The month of November 2017 we dedicated to a final trip travelling as a couple, we are ecstatic to welcome our little bundle of joy into the world come February, but we still wanted to squeeze one last trip in travelling just the two of us. We wanted a destination where it would be warm, we wanted to swim and laze on beaches, and we needed it to be relatively comfortable for me with the growing belly. We feel like we know Thailand so well, so we knew what to expect and would feel safe - so it was an easy choice. We started out with a few days in Bangkok, eating and catching up with old friends. We stayed in our old neighbourhood and it was fun to see what had changed and what was still the same.
We soon jetted off to Krabi, from where it was an easy transfer to Koh Lanta – a new island for us! We had booked a little bungalow way down south, as it should be nice and quiet down there.
Our bungalow, and the view from our bungalow.
Nice and quiet it is. The bungalow is very simple, definitely nothing fancy, but the restaurant serves up truly yummy Thai food – that has not been dumbed down for tourist taste buds, the staff is very friendly and the beach is definitely not crowded. The water is not that crystal clear, gin blue, that I (and probably everyone else) loves – but other than that, we’re loving it!
We did some great little trips on Lanta. One day we walked (yes, I walked in the heat, 7 months pregnant, it was a feat of strength ha ha :D) to a waterfall. It was a beautiful hike through the lush jungle. It had rained the night before, so the narrow dirt path was a bit muddy and slippery in places. The path ran along side a small river, and remembering our river tracing experience in Taiwan we actually hopped in the shallow river instead and walked in the river upstream towards the waterfall. It was nice and cooling and this way we were all alone as the path meandered away from the river a little further up. But we weren’t all alone, we heard rustling in the leaves and then we saw a small troupe of monkeys that were intending to cross the river. Right in front of us a tree had fallen and created a natural monkey bridge across the river, the monkeys scurried past us but not before doing a pitstop for a spot of grooming. It is always fun to observe the macaques ??
Along the way towards the waterfall there was also a cave to explore, and not long after we had a lovely dip in the pool under the waterfall.
Another day we walked to the next beach over a very steep headland, we did a pitstop on the top at a little restaurant that took full advantage of the amazing view.
It was probably the clearest water we saw on Koh Lanta, and made for a lovely and much needed dip after the warm uphill – and downhill climb.
We also wanted to explore Lanta Old Town on the other side of the island. But that was definitely not within walking distance. Because of the baby-bump we decided to be careful and forego a cross-island scooter adventure, and instead we rented a car. The car was delivered to us at our hotel – easy-peasy. We started out exploring the old teak houses on stilts, and we found a little cafe/boutique operated by a French/Italian guy who spoke great Thai. Here we bought Christmas presents for my sister and Martins mother, and in the cafe overlooking the water we tried homemade ice-cream in some very interesting new flavours. We also got talking to another customer, a Thai woman with her baby. She was married to a Swedish guy, and they had lived on the island for years. She told us there was a substantial expat community on Lanta, and there was even a Swedish school! On the main walking street we did a bit more shopping and snacking, there were some interesting shops with cute handy craft, art, one-of-a-kind clothes and of course all the usual souvenirs.
We had a great time on Koh Lanta, it is a large island so there is a lot to see and do, and we could defiantly see ourselves coming back on day – with a baby in tow :D