Tour De Lanta, The Bike

I managed to sleep until around 6am this morning and didn’t wake Claire up until around 6.45am.  I didn’t have to go to the toilet all night (first time) so maybe I didn’t drink enough last night.  It was the cockerel behind us that woke me but I was bursting as well.  I guess that I needed some catch up.

First thing, we dropped our laundry of with Yuko and picked up our bike keys.  Its quite an old bike but it goes better than most of these little automatics.  She charges 250 Baht (£5) a day which I thought was pretty good since when we were here last time it was 200 Baht.  Maybe it would be possible to get one a little cheaper but you need a bike to shop around and its very convenient for pick up and drop off.  We almost circumnavigated the entire island in a couple of hours; well at least as much as is possible.  There is a break in the coast road at the south of the island where the national park is.  Its not possible to drive through it.  We crossed the island over the hills heading eastwards, joining the road that took us to Lanta Old Town.  This looks a little like an old wild west town from the 19 century.  We spotted it last time, but now they have some quite cool looking restaurants there.  All the shops etc on the coastal side are built on stilts.  Heading further down the coast towards the other side of the national park, the road ends at the Sea Gypsy Village called Sang Ga U where they have some spectacular views between the trees over the sea with some small islands in the background.  Claire was too frightened to let me stop to take photo’s so you will have to take my word for it.  The closest I got was a spot where they have built a few sea view properties for the western market, advertised at, “Priced to sell”.

We continued all the way up the coast back to the other side of Saladan where the ferry port is passing the monkey training school on the way.  This side of the island (east) is almost completely under developed whereas the other side (west) has all the tourists.  We had a quick drink near the port on one of the restaurants overhanging into the sea.  The food prices were even cheaper there and large gangs of oriental tourists were brought in for banquette lunches.  The food was almost all fish and seafood so maybe we will try that one day.

One of our objectives today was to find out and price the best way to get o Langkawi back in Malaysia and we stopped at 3 tourist travel shops which were very consistent in what they told us but not in their prices.  Its not possible to get into Malaysia by ferry in the low season so we can only go by road or fly.  To fly we have to go all the way back to Phuket then fly to Penang then catch the ferry to Langkawi and the flights are expensive.  Also it cant really be done in a day.  The alternative is to get a ferry to Krabi, minibus to Trang, a taxi to the ferry point in Malaysia then the ferry across to Langkawi but this can be bought as a single ticket.  You start the journey at 8am arriving in Langkawi for around 4pm.  The prices that we were given were 2000 Baht, 1500 Baht and 1250 Baht (£25-£40 each).  Because of these differences we might try another couple and do some internet work before booking.

I’m not sure if the elephant rides are closed during slow season as we didn’t spot anything on our way around today.   Also Claire did a little research on the caves and has been put of because you have to get to them with a guide through the jungle and it takes 2 hours just to reach them.  Apparently they have only recently been found when they burned and cleared part of the jungle.  Lots of the internal of this island is original dense jungle which mostly has not been explored.  The other caves called Tiger caves, I think are a little easier to get to and I might have to settle for those at best, if I’m lucky.  We have a very good internet connection here which is good and bad.  Good for me but it means that Claire can easily find things out before we do them.

We ate lunch at the little Thai place across the road again, got a few more supplies and came back for a dip in the pool, some internet time and some relaxation, like normal tourists.  Another dvd night tonight me thinks.

According to the forecast it starts raining again tomorrow but we have to wait and see.  If it does, I will hand the blog over to Claire while I get on with my book.  By the way, we found the cheapest place to get supplies; its the Lanta Mart in the ferry Town.  They have the best choice at the lowest prices which means that their stock turnover is quicker so it should be fresher as well.  They even sell those little bottles of Red Bull that I was telling you about.  Time to chill.

