Koh Lanta – island of stormy castaways
Thailand has an off-season? I never knew…
Tropical...
The rumours and travellers tales surrounding Koh Lanta, a predominantly muslim island in the Andaman Sea south of Krabi and south-east of Phuket paint a picture of a still-undeveloped paradise where the hippy spirit of the ‘old Thailand’ can still be found. Famous for beautiful beaches and world-class diving sites, it supposedly offers a more laid-back and cheaper option for enjoying the crystal-clear Andaman waters.
Long Beach on Koh Lanta
However, the first thing we discovered when we went to Koh Lanta, is that the season is November to April. We went in May. I knew that the seas in the andaman were rough mid year and that diving is only possible over the months around new year, but I had no idea that anywhere in Thailand actually closed down. How can you have an off season when it’s still 30 degrees and even if it rains there is still bright sunshine most of the day?
We found out that the boat service from Krabi stops in April, so we had to catch a mini-bus. Never a good idea to catch a mini-bus anywhere from Krabi, as the chances are you will have to go through Satan’s travel agency. I don’t know when Satan set up his travel agency in Krabi, but he did a good job, tying up the bribes and kickbacks to all the taxi drivers and hotels in town so that they invariably take you there, no matter where you say you want to go.
We booked a minibus to Lanta from a nice hotel downtown, and were picked up at 10:30, amazed that our 11 O’clock bus was leaving early (unheard of!). No, we soon discovered, it wasn’t leaving early, it was taking us to met Satan’s little helpers. The minibus dropped us off at Satan’s Travel Agency at 10:35, and we knew that things weren’t going to be as easy as they had seemed. We knew about Satan’s T.A. from a previous trip to Krabi, when the taxi driver from the airport took us there to buy ferry tickets to Koh Phiphi against our will. On that occasion, we escaped by refusing to get out of the car and demanding he take us straight to the pier where we KNEW we could buy tickets. “No, no,” he said, “you have to buy tickets here.” We didn’t, and we knew it, so we escaped.
But this time, we were delivered into the hands of the unfriendliest people in all Thailand.
It starts friendly. “Hello, the bus will leave in 30 minutes, come inside and wait.” They call. I knew what was coming, and said, “No thanks, I’ll wait outside.” “Come inside” they replied, slightly less friendly. “No, I’m fine thanks” I replied again. “Come inside and let us show you our wares or we will slaughter you and eat your flesh” they coerced. Chica went in. “Where are you staying on Koh Lanta?” she was asked by Satan’s daughter. “We’ll find a place once we get there.” Replied Chica. This statement incurred the wrath of the demon. “No – you shall not – Koh Lanta is almost all closed – if you don’t book through us you will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity!” Not fearing the demon, Chica stoically refused their demand that we book through them and hecne give them a hefty comission. The demon grudgingly handed over the post-it notes that passed for tickets, and made us wait. As we had not booked through Satan, we had to suffer, so the 11:00 bus became, without any notice, the 12:00 bus. “You don’t want to book through us? Well then, wait – hahahahahahahah!” Ok – it wasn’t quite this bad – but they were really nasty unfriendly people and seriously p*ssed us off.
Finally, the minibus left. We were the only two passengers – and obviously no-one except us was happy about this. Our driver looked like a cross between Yogi Bear and Kim Jon Il – I’m not sure if his hair was supposed to be an afro or just a bouiffant… After driving for 15 minutes, he stopped outside a 7-11 and went in. This was OK – everybody needs to stock up on essentials sometimes. But then, after another 15 minutes, he stopped the minibus, and with no word to us, crossed the road and started shopping for – birdcages. This blew our fuses, so I climbed up to the front of the bus and started honking the horn over and over. He ignored us. More honking. He sauntered back across the road and climbed into the bus. “Whattya think you’re doing?” we asked. “duhhhh! I was shopping!” he replied. If only we knew some really filthy words in Thai, it would have been the perfect time to use them. If our surly driver was going to stop for shopping every 15 minutes, it was going to be a looooong trip.
