Tuesday 8 April 2014

Island Life

After eight very relaxing days in Laos, I made my way from Vientiane back to Bangkok, so I could go towards the islands of southern Thailand. The overnight train from Vallaleng station to Bangkok took 12 hours, and was very comfortable, due to the fact that you get a bed. This was a lot more pleasant than the bus journeys I had taken over the previous few weeks. I knew Bangkok was big, but didn't realise just how far the city spread. Our train was travelling pretty fast and we were travelling through Bangkok's suburbs for the last 2 hours of the journey. Arriving at 6 a.m., I didn't expect the city to be very busy - the place was choc-a-block and there were hoards of people going about their day, or others concluding their night's partying!

My original plan, coming to Thailand, was to get off the beaten track. Due to the size of the tourism industry here, it is becoming increasingly difficult to wander the path less travelled. Luckily, I came across Koh Lanta, a small island in the Andaman Sea, South West of the mainland. It is nowhere near as busy as the more popular islands, like Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi, the island shown in the famous film, 'The Beach'.

Island life in Thailand seems to be even more laid back than the mainland; something I didn't think would be possible. Getting off the boat, there were taxis waiting to bring everyone to their accommodation. When I say taxi, I mean Honda 50 motorbikes with little side cars for the passengers to sit on. The journey of 12km took about 30 minutes, so we weren't exactly breaking any land speed records. 'What's the rush anyway', is the attitude of everyone here, something I warmed to straight away.

There is so much to write about the beauty of Koh Lanta, that I'm finding it difficult to decide what to include, and what to leave out. Driving around the island on a scooter is a great way to pass a day. As you go up the coast roads, there are many secluded beaches with perfect white sand and clear blue seas. The kind of ones you see in photos, and then question if the pictures are photo shopped to enhance them.

Some of the beaches have little bars on them, so you can cool down with a drink, after your swim. I must commend the owners of these bars on their resourcefulness - some of them are fully constructed from driftwood, held together by rope. They are class and fit very well into their locations. Unfortunately, the abundance of driftwood in the area is a tragic reminder of the tsunami, that hit the area in 2004. Many locals can still recall that tragedy as if it it were yesterday, and one guy nearly reduced me to tears, explaining his story to me.


The Southern end of the island is a National Park that is a dense rain forest with the lushest of lush, green trees all around. The trees go right down to meet the sea, almost all the way around the island. Some of these trees are upwards of 100 feet tall. Wild monkeys can be seen swinging in the trees as you drive. Some of them are at road level, scavenging for food from rubbish, carelessly thrown away.

Long Tail boats, the traditional Thai boats, have fascinated me for the last few years. They are lovely looking boats and their unusual looking engines always had me curious. It wouldn't have been a trip to this part of the World, for me, if I didn't get to hit the seas in one, so I organised a snorkelling trip that was hosted on a Long Tail boat. The guides on the trip were very experienced sea men - being at sea is their whole life, like a lot of islanders. They knew every nook and cranny, of every cove, that was worth visiting for snorkelling. The water was so clear that you could easily see 40 feet below where we swam. Tropical fish, of every colour, were just as curious about us, as we were about them.
When we got to one cave, we had to put life jackets on, as we were creating a human chain, to swim 80 metres into the darkness of it. Imagine our surprise when we swam through the cave to end up on a tiny beach on the other side, that could only be reached by swimming through the darkness of the ancient looking cavern. There were cliffs towering above our heads, all around this isolated beach. Trees were growing on the side of these cliffs, and you could see the roots coming out through the rock. I'm still trying to figure out how rock can support this form of life, growing into it!

Getting back out to our boat was traumatic, as by the time we got back to the opening of the cave, where the boat was anchored, there was a freak swell after picking up. It was really hammering the opening of the cave. Our guide was very calm and he got us out of there after a few very nervous minutes. Getting out of the cave was the first problem; getting back to the boat was the next, as it was moored quite a distance away, and swimming with a life jacket on, is tough. We had to let our human chain disband, so the stronger swimmers could swim to the boat. The rest of the party climbed on board a boat that was closer. All the guides from the other boats were just as surprised as our guide, at the swell, that had put a dampener on everyone's day. There was a lot of panic, but thankfully, everyone escaped injury. I felt bad for our guide, as he apologised to us, even though he did everything in his power to make sure we were all safe.

The swell going back to shore really showed what the Long Tail boats are made of. The side of our boat was being hit by wave after wave, and the vessel just ploughed through them effortlessly. The swell came over the side of the boat at one point and still, it motored on without strain. Needless to say, the boat lived up to all my expectations, as has Koh Lanta. I'd highly recommend it.

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