Koh Lanta – Tiny Island Life

Two days before I was supposed to leave for Chiang Mai, I learned that the smoke in North Thailand was the worst in the world, and there were several million people hospitalized as a result. So, I hopped on a chat with Bo, the infuriatingly unhelpful AirAsia elderly travel agent bot, and booked a flight to Krabi instead. I was feeling overwhelmed by options (I learned the Dutch word for this feeling from a rather clingy Dutch traveler, but promptly forgot it), and I decided to pick Krabi, because I, like so many others, was tempted by the online travel agencies that carefully hide the tourist sprawl of Krabi Town/Ao Nang behind cropped photos of pristine beaches.

Leaving Bangkok, the smoke from the North was layered over the city, trapping the tallest buildings in heavy, gray clouds. About 2 hours after arriving in Krabi, I developed a massive headache, maybe from inhaling PM 2.5, but most likely from the screaming tourists on the crowded beaches, the traffic from Songkran celebrations in Krabi, and the insufferable heat. Krabi Town was not my place, and I knew that immediately. I booked a bus the next morning to Koh Lanta, a tiny island known for mostly harboring backpackers and honeymooners.

Koh Lanta was the best last-minute decision I could have made. As some of the other backpackers I spoke to said, it feels like what I have been told Thailand was like 30 years ago. It seems like maybe what Krabi was when my dad stayed there, in a beach hut for $1 a day, a story he likes to tell often. It is peaceful and respectful and full of wildlife, from the nature trail of Mu Koh Lanta National Park to the limestone islands of Koh Ha and Koh Rok. Iguanas, snakes, black tip reef sharks, parrot fish, fluorescent crustaceans, surprisingly tame and non-rabid dogs, scary cats that liked to follow me around a little too closely. And the beaches!! After conquering my overpowering fear of riding a motorbike (something that most tourist just casually do? With no concern for their well-being or driving on the left side of the road?) I biked all the way around the island. First to Pirate’s beach, with its’ kitschy pirate statues and plastic parrots mixed in among the shades of yellow, orange, and purple limestone. Then to Koh Lanta Old Town, to buy some dark gold and sea blue Fisherman pants, which I am currently obsessed with and have been wearing every day since I bought them (for $3.50). I met an Israeli girl who had just finished serving in the IDF, and we biked down the coast together to sneak onto the semi-private area of Bakantiang beach, where the luxury hotels are. Floating in the ocean staring up at the multitude of shades of green, it was one of the only times I have felt as if nature has a presence, like a living being. I know that sounds like I’ve stepped right into the heart of yoga-worshiping Bali, but I don’t know how else to describe that feeling.

Between dancing with “the kind of excitement of a teacher on the first day of school” (this is how an Australian teacher described my energy to me that night) at a techno bar on the beach, and flying on my red motorscooter on the curving roads, I was so in love with this island. It is hard to leave today, as I fly to Medan, Malaysia, to meet up with friends. Most of the people I met described the island as “a little too quiet” but I reveled in the low-season and the abandoned beaches. I’ve never liked eating alone at restaurants, but I actively sought that out here.

Notable sights and experiences of the week . . .

-Running on the beach in the morning as the blue-green water splashed around me, listening to an audiobook, tears running down my face, feeling happiest I have ever felt on my own. Many internal revelations about myself ;’) (as I said in the last post, more fun travel clichés to come, just you wait)

-Asking for help when I couldn’t figure out how to work to scooter! This is important because I hate admitting that I don’t know how to do something and that I am a baby. Then, immediately embarrassing myself in front of 30 people as I almost crashed. Apparently, everyone at the hostel was worried that I wouldn’t make it home from my scootering adventures

-Discovering the joys of Daifuku Rare Cheese (!!) Mochi and coconut water on the beach, followed immediately by a sunset Thai massage

-Singing to myself as I panicked that every rustle of leaves on the nature trail was a King Cobra, waiting to attack. Picturing myself painfully dying of snake venom, while my snorkeling tour boat left without me. I only continued by telling myself that hiking by myself in the jungle was out of my comfort zone, and was therefore “good for me"

Reading: Chain of Gold, Cassandra Clare (I love her books, even though they are YA romances, I still think she weaves beautiful characters and stories)

Quotes I think about:

“Please recall that I am the pale neurasthenic one and you are the stern heroic one,” Matthew said to James. “It is very tedious when you mix up our roles.”

“So what is my role?” said Christopher. “Mad Inventor, of course,” said Matthew promptly. “And Thomas is the one with a good heart.”

“Lord, I sound dull,” said Thomas.

-Thinking about how nice and kind, when used as primary adjectives to describe a personality, are actually probably not complimentary. Thinking about how I can be described as “nice” and “kind” by people who don’t know me.

“Perhaps I should send for my cat.” -Me, contemplating how much it would cost for my sister to mail me Nymphadora and Sybil in a box so that I can carry them around with me.

“Cruel Prince James required a hot beverage to soothe his throat, parched from barking out his wicked commands all day. Tea, he thought, yes, tea and revenge.” Lucie read to her brother.

“I’ll just go put the kettle on,” James sighed.

-Thinking about sibling relationships, but mostly just how much I love Lucie and James and their sibling relationship