Anyway, after a 2 hour drive including two ferry crossings – from the mainland to Koh Lanta Noi (Small Koh Lanta), then from Koh Lanta Noi to Koh Lanta Yai (Big Koh Lanta - our destination), we made it. The driver dropped us outside the Koh Lanta office of Satan’s T.A., so we just hoisted our bags and walked away before the minions of hell could have a second shot at us.
Then we walked. It rained – not a lot, just a bit. We walked along the northernmost beach of Koh Lanta. Supposedly a glittering place full of life and crystal clear water – it was dead. Almost nowhere was open, there were no people except for 3 old muslim women and a muslim man breaking the commandments of their faith by getting drunk on Thai whisky on the beach. It was so depressingly sad that we decided to walk on. An hour later, we were halfway down the next beach – a 2 kilometer stretch of sand backed by casuarinas and small bunglaow-type resorts – almost all of which were closed. We finally found one that was open, and enquired about rooms. A nice Chinese-Thai man showed us round. Big, clean thatched bungalows for 300 baht to 700 baht, depending on aircon and location. Not a bad option, we thought, but decided to look on a bit more.
Long Beach Resort
The next place (one of only 4 operations on the beach open in May) was paradise. Modern-Thai architecture, electric golf carts to drive you from the beach bar to the front desk (so you didn’t actually have to – god forbid - walk the the 100 metre distance!). The bungalows were SO nice…we were tempted, even though it was US$280 a night… but we figured that was a little OTT, so we went back to the last place “Long Beach Resort” and took a 300 baht bunglalow.
Then it started raining again, only this time it was like someone had broken the sky – just like in Khao Sok N.P – a real tropical downpour. We sat in the resaurant and drank beer and watched the rain thrash the palm trees about. It was pretty cool, actually.
Stormy Weather
Next day it was sunny but blustery. Our Satan T.A.-inspired bad mood had faded, and we realised that Koh Lanta in the off-season was not depressingly empty, but rather pleasantly deserted, It was like going to the seaside in winter. The sea was so rough that you couldn’t swim, but there were long empty beaches to walk along, and we sat for hours just watching the waves crash on shore and toss giant logs and other flotsam (or is it jetsam) around. It would have been like a winter seaside holiday except that it was 30 degrees and we could walk around in shorts.
Flotsam and/or Jetsam
We rented a suzuki jeep, and set off to explore the island. We have become spoiled for islands wince we’ve been in Thailand, and Koh Lanta is not as stunningly tropical as Koh Samui with its 100,000 palm trees – but it is still a beautiful, deeply-jungled island. We drove past the caves in the middle of the island – they look like quite an adventure – but didn’t go in. Drove to the very south of the island where we discovered the nicest bungalows on Lanta – small and simple but stylish - but they are nice partly because they are at the end of a really, really bad road. We thought about staying there when the whole family comes, but the isolation would make shopping for bargains or nipping out to cool beach bars in the evining difficult.
South end of Long Beach
The next few days we drank beer, slept and read. Walked along the beach and ate seafood. It was nice and relaxing.
Staring at the ocean
So the verdict on Koh Lanta? Can’t say. In terms of diving and snorkelling, it is supposed to be near some of the best dive sites there are, but unless you go there in the high-season, the island is so different that it is imposible to tell. The people on the island were nice and very friendly, and with diving, snorkelling, caving, kayaking in the mangroves and day trips to Koh Phiphi all and option, it looks like a fun place to be. It is also a lot cheaper than Phuket – although haggling would be required. The place we stayed at will do us a discount on air-conditioned bungalows with hot-water showers – but fan rooms would probably be fine in the cooler months around new-year.
We plan to go back again in November to see Koh Lanta at its best before we make any judgement…
More info on Koh Lanta click here
Tropical...
