007. Lanta: A Tale of Cowboys, Parades and Caves
So, back to Koh Lanta it was.
Spending a bit more time in a place we more or less knew meant that within an hour of arriving we'd checked into our hotel (early, we knew a guy), dropped our laundry off with old faithful, WhatsApped a man to drop us off a scooter, and bumped into our resident stray cats.
Speaking of animals, on the Wednesday we had...animal day (and also our anniversary). We took a ride on the beach of Lanta Noi (the north island) with Lanta's very own Monty Roberts-esque Thai Cowboy, got far too hot, had a shower, and then visited Lanta Animal Welfare - a charity on the island, originally set up 20 odd years ago, who have almost single-handedly addressed the stray dog and cat population. Not to say there aren't strays, but the strays that are around are neutured, vaccinated and injury-free.
We also took a boat trip out to Koh Kradan, Koh Mook and Koh Ngai, to snorkel, float about, and visit the Emerald Cave, a 80m-odd stretch of sea cave (which you swim through in near total darkness) and a fully enclosed beach with 360 degree sheer cliff sides and jungle. I was ambivalent about the cave when it was listed on the itinerary, thinking it would be the filler part of the day, but I take it all back. Sadly no pictures of this bit, due to the aforementioned cave-swimming.
Last but by no mean's least for Lanta, we accidentally went to Lanta Lanta Festival 2024! Not sure where to go for a late lunch on a day we'd been working, we thought we might as well scoot over to the Old Town to have a look. People had been pretty dismissive about the Old Town in passing, but boy what a cautionary tale in not listening to people. The Old Town was excellent! Gorgeous old buildings, snaking streets, great food and drinks and shops, and - as a bonus - a full on Festival with music, dancing, a parade, and essentially the entire island's population in attendance.
Note: This song played on loop for about two hours while we were there, and will now happily haunt us for the rest of our lives. I would encourage hitting play while looking through the photos, for the full experience.
