I gotta catch up on two days of fun here on Koh Lanta and I tried last night but this is what happened:
We had a lazy day on Sunday. Our only activity, if you can call it that, was getting one hour full body aloe vera massages at Dr. Thai Massage on Klong Dao beach. It was a slightly different experience compared to my massage on Friday: the masseuse seemed more experienced, instead of hot oil the aloe vera was cool, and it included belly, chest and facial massage. 500 Baht each, or about $19 CAD. The women are so friendly and love that we’re always asking for more Thai lessons.
We then walked a short distance on the beach to the bar where I like to get cold Chang beers and I got a further discount! 65 Baht vs. 70 Baht I paid on Friday and 80 Baht I paid on Thursday. The bartender tried to connect with me over my Seattle Seahawks koozie but I told him I found it and know nothing about hockey. Or, are they football? I have no idea. But he persisted in making a connection and remarked on my Grateful Dead tattoo. Now we’ve got something to talk about! He said he has two Grateful Dead t-shirts, one from 1989, with dancing bears parachuting over planet earth. I told him if it’s really from ’89, that puppy is worth serious money now and he beamed with pride.
For dinner, we went to L. Maladee, another one of the excellent restaurants that’s just a short walk from our villa. It’s family-owned and operated, opened in 1908 by a Chao Ley family, and named after their grandfather who was a great fisherman. L. Maladee is known for superior seafood and our server showed us the beautiful catches of the day that had just been delivered. One grouper was 20 lbs! I ordered another Som Tam with three chilies, along with shrimp and squid stir fried with vegetables and cashews, and garlic bread which was great for sopping up the spicy Som Tam lime dressing. Our server gave us free banana fritters with sweetened condensed milk to dip them in for dessert.
We walked down a narrow lane that went past a very old looking graveyard and led to the beach, where we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.
Farangs On the Move!
Yesterday held some serious adventure: I rented a Honda Click scooter for 250 Baht ($10 CAD). Everyone rides a scooter here and you’ll sometimes see a whole family of four precariously perched on one zooming by. Tourists also ride scooters and shockingly most don’t wear a helmet. This is not smart. If you rent a scooter anywhere in world, you should wear a helmet. /end safety soap box. I also obtained my international driver’s permit before coming to Thailand, as required by Thai law to drive here, but suspect that most people don’t bother doing this as I was never asked to present it when renting the scooter.
I’d never driven a scooter before but am extremely comfortable on two wheels so I was confident but also a bit worried. The accelerator is so sensitive! I rode up and down the small quiet roads near our villa for about 20 minutes before getting my co-pilot on board. She hung on for dear life and we headed out!
The only way to access the main road that traverses the length of the island from our place is to head into Saladan, so I put on my focus face and took some deep breaths. You got this! We got onto the main road, driving on the left here, and picked up some speed to 40 km/hr. (The speed limit was 60 km/hr in some areas but I never exceeded 50 km/hr.) We stopped twice for gas, putting in just 40 Baht ($1.60 CAD) each time, and it was interesting getting the pump working. I wound up spilling some gas onto the scooter but acted cool and like I knew what I was doing. I didn’t even tell my co-pilot about the mishap until later that day.
Mu Koh National Park
We drove 26 km to the south end of the island where there is a national park. All of Koh Lanta and the islets to the east of the island belong to this national park, which is about 130 km2. The designated park area features gorgeous palmyra palm trees and a stunning beach. The winding road leading to the park has some steep inclines, and just to make it even more exciting, some pretty serious pot holes and cracks in the pavement which are best to avoid on a scooter. We paid the park entrance fee of 420 Baht ($17 CAD), 200 each plus 20 for parking, and bought a big bottle of water for just 40 Baht. We both remarked that in Thailand they fill water bottles right to the brim. In Canada, they rip you off by about ¼ cup on a bottle of that size.
We had just a brief stroll through the palm trees before we were both soaked from sweat so we made our way down to the beach, quickly changed into our suits and waded into the refreshing water. It’s simply a gorgeous beach. Then we hopped back on the scooter and zoomed north again, motoring a total of 52 km.
I’d rented the scooter for the whole day which meant that I didn’t have to return it until today, but I brought the key back at 5pm. The man asked why, I could take it out to go get dinner, but I said I’d been drinking beer in the afternoon so no driving. It didn’t seem to matter to him and again he asked if I’d like to drive that evening. This was even more reason to decline, as I know there are farangs out there driving, sans helmet, hopped up on brewskies and/or stronger libations. Safety first, right Dad?!
Interlude: On Being Friendly
The Thai people are the most friendly people I’ve ever met and it’s 100% genuine and from the heart. They don’t call this country the Land of Smiles for no reason! But I’m shocked, shocked I tell you!, at how unfriendly white people are here (and I’ve noticed this traveling in other countries as well.). I always make a point of saying Sawasdee Krab! to everyone I come across in a day. About half of the white tourists say hello back–sometimes with a smile, sometimes not– and none of them would say anything if I hadn’t said something first. Research shows that initiating small talk with strangers is good for you but the white farangs here seem cooped up in their own little worlds, sometimes to the point of being downright rude. A large group of Euro-farangs were approaching me on a walkway the other day and I greeted them. One or two of them said hello back but none of them paused or moved aside to give me space to pass. They just took up the whole sidewalk and had I not paused they would have pushed me out onto the grass. I just don’t get it. Aren’t they also here on vacation, having the time of their lives like we are?? And why wouldn’t they want to share the good vibes??
We had dinner out on the beach, another Som Tam salad—I’m quite serious about eating Som Tam every day!–with an order of deep fried (huge) prawns, heads on, in a mild red coconut curry sauce. Aroy mak mak!! A suwei sunset (beautiful sunset) closed the day.
Today is another lazy day with nothing planned other than pool time, a beach walk and a couple of aromatherapy massages later this afternoon that are complimentary with our stay here. But tomorrow or Thursday, depending on when they can fit me in, I’ll be taking a speedboat 56 km over to the beautiful islands of Koh Phi Phi. I’m sure I’ll have something to report after that adventure!
ps. The pool lights are working! Three maintenance guys worked on it yesterday but last night they still weren’t working. Anne, a sweet and kind woman who works here, stopped by on her day off this morning to find out if the lights were working. I lamented, no. She asked if she could come in, taking her shoes off as everyone does here, walked into the utility closet and flipped a breaker. Bingo!! Leave it to a woman!