The tan lines are all but gone, yet I still daydream about my trip to Thailand this January. Oh Asia, how I missed you, you satisfy my tastebuds, you’re kind to my wallet and you never disappoint with the weather.
I’m no novice to Thailand but I’ve never been to this island called Koh Lanta – it’s one of the southerly-located islands in close proximity to Malaysia and has an interesting mixture of Buddhist and Muslim cultures. To get there you would either need to connect via Bangkok then fly onto Phuket or Krabi. Or like us, fly via Helsinki and then direct to Krabi. Krabi is located in southern Thailand and it’s famous for its stunning tropical and striking scenery of limestone cliffs, dense mangrove forests, and more than a hundred offshore islands.
Koh Lanta remains to keep its low-key charm, as possibly one of the last locations in Thailand. It’s a sad state of affairs but a lot of Thai resorts have been ruined by the introduction of fast food chains, sleazy bars with parties and unattractive, often high-rise, hotels. I first visited Krabi in 2007 and dreamed of returning ever since. It was a lovely cute fisherman village with mostly locals going on about their daily business back then. Fast forward 10+ years later, I had a shock of my life when I returned – Starbucks, McDonalds, KFCs, Burger Kings … I mean, who goes to Thailand and eat at these places is beyond me. Overcrowded, overbuilt not what I expected … I understand economical progress is unavoidable but only one message is clear here – Krabi is turning into a money making machine with no consideration on protecting the environment and the stunning surroundings. Just my humble and ever so slightly middle aged opinion. 😉
But back to Koh Lanta – an island some 70km south of Krabi which can be reached on a decent road; the only slight obstacle is the ferry crossing which can make transfers quite long. I suspect this is the reason why Koh Lanta remained its predominantly local and more traditional Thai feel. Please never build any bridges would be my advice! By my own admission, Koh Lanta was not a love at first sight, but it grew on me massively to a point I’d definitely return. It’s just so mellow, there’s no traffic, it’s easy to get around, there are pleasant and super wide beaches surrounded by nice jungle peaks, and it’s underdeveloped in comparison to other places in Thailand. You’d be hard pressed to find any buildings higher than one story let alone any McDonald’s!
Most places to stay are located in the south and south west of the island. We were on the western tip near a local town called Saladan. We picked this place for the amazing ocean views with Phi Phi islands on the horizon as an unexpected bonus. Our room had a great terrace to enjoy those vistas, and taking shower in our bathroom with views like that was an experience I will remember for a long time.
The main reason for the trip was to escape the horrible grey winter and what better time than January as its also my birthday. Other than that it was all about relaxing and enjoying the sun. And sun we had – for the whole week there was not a cloud in the sky or a single drop of rain just pure sunshine. With 35/36 degrees it was almost a bit too hot even for sun-worshipper like me.
What to do in Koh Lanta in 5 days:
Take a tuk-tuk (typical local mode of transport – auto rickshaw) and explore the island – we went to Lanta Old Town which took approx 30 mins to get to. It’s a lovely cute town with traditional teakwood houses on stilts above water. These houses are mostly turned restaurants, cafes or art shops. We had a nice lunch of spicy papaya salad and stir fry noodles with coconut and pineapple shakes. We also made use of the grocery shops and bought some staples – local Thai rum – necessity for those balmy evenings on our terrace!
Take a trip to the nearby islands – we picked the island of Koh Rok. Although we signed up with one of the packaged tours, we only used them for transport and for lunch. Instead of hopping from one island and snorkelling spot to another the whole day with tens of other boats, we just stayed on Koh Rok island. Perfect decision since we had the island literally to ourselves. Stunning scenery, turquoise seas with the temperature of a bath tub and not a souls in sight – utter bliss.
Explore Saladan village – similar to Lanta Old Town, it also has old wooden houses built on stilts above the sea where most of restaurants / bars are located. All were pretty much empty every time we went. Most days we either took the free hotel shuttle to Saladan to stroll around, stock up on rum, juices and water and go for lunch.
