21/2/25
It was easy to doze in the mornings. The warmth was like a sleep inducing drug. We had some coffee, with coconut milk. It worked really well. No idea why we haven’t tried it at home. Khem, our host, fed us whole cocoa beans. They were fruity. Hard to grow, and getting harder, she said. She was cutting banana leaves. They use them for a dessert as well as plate liners. Worthless though. A huge stack for about £1. Jonathan had a go, it required a lot of focus.
Khem also harvested, or rather picked up, a coconut. It had a smooth brown exterior that had to be hacked off. It was very hard work. We couldn’t do it. When we came back out Khem had found a friend to do it for her. It was tasty. There was a huge bowl of coconut water, but it didn’t have a very strong flavour. The meat was sweet though.
We got packed up. We were staying somewhere else for a couple of nights. It was fairly apparent that we probably wouldn’t find our future lodgings quite so laid back and in touch with nature. We bid farewell to the kind Khem. She even offered us her kitchen to come back and use. A kind woman.
It was only 5km to the next place. We’d decided that we’d get away with riding such a short distance in the heat of the midday Sun. The road was packed with scooters. They’re really an important feature of Koh Lanta. We think a shared e-bike scheme would be better. Or at least shared scooters. It seems daft to us to have so many. On the main road there were still few trees, so no shade. We rode down the now familiar road to the Lotus, then turned right toward the national park.
The road was just as busy, though it was concrete instead of tarmac. As it was technically a minor road there was a modicum more shading. We’d been warned that the road got hillier further south and we weren’t disappointed. There were a couple of very short, but steepish, climbs. It was nothing though. We were cruising into Seaside Sanctuary Bungalows in no time.
A fairly stern woman greeted us at the smart looking restaurant. We were obviously early to check in and she was quick to say it wasn’t ready yet. We were prepared for this, and asked to leave our bikes by our room. She was very insistent we couldn’t go in. We accepted this, and continued furiously trying to disarm her. She may have smiled. Only a little bit.
We locked the bikes up and headed to the sea. There was absolutely nothing to do here apart from a couple of sights, drinking, eating, smoking and going to the beach. We’d already learnt this but doing nothing wasn’t Jonathan’s strongest suit. The beach was a short walk through an old broken gate and some light jungle. It was a very rocky shore and Frankie went to find some rock pools. Jonathan sat in the shade to do some writing.
After a bit we headed further south to find a bit of sand. We had a short dip. Then eagerly awaited to be able to access our room and have a cold wash. We also wanted, nay needed, somewhere to hide for the hot few hours we had to endure. By 5pm we were ready for dinner. Although initially struggling to find somewhere close by to eat, we actually landed on a small restaurant only 2 mins away.
The restaurant didn’t have an English name, but it had great reviews on google from people seeking authentic Thai cuisine. A small boy was inside watching Tom and Jerry. It wasn’t vegan of course, but we took the vegan passport. The small woman had a friendly face, which occasionally smiled. She seemed to be on board after a short read. And we already knew which dishes were easily vegan.
We ate tofu pad thai, papaya salad, fried tofu and tofu tom yum. Lots of tofu. It came out bit by bit. It was extremely delicious and we sweated like crazy. We’d started to learn more about Thai culture. The family sleep in one room on the floor. The shops and restaurants were simply extensions of their houses. This woman had several more children that appeared and her husband arrived home wearing a long gown that complimented her equally completely covered attire. There are quite a few Muslims here.
After our affordable dinner, a princely £5.66, we went back to the restaurant that belonged to our room. We’d spied some chess there earlier and were eager to play again. We played a couple of games, Jonathan accidentally putting Frankie in checkmate, when he thought it was only check. Luckily we didn’t have to buy anything and we kept the mosquitoes at bay with the fan.
After dark we sat in our mosquito net tent and watched the apprentice. First we ate bananas in coconut milk, then nibbled some peanuts and assorted dried fruits. Bright red glacé cherries but less soft and sharper, small sharp dates and some dried fruits we don’t even know. They come in little packets for 5 baht each. We’re limited to whichever shops are close so we get what we can take.
The ‘neighbours’ came back at half 8 but they didn’t stay long and immediately headed back out on their scooter. They seemed to make quite a lot of noise just having a shower. We definitely weren’t experiencing the island in the same way. We just hoped they didn’t come back too late and wake us up. The room felt a little warmer than the last one.
Surly They Won't Make It 