20/2/25
We were quite happy sleeping in our fanned mosquito net. Our sleep was comfortable. We woke up between 7 and 8am. Drank some more Thai coffee. Our hosts were around. They were very friendly and helped us to try new things. Then by 8:10am we had headed out to walk to a viewpoint marked on google maps.
The first kilometre was on a minor road. There was plenty of shade though the temperature was still ‘only’ about 25C. We passed lots of trees being tapped for a white sticky liquid. We weren’t sure what species they were. A random dog started running and barking at us, around us, a lead hanging off their neck. After delivering us some scratches the owners, a mother and two children, came up the road, they struggled to regain the lead.
We turned onto the main island road briefly. Then off again. The viewpoint was signposted as 50m away. But we hadn’t climbed any hills. A rust coloured rough dirt track lay in front of us, then the steep hill came into sight. Apparently scooters climb it easily. After a trudge to the top we were blessed with a great view of the east of the island. There was a little shelter to sit in and a closed bar. There were signs advertising camping.
We found a shaded spot to sit in the shelter, overlooking the water. The Sun was starting to get more intense. We sat there for at least an hour without doing anything. A couple of scooters came up, tourists aboard. They would look around, then jump back on and go down. It was interesting how riding a scooter was the predominant activity in Koh Lanta. Most people seem to consider the island inaccessible without one.
We watched as the owner of the cafe brought up bananas. Then she went back down and came up with a large sack in the foot space of the scooter. The bar would maybe open soon. A man from Germany and a woman from the Netherlands came up. The man had been coming to Koh Lanta for 17 years. They’d been here last year and there was no shelter or bar. We spoke for a while then after they’d left, we went to get a smoothie for ourselves. We finally realised that banana smoothies are the best. No sugar syrup and with coconut milk. The rest are all intensely sugared.
We’d been there around two and a half hours. Refreshed we began to walk back down in the pounding heat. We were completely exposed. Back on the main road we bought some more coconut milk and an assortment of little Thai treats. Dried fruit and some small bags of peanuts. Then we trekked back home. Luckily the minor road had that lovely shade.
After a cold shower we prepared our meal. The leftovers from the day before, mixed with more tofu, mushrooms and cabbage. We had definitely over done the quantity of ingredients. There was more than enough food. We also cooked rice, but saved most of it for later. The ‘golden needle’ mushrooms were like noodles. We were really sweating now. It was a very hot day. We sat in our hut. Fan blasting. And played some more chess. Frankie was quickly getting better.
When it got to dusk, it had clouded over a bit and it was mosquito time, we walked to the shops again. For mangos mainly. We hunted for a better deal. We’d realised that mostly we would be told a whole number for a price. And that didn’t make sense. They were just rounding up. We don’t mind giving our money to people here, but prices should be set clearly in our opinion. A fruit shop we went to charged us 53 baht for two mangos. She actually looked at the scale too.
The weather was actually bearable to walk in. We were wearing as few clothes as possible but still. We ate our own invention, ‘banana sticky rice’, and then mango sticky rice. A few nuts too.
We were getting ready for bed by 9:30pm. It was our last night here, and we were keen to see more of the island. But we doubted anywhere would be as nice as ‘Yim med Yim ship’. It felt like we were experiencing some real Thailand, at least a little bit.
Surly They Won't Make It 