A morning on the internet finalized our plans for the next 4 days and included several plane tickets and three hotel reservations. We had decided that it was not yet time to leave the beaches for Chiang Mai, and figured Koh Lanta and then Krabi would be another fun 2 nights.
We took the 11am ferry from Phi Phi to Koh Lanta, which was an overcrowded and somewhat sweaty 2 hour ride. Upon arriving we were accosted by several people encouraging us to stay at the resorts they were advocating (we heard this is how many of the islands used to be here years ago, but our experience has been that without reservations you might end up in some less-than-desirable hotels). We took a taxi to a place that we suspected we had a reservation, but actually had never received confirmation. When we got there, we realized why - the place was still under construction. When the lady working there couldn’t find our reservation request, and we realized the room was going to be grossly overpriced, we were thrilled to get out of there and let our taxi driver take us somewhere nicer and cheaper. For US $40, we got the sweetest bungalow in the whole place, right next to the pool with views of the ocean and a private patio. It was no Koh Samui Boutique resort, but it was a great deal nonetheless.
Needing exercise we took a long stroll on the beach for a couple hours. On our way out of our place we witnessed 6 adorable children, all wearing adult sized life-jackets, run down the beach and pile into one kayak. Fortunately this time, we had the camera.
Our walk continued, and we were delighted to see countless numbers of hermit crabs happily scurrying along the sand. We even saw 3 jousting.
That night we ate at our resort, feeling the strong sea breeze and being free of mosquitoes. On Koh Tao and here on Koh Lanta we were on west facing beaches, while on Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi we were on east facing beaches. Turns out, the western beaches have much better breezes and the mosquitoes are kept to a minimum. The sunset was, of course, amazing, and our night peaceful.
Griffin had a fish for dinner - the whole fish, he had to pick through it - and we gave the scraps and skin to a cute and hungry cat that kept us company for most of the meal.