Ko Lanta

Like Phi Phi, Ko Lanta consists of several islands, the two largest are Ko Lanta Noi (small island) and Ko Lanta Yai (big island) which is where all the tourists visit.  The average age of the tourists on Lanta is much older than on neighboring islands so I have a chance of not being the oldest boy in town.  Its much more spread out and relaxed away from the parties with quiet beaches and glorious sunshine.  However, tourism is growing on Lanta, especially with the Swedish.  It's original name was Pulau Satak meaning Long Beach Island in Malayan but todays name probably comes from a Javanese word for fish grill, Lantas.

The main island is 6km wide and 30km long about 70km from Krabi on the mainland.  It has 9 white sandy beaches and the sea stays a pretty constant 29C all year around.  There are over 70 islands all together plenty covered in jungle and surrounded by coral reefs.  There are only two seasons, the hot dry season from January to April and the hot wet season from May to December but the temperature remains between 25 to 32C year around.  When it rains, it normally comes in short sharp bursts rather than long drawn out drizzle like back home.  

Lanta is a melting pot for Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and sea Gypsies.  The rural areas tend to contain most of the Muslims but we usually stay pretty close to the beach.  There are two things that we didn’t do here last time we visited, the Khao Mai Kaew Caves and Lanta old town where Sea Gypsy communities thrive in houses built on stilts.  I hope to rectify this and see plenty stalagmites and stalactites in the caves; do you remember which is which?  There is also another Sea Gypsy hot spot called Thais as Chao-Le.  They have occupied this area for hundreds of years and keep themselves to themselves and speak their own language.  They still have traditional supernatural beliefs asking forgiveness from the Sea Gods for sacrificing tourists, so don't go near them.  For those of you that have followed our blogs from the beginning, this is where I did the Thai cookery course, Claire had a bad hair day and we walked for hours through the jungle river to observe a very disappointing waterfall with Claire wearing flip flops and having toilet trouble.  Claire says that I have two left feet so I have to buy flip flip’s.

As soon as we arrived I spotted a man holding a card up with the words, “Mr Phil” and thought that must be for me.  He quickly relieved me of my big backpack and took us to the car park.  As we walked through the car park I was looking to try and anticipate which car he would be taking us to, constantly modifying my ideas with our every step until there was only one left; the bike with the wooden platform attached to the side.  Still it was exciting and different and he talked to me all the way back which wasn’t far.  As soon as we arrived at the Escape Cabins we were greeted by Yuko.  I don’t think that her family name in Ono or Lennon though.  She is lovely and showed us to our room explaining how everything works; including the satellite tv with 104 channels and the dvd player.  Plenty of space in these bungalows; a little different to what we have become used to.  There are only 6 places in this boutique hotel which are 3 years old but work starts next week on some more in adjacent ground.  Claire found a place from someones blog called Papillion apartments and we emailed them to request a couple of nights stay.  They returned apologising that they were away for a short break but put us onto these escape cabins.  Claire also liked the looks of those more than her original choice and they lived up to our expectations.  We immediately extended our stay by 2 days, especially as it was sunshine all the way at the moment.  In fact we were both burnt from our long boat trip, effectively on our first day of being in the sun.

We headed off for lunch at a local restaurant across the road called Krua Kritsana which turned out amazing.  High quality food, expertly cooked at ridiculously low prices.  The meals started at 15 Baht (30p) for an omelet to a whopping 100 Baht (£2) for the king prawn dishes.  All washed down with a couple of large Singha’s and we were away to inspect the beach only a short walk away.  Perfect, we have that to ourselves as well, if we could bear to ever expose ourselves to the sun again.  Anyway, back to pick up a few supplies and straight in the pool for a dip.  My only complaint about the pool is that its too warm; not refreshing enough in the heat.  I took a picture of our place, its the one on the left and we are not far from the pool.

We showered and headed off to the English Haunt called the Tavern as Claire said that it had great reviews on Trip advisor.  The prices were higher than most other places but judging from the size of the plates brought out, were still good value for money if you want that sort of thing.  However, they didn’t have the pie of the day so we both opted for the fish and chips which were a little disappointing and they only had small bottles of Singha.  Maybe we would have had fairer first impressions if we had opted for different dishes as all the others brought out looked great.  Anyway, off home, picked up one of Yuko’s free dvd collection and settled in spending the rest of the evening in our new comfortable home.  Claire added a video to her Gotcha blog.

