Koh Lanta is an absolutely beautiful place.  We spent our first week on Koh Lanta on the East side of the Island in Old Lanta.  We absolutely loved it.  It was quiet and relaxed and laid back.  But be warned, if you stay there, you pretty much have to rent a scooter (assuming you have a license and insurance) because there is very little to walk to and what passes for a taxi in this part of the world (usually, the back of a pick up truck but sometimes a side cart attached to a scooter) is very expensive for this part of the world (we payed $13 to get across the island one way).  So, what did we do in our first week (besides visiting Lanta Animal Welfare)?

We played on swings over the ocean at various beachfront bars and restaurants.

Lisa in Old Town at Rareview Coffee and Restaurant.  This place is fantastic for grabbing a drink, enjoying the view, and watching the eagles (more on that later).  The food is pretty good too, but the absolute best meal we had on the East side was at a place called Pinto.  If you are in town, you HAVE to eat at Pinto.

We rented a scooter to get around the island.  We put about 200 km (124 miles) on the scooter in one week.  Given that Koh Lanta is only 6 km wide and 30 km long, you can tell we drove quite a bit.  Robert has finally admitted that I’m getting better on the back of the scooter — I finally figured out that the secret is to act like you are riding a horse (plant your ass on the saddle, sit up straight, relax, and let your hips and your feet do most of the work).  Note the lovely plastic helmet we were given — I’m pretty sure its only use is to collect some of the gore if you get into an accident, as it certainly isn’t going to protect any heads.

Robert on the scooter.  This hill doesn’t look like much, but I was hiking up the road because our little scooter couldn’t carry both of our fat asses up the hill.

We spent hours watching the sea eagles.  They fly over the ocean and hunt all day.  They are stunning.  We even had some hang out in the trees by our hotel.

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this “sea eagle” is actually a Brahminy kite.  This was taken from our hotel patio — the eagles got that close.  We saw at least three different kinds of eagles while we were visiting Koh Lanta.  I think one was a white bellied sea eagle and I have no idea what the other one was.

We visited beautiful beaches.  This one is Bamboo Beach.  There are two cafes that overlook the beach and one cafe on the beach.  We stopped both on the overlook and at the beach and I recommend you do the same.  Be forewarned however — the hill I had to walk up is the hill up from Bamboo Beach.

Bamboo beach on a not particularly sunny day.

We visited a nice little restaurant called Caoutchouc at low tide and watched birds hunt for dinner while I drank the most amazing ginger lemonade soft drink concoction.

A sea bird hunting.

I rode in a long tail boat (Robert was under the weather that day).  Careful though, as your ears will be ringing by the end of the day from the engine noise.

A long tail boat with tourists.

I was on a long tail boat for the “four islands” tour.  The “highlight” of the day was supposed to be a visit to the Emerald Cave — you swim through a short little cave passage in the dark and emerge onto a hidden beach.  And, it could have been a real highlight.   Except for the hordes of people.  Most of whom could not swim.

These tourists all lined up, grabbed the life jacket in front of them, and then floated through the cave while their guide dragged them along.  There were literally hundreds of people getting in and out of the cave this way.

I spotted a horn bill.  I saw two of these in a tree on the beach during my four islands tour.  How cool is this guy (or girl)?

Horn bill in the tree.

And, we found additional places for great views while enjoying our lunch.

The view from Sun Shine Hill Restaurant.

More to come from week 2!