Our time on Koh Lanta was coming to an end! After our excursion to Old Lanta Town with Muhammed on Saturday, we walked down the beach to Bambies for a sunset BBQ. On Sunday, we walked into Saladan and did some shopping, visiting with our vendor friends and saying our see-you-next-times.
That afternoon, Gai came by to clean the pool and we chatted for close to an hour. He’s moving on to a new job soon so I gave him my email address so we can stay in touch and meet up the next time we’re on Koh Lanta. I shared quite a few laughs with Gai throughout our three week stay! Such a nice guy.
For dinner, we went up to The Cliff at the Avani Resort. The resort has a really wild layout, with steep, curving roads and they offer a free buggy service to get around the property. The buggies are a bit like VW bugs without any doors. At first I thought, “nah, we can walk this,” but it’s actually pretty challenging on foot, not just physically but also just figuring out your way around. Plus, riding in the buggy was a gas, especially at the end of the night when the driver took those curvy roads pretty fast! Dinner was expensive (2000 Baht or about $81 CAD), the priciest meal we’ve had on Koh Lanta, but the flavours were fine and delicate and the views up there made it worth it.
On Monday, I did my barefoot beach walk then did a final walk into Saladan and back. Wind had her last massage (of ten!) and we enjoyed dinner and another fine sunset at Jasmine Nui Restaurant.
Tuesday was our last full day on Koh Lanta. Wind somehow chipped a tooth last week so she went off to Lanta Denté Clinic in the morning to get it capped. This was much more affordable than getting it done back in Canada and she got an appointment in days instead of months. Dr. Nat was kind and did a great job. While she was in the dentist’s chair, I went for one final beach massage at Dr. Thai Massage. Afterwards, I grabbed a cold Chang beer at the reggae bar, walked the beach and went for a swim.
We spent most of the afternoon packing. After three weeks in the villa, we had a lot of stuff to gather, organize and get back into our bags. I got done first so I was able to fit in some quality time by the pool before dinner.
There was no question about where we’d have our last dinner on Koh Lanta: Kaw Kwang Bistro. Over our three weeks on Koh Lanta we probably ate at Kaw Kwang six or seven times, more than anywhere else. We just love the people who run the place, the food is good and pretty cheap, and they serve my Som Tam spicy and my Chang beers cold. Plus, there was going to be a fire show again that night.
Before they got busy, I asked if we could get all the wait staff together for a photo. I gathered them around and said, “We’ll say nung, song, sam… Mai pet, mai aroy!!” (One, two, three… Not spicy, not delicious!!) And this is the photo we got! Just get a load of these kind-hearted people!!
Wind noticed that the restaurant sells the Chao Ley headdress scarfs that they wear so we each got one. But they wouldn’t take any money for them! Similarly, when I returned on my own later that night for the fire show and had a few beers, they again wouldn’t take any money from me. I felt really honored.
After I left Kaw Kwang, I headed down to the water, took off all my clothes and had a skinny dip in the Andaman. My heart was so full of thanks to the sea, the beach and the people of Koh Lanta. As I let the waves bring me back to shore, I thought about how transformative this trip has been. Truly, some of the best days of my life have been spent on Koh Lanta.
Back to Bangkok!
We had until noon before our pickup and drive to the Krabi airport, en route to Bangkok, so I started the day with my barefoot beach walk. We had just the right amount of time to say our see-you-next-times and then we were on the Koh Lanta ferry headed back to mainland Krabi.
We got picked up at BKK and then hit rush hour traffic so it took longer than expected to get to the hotel. I marvel at the complexity of this great city and how they make it all work. Looking out my hotel window, I’m probably seeing less than 1/32nd of the city. Its size is just staggering. We were greeted warmly upon arrival at the hotel and the staff had arranged to have a Happy Anniversary cake for us in our room. Nice touch! A little tired from the travel, we made it an early night, knowing there would be one last adventure in Bangkok before flying home…