Klong Dao beach – this famous 3km long beach was next to our hotel. It’s very spacious and uncrowded offering a beautiful backdrop as you look back towards the island from the beach. We came here for an afternoon stroll before dinner or for a massage or both. There are lots of little restaurants and cute bars offering happy hour scattered under the trees making it the perfect spot for people and sunset watching.
There’s also a national park and lighthouse to explore on the island but we took it easy so perhaps that’s for our next trip.
Ao Nang, Krabi
After all this fun, it was time to move on to Ao Nang, Krabi for our last day before taking the flight back to Europe. Ao Nang is now a sprawling, busy and noisy town. Luckily we picked a place that was in a quiet location around 1,5km from the centre surrounded by stunning limestone peaks and set in a tropical garden.
On our final day, which was also my birthday, we headed to Ao Nang beach to catch one of the long tail boats to take us to Railay West beach. This is the most iconic beach in this area with striking cliffs towering around it. You can’t get here any other way other than taking a boat due to high limestone cliffs cutting off mainland access. What used to be serene places, Ao Nang and even Railay beach are now so polluted with the noise and fumes from the long tail boats. What a shame but such is the cost of global progress and tourism I guess… It was getting hot and crowded so we headed inland for a little exploration. Again it’s changed so much since 2007, when just a handful of small resorts could be found here. Now there’s a whole mini town wedged in between the peaks with bars, restaurants and mini markets so you can stay here without feeling stuck. We made our way to Rayavadee – an upmarket resort with a special bar / restaurant that’s built into a limestone cave on the Phranang beach called The Grotto. Since it was my birthday, we decided to treat ourselves to a lunch and cocktails here. It was delicious and the views were just breathtaking. Back on the mainland, we spoiled ourselves a bit more with last foot massage and afterwards, with one of those tasty rotti pancakes – at least some things stay as I remember them, nowhere else pancakes are this tasty than here in Thailand!
All in all, it was a great trip, I added a new island to my Thai island collection, indulged in delicacies Thai cuisine has to offer, soaked my body in sun and coconut oil, went on a few trips and all of this just under £200 for the whole week – win win! So until the next trip! 😉
Finnair flight review
First time flying Finnair from Heathrow via Helsinki to Krabi and very impressed by the professional yet friendly crew – received a very warm welcome and a lot of attention on all 4 legs. All of their aircraft were clean – flew on A350 out of London, to/from Krabi and the final leg back to Heathrow was on A320. Had some tasty food too – the only minor point would be that there was no vegetarian option, only fish or red meat dishes.
Loved their Nordic gin with blueberries and blueberry juice! Service was good, although the crew went to take an order from one passenger, then went to prepare their drinks and delivered it to them before moving onto the next passenger which didn’t exactly seem very efficient… when we boarded, the crew was offering drink on a tray with only one glass of champagne, the rest were juices or water. Of course almost everyone wanted a glass of champagne so the poor cabin crew kept running back and forth for more champagne but only ever replenishing the one glass of champagne without ever thinking to add more … also almost on every flight the crew had some issues balancing the signature Finnair glasses on the trays! 😂 we witnessed two accidents where all glasses slid off and went all over the floor. Luckily the glasses are so strong that nothing broke. Once I was being served, 3 glasses nearly landed in my lap – I had a very lucky save haha.
The entertainment system was a bit meh though, granted I fly a lot but the movie and series choices were a bit uninspiring. My fault for not having my tablet with me on this trip.
Helsinki airport is rather delightful! Loved the earthy tones throughout, it’s so vast and tranquil, like walking in a forest. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced this at any other airport.
And can we talk about the new platinum wing lounge? Very pleasant few hours were spent here, and of course we had to try the sauna! 😉 yes, there’s sauna at the lounge! All in all would definitely fly with Finnair again without any hesitation. Hoping to have a longer stopover one day to explore Helsinki and Finland!
Eyes On The Cloud 