WOAH Lanta!!

Here ya go TJ...LOL

I have 36 minutes to type this up, as I just bought 60 minutes of time for 200 THB.

Well Bangkok is over for now...I have one more day in Asia's sin city toward the end of the week after I hit Kuala Lumpur. I am just beginning day 2 on the beautiful island of Koh Lanta. And for 30 pounds a night [no damn sterling symbol on these keyboards] I made a brilliant choice with this hotel. Anyone familiar with hotel chains and have heard of The Langham will know they aren't cheap. If at this precise time I stayed in London I'd be paying 263 pounds a night, and if I were in Boston I'd be paying 505 dollars a night, so you know I got a great deal for 3 nights at 30 pounds a night here. But don't let the price fool you, I am in paradise. Right now as I look above my computer screen [hold up, let me take a picture so when I am back home I will edit this post and add it.]

A picture taken of my view whilst blogging

I am looking at endless villas nestled in between thick greenery rising up on a small mountain. Palm trees, perfect flowers and plants, beautiful yellow butterflies, and the odd cascading waterfall. I actually forget I'm at a resort, you sometimes think this is Koh Lanta in itself, but as you step outside the complex you are greeted with REAL Koh Lanta. Tuk Tuks willing to take you wherever you want to go, shacks on the roadside selling food and drink and the off Food Mart or 7 Eleven. It's hardly built up [thank God] and I'm glad I ventured here over Phuket which is compared to being Bangkok on an island. No hookers here, just peaceful bliss. I think I am the only singleton here, but don't care. It's full of couples and families. And in all honesty it seems that typically what a lot of people do is remain in the complex, I'd be surprised to see anyone venture out. I for one am not going to be a typical English person on holiday, remain enclosed in the familiarity of the hotel grounds until my next flight.

Speaking of flights, it was 1 hour and 20 minutes from Bangkok to Krabi. I flew on Air Asia and the flight was dirt cheap around 35 pounds or so including taxes. These are the equivalent of low cost budget airlines. What I liked about it was they had a really good menu of hot food and drinks you could order from at a very low price, you sat wherever you pleased and they were extremely quick and efficient, something that the UK airlines could learn a lot from. It's not this organised back home. On top of that the crew were again overly gorgeous and very friendly. I love it when everywhere you go the put their hands together bow and welcome you "Sa-wat-dee Kah." I'm going to be going home permanently hunched over from all of the bowing I've been doing.

My plane from Bangkok to Krabi

I haven't been active yet, I'm trying to decide on what to do today, whether to visit the marine park or find out about that Elephant Trek. I'm in a high risk Tsunami area and when reading my Lonely Planet book this morning realised it's on this very coast the Tsunami hit a few years ago. I even dreamed there was a Tsunami here last night. YIKES!!! If it happens hanging onto a tree and hoping for the best!

I had an expensive hotel breakfast for 650 Baht this morning and no bloody way am I doing that again. I'm off to the cheap roadside for breakfast tomorrow. I've already had my fair share of the Bangkok Belly so I'm ready for anything else that may come my way, and at this point don't particularly care. My stomach seems to have built up a strong resistance, although you will need to bring tablets to aid in digestion, laxatives in case you can't go, re hydration salts in case you get diarrhoea or use laxatives to help you go and some tablets to stop the diarrhoea. Basically bring anything and everything to help with whatever #2 eventuality you may have and that's some real talk right there.

In Bangkok I saw foods I wouldn't touch with a barge pole being sold at the local market including cockroaches, maggots and baby birds [I got pictures! Click to enlarge].

If you look closely these are deep fried baby birds

Mealworms, or maggots...BARF!!!

The weekend market is called Chatuchak and is huge. I spent about 3 hours there just walking around and still didn't see everything. It's the place to haggle and barter and you can buy anything from live baby frogs to food to paintings to clothing. I picked up clothing, Thai silk scarves and pillow cases. Replica BAPE and Millionaire Boys Club T-shirts went for 100 THB which is about 1 pound 40 pence, and a 100% Thai silk scarf would set you back 80 THB just over 1 pound. I picked up 5 for 350 THB.

On the Island of Koh Lanta, I've seen many a muslin woman dressed from head to toe with only their eyes showing in the traditional Jilbaab riding motorcycles carrying small children on them. It's not uncommon for children and I'm talking 2 year old toddlers and sometimes younger riding on motorcycles with no protective clothing with their mothers and fathers. At the Muslim women in their Jilbaabs I couldn't do anything but laugh. That to me was an amusing sight.

Another thing I've noticed here, time goes very slowly. The slowest I've ever experienced anywhere in the world and it's not just a being on vacation thing either. I've only been here about 4 full days and I feel like I've been here about 2 weeks already. It's just past noon and it feels like it should be about 3pm. I'm really going to have to pace myself to make it through till about 8pm tonight because I could probably be tired by 5pm if I over do it.

Off to do something other than stay in the resort!!