This morning we have just a couple of hours before we need to head off to Phuket town and to the ferry. Sadly, I’m beginning to wonder, not for the first time, if this was such a great idea joining the girls. Really, don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be with others and doing things together but I’m really not sure we have the same view of either Thailand, the people, budget or indeed travel itself, but hey I’m here now and to be fair I don’t think I would have bothered going to one of the smaller islands if it hadn’t been for them.
At the ferry terminal after quite a bit of discussion it seems, and far more than is necessary due to there only being one option, we finally book the boat to Ko Lanta. We have to go via Phi Phi and briefly this keeps Amanda happy. That was until we got on the boat. Like a lot of things in this part of the world there are no health and safety measures in place and each form of transport is generally overloaded, this included today’s boat. Yes it was overcrowded and yes it was super hot on there but at the end of the day it was travel in Thailand and it was the only way out to the island, unless you wanted to pay 3 times as much to go by speed boat! Amanda was funny though, I don’t actually think she knew what she was saying half the time. She thought the police should be informed about the overcrowding and lack of a/c and that this was just illegal and she was serious! Can you see how I was beginning to wonder what I was doing with these guys!
We arrived in Phi Phi, made a mad dash to grab our bags before finding the next boat to Ko Lanta. The next boat was fine and we managed to get a seat and relax for a bit which was nice.
On Ko Lanta we were met by the GH owner who drove us to our home for the next couple of days. There was a little bit of a problem when we arrived regarding the room as far as Amanda was concerned which was a bit embarrassing but I hope the GH owner didn’t take too much offence.
Our bungalow
Amanda and Erin are quite different, Amanda reminds me a little of the lead character out of Sex and the City, not that I’ve ever seen it (but how I imagine her to be) and Erin is a little like me.
In the evening we popped out for a bite to eat to find that Amanda just wanted western food which of course is never as good as local food and always more expensive, I think normally what Amanda wants Amanda gets! ;-) And I just didn’t have it in me to suggest the reason I tend to travel.
Ko Lanta beach
Anyway we managed to find somewhere for all of us to eat while we discussed what we were going to do for the next couple of days. Its seems snorkeling and hiring mopeds to ride around the island was on the agenda although I think Erin might opt out of the first activity!
The area we were staying in was really lovely…….if you were a couple and in love! Just not so great for three single straight girls in the evenings and Amanda was after a party.
After dinner we found out where the ‘action’ was and headed there. To say it was an interesting place would be a complete understatement. It had a handful of expats there, all beach types with either no top on or their top undone (never a good look) and with more tattoos than you’d see at a tattoo festival! Increasingly I’ve thought I might just have to get a tattoo to fit in a bit more in Thailand! ;-) I don’t have anything against them of course, I actually quite like them, but to give you an idea, we were talking to a diver from the UK who showed us a tattoo on his bum of two footprints and the words Pirate for Life underneath – he had it done just because his boss said if he did he would pay for it and he never passes up anything free!! Exactly!
Looking at the bar in the harsh light of the evening it came to us that it was like that scene in Star Wars in the cantina when Luke Skywalker walks in to find every creature imaginable! That was this bar.
So when it really did get too much we headed back in preparation for hiring more mopeds in the morning, wish us luck!
Sunset on the island (although I guess that's obvious!)
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