Congratulations to Dan and Kyle who got engaged in Central Park, New York yesterday.  I guess that they had nothing better to do during the hurricane.  Mind you, it doesn't look like much of a hurricane and it doesn't look much like Central Park. Is Dan shaking hands with the camera man while he was taking this photo?

  Best of luck guys from the Naked Blogger's!

Gotcha!

I was none too pleased when Phil posted me semi-naked on the blog the other day and decided that I was going to try and get him back.  Our room at Natasha in Phi Phi was small and there really wasn’t enough room to shut the bathroom door (not that Phil does anyway) and so I didn’t have to wait long for my photo opportunity.  Phil wasn’t happy when the flash went off in his face mid-way through a dump.  After he finished his business he grabbed my camera and deleted the toilet shot.  But ah, I had anticipated this already and had already saved it on my laptop but I let him think he’d been clever in destroying the evidence. Normally I don’t share Phil’s toilet humour but this I couldn’t resist.  Who said revenge wasn’t sweet.

Phi Phi Phil

Usually pronounced Pi Pi.  I know, as I have to get up and do one about 4 times a night.  By the third time I’m wide awake and its only a matter of time before my i-pad comes out.  I have it on the dimmest setting but its still quite bright when its really dark in the night, especially as there is so little light pollution over here.  I feel guilty, as Claire wakes up more easily; but then again, not so easily as if I switched the light on and read my book.  This morning it was 3.45am when I couldn’t sleep any more and by 4am I was reading and responding to my email and comments, which was the inspiration for the title of this blog.

 Last night we did pop out for a light dinner and Claire asked me to order for us both and surprise her.  I like doing this as it allows me to be totally selfish and try things that I wouldn’t normally as we usually share (unless Claire doesn’t like one dish).  I spotted a dish called “Morning Glory”, which sounded appropriate somehow, and asked the waiter what it was.  He said that it was a stir fried fresh water lilly.  I wouldn’t normally try that in England, so here was my chance.  Taking the side of caution, I also ordered a chicken fried rice as I know Claire likes that.  When the dishes arrived, Claire first tried the morning glory and to my amazement she loved it.  It was lightly stir fried with lots of garlic.  My problem changed from eating water lilies with no rice, to eating rice with no water lilies.  Even though Claire loves chicken fried rice, I had trouble getting my share of vegetables.  Upon further investigation through my favorite wiki site, morning glory consists of the vegetable Ipomoea aquatica. Or more precisely, Plantae, Angiosperms, Eudicots, Asterids, Solanales, Convolvulaceae, Ipomoer, I.aquatica.  That’s why an anorak like me like wiki so much; you can go from knowing nothing about a subject one minute, to being an expert the next. At least now, Alfy will know what Ive been eating.  In chinese it literally means “hollow vegetable” and grows as a weed throughout south east asia.  Boy, I wish we had weeds like that back in England.  Apparently it was taken and grown in Florida and, because of its growth rate, has gone onto becoming an environmental problem in Texas and Florida.  A bit like the vegetable version of the rabbit in Australia.  That seems to happen quite allot; something is taken to another country and it grows or reproduces out of control.  Its because, as it evolved in its natural environment, other species evolved alongside it, eating it and keeping it under control.  No other species have had this chance when its moved; it has no natural enemies.  If its possible for plants to have enemies.