The rumours and travellers tales surrounding Koh Lanta, a predominantly muslim island in the Andaman Sea south of Krabi and south-east of Phuket paint a picture of a still-undeveloped paradise where the hippy spirit of the ‘old Thailand’ can still be found. Famous for beautiful beaches and world-class diving sites, it supposedly offers a more laid-back and cheaper option for enjoying the crystal-clear Andaman waters.
Long Beach on Koh Lanta
However, the first thing we discovered when we went to Koh Lanta, is that the season is November to April. We went in May. I knew that the seas in the andaman were rough mid year and that diving is only possible over the months around new year, but I had no idea that anywhere in Thailand actually closed down. How can you have an off season when it’s still 30 degrees and even if it rains there is still bright sunshine most of the day?
We found out that the boat service from Krabi stops in April, so we had to catch a mini-bus. Never a good idea to catch a mini-bus anywhere from Krabi, as the chances are you will have to go through Satan’s travel agency. I don’t know when Satan set up his travel agency in Krabi, but he did a good job, tying up the bribes and kickbacks to all the taxi drivers and hotels in town so that they invariably take you there, no matter where you say you want to go.
We booked a minibus to Lanta from a nice hotel downtown, and were picked up at 10:30, amazed that our 11 O’clock bus was leaving early (unheard of!). No, we soon discovered, it wasn’t leaving early, it was taking us to met Satan’s little helpers. The minibus dropped us off at Satan’s Travel Agency at 10:35, and we knew that things weren’t going to be as easy as they had seemed. We knew about Satan’s T.A. from a previous trip to Krabi, when the taxi driver from the airport took us there to buy ferry tickets to Koh Phiphi against our will. On that occasion, we escaped by refusing to get out of the car and demanding he take us straight to the pier where we KNEW we could buy tickets. “No, no,” he said, “you have to buy tickets here.” We didn’t, and we knew it, so we escaped.
But this time, we were delivered into the hands of the unfriendliest people in all Thailand.
It starts friendly. “Hello, the bus will leave in 30 minutes, come inside and wait.” They call. I knew what was coming, and said, “No thanks, I’ll wait outside.” “Come inside” they replied, slightly less friendly. “No, I’m fine thanks” I replied again. “Come inside and let us show you our wares or we will slaughter you and eat your flesh” they coerced. Chica went in. “Where are you staying on Koh Lanta?” she was asked by Satan’s daughter. “We’ll find a place once we get there.” Replied Chica. This statement incurred the wrath of the demon. “No – you shall not – Koh Lanta is almost all closed – if you don’t book through us you will burn in the fires of hell for all eternity!” Not fearing the demon, Chica stoically refused their demand that we book through them and hecne give them a hefty comission. The demon grudgingly handed over the post-it notes that passed for tickets, and made us wait. As we had not booked through Satan, we had to suffer, so the 11:00 bus became, without any notice, the 12:00 bus. “You don’t want to book through us? Well then, wait – hahahahahahahah!” Ok – it wasn’t quite this bad – but they were really nasty unfriendly people and seriously p*ssed us off.
Finally, the minibus left. We were the only two passengers – and obviously no-one except us was happy about this. Our driver looked like a cross between Yogi Bear and Kim Jon Il – I’m not sure if his hair was supposed to be an afro or just a bouiffant… After driving for 15 minutes, he stopped outside a 7-11 and went in. This was OK – everybody needs to stock up on essentials sometimes. But then, after another 15 minutes, he stopped the minibus, and with no word to us, crossed the road and started shopping for – birdcages. This blew our fuses, so I climbed up to the front of the bus and started honking the horn over and over. He ignored us. More honking. He sauntered back across the road and climbed into the bus. “Whattya think you’re doing?” we asked. “duhhhh! I was shopping!” he replied. If only we knew some really filthy words in Thai, it would have been the perfect time to use them. If our surly driver was going to stop for shopping every 15 minutes, it was going to be a looooong trip.
