Koh Lanta, Thailand

   After the Koh Lipe adventure and a night in Trang, Thailand, we headed off Koh Lanta, another island farther north, closer to the tourist hub of Phuket. This time we took a organized tour bus there and even booked a room ahead of time. We got there and went to our hotel. The room was okay but for the price we weren't satisfied. It wasn't quite on the beach but it made little difference anyway, because it was rainy and cloudy.
   The next day (rainy/cloudy again) we went to a new place right on the beach for the same price but as we later saw the actual room was pretty terrible. It consisted of a lumpy mattress with mosquito net, a fan, and a little shelf. The next day we changed again to a more expensive but much nicer place. The bungalow was raised on stilts and had floors made of teak wood. There was a fridge and a friendly little kitten too. The weather remained bad and we tried to get a train back to Bangkok for the remainder of our Thailand time. There was no train available, though that turned out to the best as after a few days the weather got sunny and we enjoyed the beach.

my sandcastle

   One of the highlights of the beach was building a huge sandcastle next to a little stream going into the ocean. Then, the next day, we went on a four-island tour around the neighboring islands. We started with a few snorkeling places, which wasn't great, but the fish were cool and you could feed them food scraps and they would have feeding frenzy. After that we went through an ocean cave to a hidden cove in the island. It was spectacular, not hard to believe it had once been used by pirates and smugglers. Later we stopped at a beach and then headed back.
   The day after we did an elephant riding adventure. In all it was a bit disappointing. It was cruel to the elephants and we just went around the forest a bit. Then the next day we left to go to Bangkok, to catch a flight.

sunset at koh  lanta

 Next destination, Israel

           

elephant riding