Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta- we were staying in Long Beach- close to the school

So glad to leave the city and head to the beach, we had an open ended time line in Koh Lanta as it all depended on the girls adjustment to school. We originally thought it would be nice to spend 3-4 weeks here but adding days here and there left us with limited time in Thailand and there were still many places we wanted to see. We thought we would give it 1-2 weeks and go from there. We were a little surprised at the cost of accommodations. Everything seemed to be pretty pricey, didn't matter where you looked. I ended up finding us a beautiful 2 bedroom modern apartment very close the school (White Flower Lanta Apartments). With a deck,  kitchen and two amazing pools, the cost wasn't too bad at $90/night (however this is almost double of what we are used to paying).

We had a few days before the girls started school so we wanted to explore the island as much as possible. It is pretty easy to get around as all the beaches are on the west coast running along the main road north and south. We rented 2 mopeds for $6/day an off we went, (Johnny had both girls on his bike as I am a total Spaz).  

our ride for a couple of weeks

Johnny always had both girls with him as I am a total spaz

                                   

Getting gas at the "gas station"

We were staying in the top end of the island called Phra Aer know as Long Beach- the biggest and most popular, with golden sand and stretches about 5 km. The beauty of this beach (and every beach in Koh Lanta) is even when it is busy, the beaches seem almost empty...like you have the whole place to your self. From there we headed  down to the south end of the island and stopped at a few places along the way..., we all felt like the beaches down here were much more scenic. Our favourites were Nui Bay and Bamboo Bay, took about 1/2 hour to drive there but totally worth the trip. 

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If you have been following our travels you will know how much we love the animals from all the places we have been. We try to visit animal rescue centers or shelters as often as we can and do not participate in any tourist activities that involve the unethical treatment of animals (elephant rides in Thailand, monkey shows etc). I am not saying they are all bad, far from it, it's just important to be aware of how the animals are treated before you pay big bucks to watch the show. Koh Lanta has an amazing rescue centre that is mostly full of dogs and cats. It runs strictly from donations and volunteers, free to visit and a great way to spend a couple of hours. They have a cat cafe as well as a puppy area, and you can also volunteer to take the dogs for a walk. If in Lanta go and visit. they can use all the help they can get. 

The girls out walking a couple of furballs

The girls were so excited to be starting school- there are not many schools around the world that allow students to enroll for a short period of time, most want at least 1 month. Global Village School in Koh Lanta allows you to stay for 1 wk or more...perfect fit for us as we only planned for 1-2 weeks. Uniforms were bought and they were gone!

 Free at last!!!!!

The rest of the week was a blur- lots of day drinking, hiking, laying around the beach and just enjoying the silence. We pretty much saw ALL of Koh Lanta, from the old town, to the caves, to the light house and National Park. There were not many places we didn't explore. 

Light house in the national Park

Awesome hike to a pretty cool cave

Old town Lanta

The weekend came and we did a day trip to the four islands. It is a pretty much "a must see" while in Koh Lanta. We spent the whole day exploring and snorkeling around various islands (including Koh Mook and Emerald Cave Koh Maa and Koh Ngai-just spectacular). While Lanta has a particular charm, the beaches on some of the other islands are just so much prettier- white sanded bays, palm trees with turquoise water. Postcard perfect. 

Emerald Cave, you have to swim 100 m through a dark cave and you come out in your own little beach- it is incredible!

Koh Mook

To be honest after a week Johnny and I were ready to pack it in and move on- but the girls were enjoying school so much they begged to stay another week. Johnny was able to go diving and I took a cooking class...its pretty easy to keep busy here.

Johnny went diving at Koh Haa, he said it was amazing

I did an awesome cooking class Time for Lime, a bit pricey but all proceeds go the the animal shelter, and the food was AMAZING!

The last trip we did before leaving Koh Lanta was a visit Phi Phi Island (the inspiration for the movie "the Beach"). When Johnny and I were last here there wasn't much to it. It is now a bustling town (even with a McDonalds). Pretty busy, but it did not take away from the beauty. Probably the prettiest beach I have ever seen. Seriously- 

You used to walk across sand to get to the main beach, now its all tile and roads

Monkey Beach-The most picturesque beach I have ever seen

After two weeks we were all ready to move on.We packed up boarded our shuttle and took a 3 hour drive to Surat Thani where we boarded the ferry to take us to Koh Samui.

So many islands to see and so little time.....