Beach Bums!

Koa Lanta is the name of the island where we headed upon arrival to Thailand. We chose Ko Lanta for a few reasons. First, it was relatively close to Phuket (no bus ride necessary) so that we could arrive to our beach the very same day we arrived in Thailand. Second, Ko Lanta is the lesser known island in the area due to its close proximity to Koa Phi Phi, which is very well known to travellers and holidayers alike. Third, because it was not as well known, we were hoping that it might be cheaper to visit.

We payed what we precieved to be a hefty fee to travel from Phuket pier to Koa Lanata with the slow boat. We had a stop over in Koa Phi Phi for lunch which broke up the trip nicely. We had a good, cheap lunch on the island, but soon agreed that we were all happy to not be staying on Phi Phi. Too many people selling too much stuff to too many tourists. Actually, little did we know that that mantra was to be fundamental here in Thailand. Described in a word: tourism.

Thankfully, we found a very helpful driver after arriving on Koa Lanta pier. Among many, many pushy people that all seemed to own hotels and resorts, we found the one driver who didn't care where we wanted to sleep. He just wanted to help us get to where we wanted to go, which was away from all of the touts. We knew that we wanted to stay down south, where it is quieter and "hippyish". Our driver found us an extremely reasonablely priced resort, away from much of the noise up north. We ended up staying there for close to two weeks.

So, instead of bragging through words, I shall be bragging through photos. Here is what we were up to in Koa Lanta.

Chillin' on the beautiful beach, taking photos



Partaking in the daily beer-o-clock run to 7-11



Getting the braids and going for Thai massages!



Going swimming in the ocean and showing off the tans



Eating. Lots and lots of eating.



Drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.



Frisbee and volleyball playing



Sunset watching



Lightening storm watching



Shopping at the Lanta Lanta Festival



Showing off their musical talents and partaking in some cultural activities


Fire-show watching



Might as well end this off with some drinking photos...

The infamous rum buckets! They just make you so happy.

Hopefully that gives you sufficient insight as to how our beach time has come and gone (so fast!). We all had a great time on the beach, and looked forward to some more great times up north.

-Jason and Corinne