 I was right; we went on a boat trip today.  Before deciding which trip to make, I looked back at our first blog, when we were last here, to find out which islands we had already visited so we didn’t duplicate them all.  I was surprised to find how many we had seen; Koh Chauk, Koh Mook - emerald cave, Koh Kradan, Koh Ma, Klong Dao beach, monkey beach, along with Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta.  Then there were the ones on the other side of Thailand, Koh Samui, Koh Phang Yang and Koh Tao; and that’s not including the ones we didn’t know the name of when we visited them.  For this reason, we chose this day trip which includes lunch.  There were two versions, one on a fast speed boat costing 1300 Baht (£26) and one on a slow boat costing 600 Baht (£12).  There’s the dilemma, boys toys verses cost.  The slow one had a bar and toilets whereas the speed boat didn’t.  That tipped the balance for Claire.  The trip didn’t start well for lack of organization. We hoped that they were better sailers than they were organizers.  We finally got going but the boat had about twice as many people than would have been comfortable; I guess around 80.  Koh Phi Phi actually consists of 2 islands, the main one where all the tourists are called Koh Phi Phi Don and the much quieter but more dramatic one called Koh Phi Phi Lay, made cult by the film, “The Beach”.  We headed straight over to Koh Phi Phi Lay and curcumnavigated the island slowing for picture opportunities and then anchored up off shore of Loh Samah Bay and one of the crew swam with a thick rope to shore where he attached it near some ropes and wooden steps.  This bay was a little choppy so we needed the rope to pull ourselves to shore.  They put all our cameras inside a double layered bin bag which remarkably stayed dry.  Being the oldest and fattest, didn’t stop me being first to shore and I started the hike through the trails to the Famous Maya Beach.  However it is far from the deserted paradise that it was before the film and has become Thailand’s version of Benidorm beach.  If you get off the beaten track though it really is a beautiful spot.  We continued our way around the island sailing back to the ferry port where we dropped off the half day passengers and picked up lunch.  This is the point we wished tat we were one of them.  They had lied to us regarding the toilet and the bar; this was a dry ship containing only warm water, tea and coffee.  Our journey continued around Koh Phi Phi Don now but we stopped off at Bamboo Island (where’s the Koh?) and snorkeled to shore.  This was surprisingly difficult as the current made you take one stroke forwards two strokes backwards and to the left.  This time the crew didnt do the bib bag trick so I only have photos from the boat but the sand was white and find and was probably mainly made from corral that lined the shoreline.  The coral looked prettey mush shot but there were plenty of very colourful fish chasing you around.  Steve, an Australian guy from Newcastle, New South Wales, had one nibbling at his legs.

 We then continued around Bamboo Island and also circumnavigated Mosquito Island without stopping.  We continued our journey around Phi Phi Don stopping off at Monkey bay and shark bay for more snorkeling.  I didn’t swim to Monkey bay as we had been there last time we were here and I got loads of photo’s then but was disappointed not to have seen any monkeys.  I asked the skipper how long he had been running the trip and was surprised that he had been doing it daily for 10 years.  I said that he must have been there when the tsunami struck.  They were just coming out of Maya Bay full of punters when the wave came past them.  I asked if it had hit sideways or if he had managed to turn into it but he said that although the wave was large it wasn't severe out at sea so the boat just gently rose over it.  Although it hadn't caused them any problem he knew that it would have done when it hit shore but he hadn’t anticipated the total destruction that he saw when he returned to the point where the ferry terminal used to be.  Not only had it gone but all the shops and hotels in the area where all the tourist lived, leaving only rubble and corpses.  Having nowhere to land and nothing for any of the passengers to recover, he sailed over to the mainland at Krabi where they disembarked.  Unbelievable, the island recovered in no time and soon there was little trace of this disaster.

 We ended our trip by maneuvering close to shore where about 20 of the passengers swam to shore and climbed some rocks and started diving and jumping off.  Parkway Drive would have been proud of them.  We finished the trip and Claire was pleased to be able to get a cold beer down her throat.  The Australian, Steve and his wife Jenny joined us for a few and we all ate dinner together.  Of course, this included our new favorite hollow vegetable.  Steve said that this weed is also a terrible problem in Orange county where they live.  They are on this trip celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary so congratulations guys!  We came home after a quite exhausting day so tat Claire could finish the rest of her red wine off.  I managed to take 138 photos whilst on this trip but have only published a few of these.

