooter pretty much being a life long dream of mine, this was pretty fricken exciting for me haha.P utting gas in the scooter was pretty entertaining…for 40 baht you get a 26 of gin, rum, vodka etc filled with gas to dumped in the back haha…comedy to say the least. I will say this….scooters can be dangerous and it is important to make sure you have a 2 person scooter for 2 people on it haha…check out episode 7 for details…
Jarr filling up the scooter!
We rode our scooter down every road on the island…even took them 4x4ing in the jungle haha…again scooters can be dangerous and it is recommended for 1 passenger to leave the scooter and walk while goes over sketchy terrain.
The Sun Came to Visit
Our last couple of days on the islands were beautiful so we took full advantage lounging on the beach, playing a few games of frisbee on the beach, and enjoying some beers during the sunset over the stunning and calm ocean waters.
Beach Frisbee!
Taking in the one of many beautiful sunsets
I would recommend for any traveller, young, old, or anywhere in-between to visit Ko Lanta. If you want to check out Ko Phi Phi you are only a 45 min boat ride away and do not need to spend a ridiculous amount of money on accommodation. Plus everything you need is in the island with TONS of great places to eat and drink.
Beach Dinner and Beers
wow! Everything looks so amazing, almost dreamlike. You guys really know hooow to have a great time. Hoping to see many more beautiful photos with yous in it. Have fun, and stay safe.
Ko Lanta looks like a place you could just stay in forever. The ocean looks incredibly calm in the sunset picture, almost like it was painted. Beach dinner looks fabulous! Glad you fulfilled your life-long dream, Jarrett. Perhaps the Cobalt can be traded in for a Vespa.
Not my lifelong dream – JACKIE’S!
The place was beautiful and for some reason the beach was deserted every evening as the sun went down.