Ko Lanta: motorbikes & monkeys

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Today was so much fun! I rented a scooter for 200B (about NZD$10) and set about exploring the whole island. After 2 full days of being cooped up in front of the computer (funny, sounds like being at work) my photoshopping was finally done and I was ready to start exploring again.

Ko Lanta is 30-odd kms long with good roads running all the way around it and across it. It was fun cruising through random villages, bits of jungle, beach front, the island has it all. I stopped in Lanta Old Town on the East side and walked around a bit, it's a colonial-style village with a few eateries and tourist shops. It was full sun and stinking hot (as usual) so I hid away in a beachfront restaurant and had the most amazing bbq fish for lunch. After that I continued on to the Chao Leh sea gypsy village, this turned out to be a bit of a disappointment because they've rebuilt all their tsunami-desrtoyed houses as concrete blocks so it looks very uninspiring. However, I happened to be there right at school was being let out, and I watched all the parents pick up their kids on scooters. Overall, the island doesn't feel touristy at all and everyone is just living their lives. It was a really peaceful feeling to pass through these villages where they are just being themselves and not trying to sell you anything.

After that I scootered inland for a bit and found a monkey show - it's actually just a guy who has a yard full of monkeys and can make them do tricks like ride a bike and get coconuts down from a tree. He let me play with one of the little ones :)

I also saw a baby elephant, only 2 months old! There was no entrance fee but you could buy a box of bananas for 100B and feed mother & baby. It was so cute - the baby doesn't know how to use its trunk yet so you have to put the mashed up banana in its mouth.


I even went for a swim in the ocean today. At around 5pm the ocean feels somewhat cooler - it may just be mind games - and the breeze at that time of the day is delicious, a welcome break from the inescapable stifling heat of day.

Overall 10/10 for today :) And just to make you all jealous, here's a photo of the sunset as seen outside my room.


Off to Ko Phi Phi on the early morning ferry tomorrow. I'm expecting it to be quite touristy but that's ok. Until next time!

ML