Rich and Cat's Travels: Koh Lanta

To get to Koh Lanta we had to catch two ferries and go via the Phi phi islands, which was nice to see but we were glad we werent staying there as it was full of young tourists.

So we eventually arrived at Koh Lanta after a couple of hours at sea and bargained with some taxi drivers to take us in a tuk tuk to our hotel. The tuk tuks over here are a bit more traditional and are basically a moped with a side car.

When we arrived at our hotel we checked in and went for a bit of an explore, the beach was over the road and there were some nice cafes up the road where we ate dinner and had a nice drink.

The following day we headed out on a boat trip to four islands where we could snorkel and see some nice scenery. The first stop was a really good snorkeling stop where we saw a Murray eel, nemo and some sea urchins among many of the fish, then we headed to emerald cave where we had to swim through a cave to get to a open cove where mangroves were growing and there was a nice beach. After this we carried on to the next snorkeling area where we saw more fish including some puffer fish, more nemos and lots of parrot fish. The final stop was on an island where there is one resort and some lovely peaceful beaches. The tide was a little low for snorkeling so we just relaxed on the beach and had a little explore of the island before heading back home

The following day we walked to the local animal sanctuary where they look after cats and dogs. we got to play with lots of cats and a couple of dogs there and learn about how they help manage the animal populations and the work they have been doing. Then due to the heat we decided we needed a swim so we crossed the road and went for a nice dip in the ocean. After that we decided to head to a beach nearer the main town where there was the possibility of snorkeling of the beach so we hailed a tuk tuk and headed there. Once there we hired a kayak and paddled out to sea a little so that we could try and snorkel but unfortunately the sea was a little murky that day but we did managed to find a couple of nice beaches and see some amazing birds while out at sea. After that we headed into town for a bit of a look around before heading back home. We wanted to head out to a nice restaurant which was a couple of villages away and decided rather than get another tuk tuk there and back that we should just bite the bullet and hire a moped as the roads are not that busy on the island. As Rich has no balance it was decided that I should drive so off we headed, after a false start, in the direction of the restaurant. We made it there, despite google maps not working, and had a drink ( I think Rich needed it to calm his nerves) had dinner and then headed home again (after another false start). I think I did well but Im not sure Rich thought the same!

The following day, as we still had the moped we decided to head to long beach for a bit of R&R then we followed that by headed back to the animal sanctuary to walk a dog, which was rather scary as we got chased by three local dogs twice! After that we headed to a restaurant which funds the animal sanctuary where they claimed to have the best mojito on the island and it was pretty good. After that we headed home and returned the moped in one piece, which i think was an accomplishment considering I had never driven one before and there were only a couple of false starts.

The following day we had to leave the island as we were heading to our next destination of Hong Kong