Anyway, after a 2 hour drive including two ferry crossings – from the mainland to Koh Lanta Noi (Small Koh Lanta), then from Koh Lanta Noi to Koh Lanta Yai (Big Koh Lanta - our destination), we made it. The driver dropped us outside the Koh Lanta office of Satan’s T.A., so we just hoisted our bags and walked away before the minions of hell could have a second shot at us.
Then we walked. It rained – not a lot, just a bit. We walked along the northernmost beach of Koh Lanta. Supposedly a glittering place full of life and crystal clear water – it was dead. Almost nowhere was open, there were no people except for 3 old muslim women and a muslim man breaking the commandments of their faith by getting drunk on Thai whisky on the beach. It was so depressingly sad that we decided to walk on. An hour later, we were halfway down the next beach – a 2 kilometer stretch of sand backed by casuarinas and small bunglaow-type resorts – almost all of which were closed. We finally found one that was open, and enquired about rooms. A nice Chinese-Thai man showed us round. Big, clean thatched bungalows for 300 baht to 700 baht, depending on aircon and location. Not a bad option, we thought, but decided to look on a bit more.
Long Beach Resort
The next place (one of only 4 operations on the beach open in May) was paradise. Modern-Thai architecture, electric golf carts to drive you from the beach bar to the front desk (so you didn’t actually have to – god forbid - walk the the 100 metre distance!). The bungalows were SO nice…we were tempted, even though it was US$280 a night… but we figured that was a little OTT, so we went back to the last place “Long Beach Resort” and took a 300 baht bunglalow.
Then it started raining again, only this time it was like someone had broken the sky – just like in Khao Sok N.P – a real tropical downpour. We sat in the resaurant and drank beer and watched the rain thrash the palm trees about. It was pretty cool, actually.
Stormy Weather
Next day it was sunny but blustery. Our Satan T.A.-inspired bad mood had faded, and we realised that Koh Lanta in the off-season was not depressingly empty, but rather pleasantly deserted, It was like going to the seaside in winter. The sea was so rough that you couldn’t swim, but there were long empty beaches to walk along, and we sat for hours just watching the waves crash on shore and toss giant logs and other flotsam (or is it jetsam) around. It would have been like a winter seaside holiday except that it was 30 degrees and we could walk around in shorts.
Flotsam and/or Jetsam
We rented a suzuki jeep, and set off to explore the island. We have become spoiled for islands wince we’ve been in Thailand, and Koh Lanta is not as stunningly tropical as Koh Samui with its 100,000 palm trees – but it is still a beautiful, deeply-jungled island. We drove past the caves in the middle of the island – they look like quite an adventure – but didn’t go in. Drove to the very south of the island where we discovered the nicest bungalows on Lanta – small and simple but stylish - but they are nice partly because they are at the end of a really, really bad road. We thought about staying there when the whole family comes, but the isolation would make shopping for bargains or nipping out to cool beach bars in the evining difficult.
South end of Long Beach
The next few days we drank beer, slept and read. Walked along the beach and ate seafood. It was nice and relaxing.
Staring at the ocean
So the verdict on Koh Lanta? Can’t say. In terms of diving and snorkelling, it is supposed to be near some of the best dive sites there are, but unless you go there in the high-season, the island is so different that it is imposible to tell. The people on the island were nice and very friendly, and with diving, snorkelling, caving, kayaking in the mangroves and day trips to Koh Phiphi all and option, it looks like a fun place to be. It is also a lot cheaper than Phuket – although haggling would be required. The place we stayed at will do us a discount on air-conditioned bungalows with hot-water showers – but fan rooms would probably be fine in the cooler months around new-year.
We plan to go back again in November to see Koh Lanta at its best before we make any judgement…
More info on Koh Lanta click here
aimlessly scribbled by Shadyswamp at 9:33 am
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