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.....

We arrived. Amazing Thailand!

While we were all sad to leave Indonesia, everyone was excited to start our new adventure- country number 11-Thailand!! The girls were especially pumped as they were starting school in a week and Johnny and I were excited to see the beautiful places we remembered from 13 years ago, (not to mention being kid less for the first time in 6 months). All Thailand visits start in Bangkok, where else would this adventure begin, if not in this crazy, seductive, chaotic city

We have been eating street food, almost the entire trip, I am so proud of the girls' adventurous spirit to try new things

 We were staying for 2 days before we were flying to Koh Lanta. We had to get our flights sorted as well as do a few things for the upcoming weeks. A quick trip in a Tuk Tuk took us to Khao San Road, once described in the movie "The Beach" as the centre of the backpacking universe. It's definitely not as seedy as I remember (a little more G rated-that said we were there in the day and early evening), but still maintains a cool vibe, a place where everyone one of your senses is being entertained. Little ally's  and roads spill out to the neighboring streets, it is a mecca for delicious food, tchotchke galore and elephant pants at every turn.

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Khao San Road- VERY different then 13 years ago, definitely not as seedy as it once was. 

Was not as R rated as I remembered, could walk with the kids and NOT have to cover their eyes

We decided to go and visit the Palace...not a great idea as we did not realize it was Chinese New Year weekend, and I believe EVERY SINGLE tourist from China, decided to go and visit the palace at the EXACT same time as us, (did I mention it was also 80 million degrees?).

Despite the heat and the crowds, it was still pretty impressive (I am guessing Livy will have a very different interpretation of the day).

everyone had to wear pants or long skirts-elephant pants for everyone!

After a very entertaining 2 days in Bangkok (although not as entertaining as it COULD have been, if we left the kids at home:), we were finally heading to Koh Lanta. 

Gili Islands

As some of you know I am part of several travelling family Facebook groups...I have mentioned before, these groups have been a wealth of information and very helpful throughout this whole trip. About a year before we left, someone posted
"Best food, cheap, nice people, beautiful beaches, good snorkeling- GO"

Hundreds (I mean it, hundreds) of people responded, and time after time I kept seeing the same place- Gili Islands. I knew we had to go. I have been looking forward to this part of the trip for a long time.  The Gili Islands are made up of 3 small islands off the coast of Lombok. Gili T is the most popular, Gili Meno is very small (they call this the honeymoon island, as there is really not a lot going on) and finally Gili Air which is a little combo of both islands.

Gili T

                                     
As you may remember, we kind of like a lot of action so we opted to stay on Gili T. We learned our lesson with the Mosques on Lombok, so we chose our hotel based on the proximity to the nearest one. The whole island has one main "road"  that runs around the perimeter, (I use the term loosely as it is dirt road, and very narrow, (guess what? There are no cars on the Gilis only bicycles and horse drawn carts). There are small little back roads that all crisscross making up the interior, also full of neat little shops, guest houses and restaurants. The east side of the island is where all the action is, that was where we stayed, (that said the island is so small wherever you stay your're never too far from anything). As soon as we arrived we all LOVED IT!

The road that runs along the island, full of bikes, pedestrians and horses

Another view of the main road, it runs right around the island

The Mosque was so pretty at night, this was one of the little side roads off the main road

The Mosque is also lovely in the day

There are no shortage of BEAUTIFUL lodgings, all for cheap prices (we stayed at a place called BDV, amazing, two luxury, king size rooms for $22/each room a night- CRAZY!). Some people avoid Gili T as it is known as the "party Island" maybe because it was low season (and the fact that we go to bed every night by 9 at the latest) but we definitely did not feel like it had a huge party scene. We heard from some young people we met that the night life was awesome, but we missed it :( One of the few downfalls of travelling with kids- you miss out on all the nightlife). We did notice that in the evening there were live bands every where, and they were REALLY REALLY good! Check out this band we heard at the hot spot Sama Sama...

Reggae Bar Sama Sama

This beach runs the whole stretch of the East side of the island, some parts are nicer then others, but it is all beautiful

The beach along the east side

Johnny decided to get his diving certification while in the Gilis as he heard the diving was awesome, (he forgot his certificate at home and as he got certified before there were computers, they had no record, so he had to do it all over again!). That left me with the girls for 3 full days, pretty sweet spot to try and keep busy. The first day we went for a snorkeling trip to visit the other islands. Was pretty good snorkeling, but not easy with two kids out in the open water, I was nervous the whole time. Made the girls have life jackets,which neither were pleased about. In the end it was great way to see the other islands (only $10/each for the whole day) but I wish we could have spent more time exploring on land...

Gili Air

Having lunch on Gili Air

From the boat

 We ended up renting bikes for a few days which is the best way to get around . We had a great time exploring the island, checking out the west coast (only about 20 minutes to get across), it has a totally different vibe, not as many accommodations but plenty of restaurants and bars, still maintaining a very laid back feel. All the establishments put out beanbags and small tables to watch the sunset- very lovely

Every restaurant puts out lanterns or candles to have a romantic feel

On the ride cutting across the island, very nice scenery, through fields...We took the road back, much easier but not as interesting 

The Gili Islands definitely delivered, it was everything we had hoped for, the food was amazing, Johnny said the diving was some of the best he has ever seen, really cheap and beautiful accommodations and awesome beaches. Like Lombok we wish we could stay longer, but we had to leave- thinking we may come back to this area after Vietnam as we heard the island of Flores was not to be missed.... I will keep you posted.

The night market that sells the most delicious smelling food, it is right near the pier

Booting around on bikes, you can drive the whole island in about an hour

Hope to see you again Gili T