 The unusual landscape of this area with huge vertical rocks thrusting out of the sea covered in vegetation (mainly I. aquatica, I guess) are made from limestone.  When you first look at the rocks, it looks like the sedimentary layers are all vertical.  How could that be.  how could they form all vertical over such a large area; maybe parts here and there would be vertical where folding had taken place.  If you look more closely, you can see that the sedimentary layers are actually mostly horizontal, like you would expect.  They look vertical because of the way that the rock has been split downwards.  Limestone, and most sedimentary rocks, partially dissolve in water, especially acidic water.  As droplets of rain, form and fall they dissolve carbon dioxide which makes it slightly acidic.  Thats what we cll acid rain.  It land on the plants and vegetation, seeps through the soil making it much more acidic when it reaches the bedrock.  The slightly acidic water runs down the rock and seeps through any natural crack in the rock.  An acid in solution has more positive hydrogen ions than pure water.  As hydrogen consists of a single proton balanced by an electron, a positive ion has lost this electron which makes it positively charged.  In other words, its a proton.  These electrically charged protons, strongly attract electrons from the rock molecules which breaks their chemical bonds.  The positive and negative ions left behind, dissolve in the water and are carried away with it in solution thus enlarging the natural crack.  The larger crack has more surface area for the acidic water to react with so the quicker the rock dissolves.  Over long periods of time, the rock between these enlarged vertical cracks fall away.  Helped by weathering of the sea below, the rocks are left thrusting out of the water in giant vertical columns.  The original cracks are left visible which makes it look like vertical layers of rock.  Problem solved, by my good old friend wiki!  For this reason, there are lots of cave formations and other karst features left in limestone rocks.  Also lots of stalagmites and stalagmites; the old favorite of young boys.  Do you remember how to remember which ones attach to the ceiling and which to the ground?  Tites come down as mites go up.  See you in Koh Lanta for our next holiday!

The Naked Bloggers Room

We snicked out to share a green curry last night so that Claire could sample a half bottle of local wine that we spotted at a more sensible price at out Khun Va Thai Restaurant. I nipped to the toilet while there as I was drinking the Singha and it looks like the locals here have some funny habits.  I guess that they don’t want sand down the toilet cause its a bitch to get out and you try to flush it around the bend.

It hammered it down during the night last night but although overcast it was hot all day today and very humid.  You get soaked just sitting having a beer over here.  We had a nice gentle walk around, pretty much all day today and I have included a map so you can see where we are.  The thin bit between the two bays is where most of the action is and we are staying.  The ferry point is on Ton Sal Bay and its only about a 5 or 10 minute walk to Loh Dalam Bay.  This whole thin bit is where Phi Phi village is with all the little walkways and shops, a bit like the “Lanes” on the beach.  This is also the part that was completely wiped out when they had the tsunami in 2004.  For this reason they have not rebuilt living accommodation in this area but big roundhouses where they serve food during the day.  This is in the area where it is the thinest.

I caught some of the wildlife on our journey around; a little kitten drinking from last nights rain and a hen scratching the ground of a rubbish dump for her chicks to find food.  There are some very pretty sights around this island and I took far too many to include even all the good ones.  We stopped in one bay for a beer and a sit down and it was so relaxing we almost stayed just people watching.  I wanted to go for a dip but we haven't had chance to buy towels yet.  We bought towels on our way back to our bay and ate at Paddy’s.  Strangely, this was a Thai restaurant and they didn’t even serve Guinness so we had to settle for Singha.  They had been recommended in the Lonely Planet and it was certainly clean and good value for money.  The main lady, I guess Paddy, was also very nice and friendly. 

I just had to finish off with a picture of a fruit stall as they look so colourful and are everywhere; almost as many as they have massage places.  We are worn out from our long walk in the heat and intend to chill out in our air-con room for the rest of the afternoon.  Yes, you guessed it, we may have a couple; it’s Wednesday night tonight.  Cheers Boys!

Claire has found another of her hotel specials in Koh Lanta but I will do the credit card bit myself this time.  If its as good as it looks, we might stay a little longer than the initial 2 nights we are about to book.  Claire fancies an all day boat trip tomorrow with lunch on the boat but I fancied a really early start long walk through the jungle to a deserted beach.  I guess that Claire will get her way; you can’t do too much for a naked blogger.