Today is moving day. We are heading south through the big island of Kho Lanta. I expect it to be busy and more touristy than we have been used to so far. As such we are only here for 2 nights before moving onto the first of the Trang islands. We got up at 8 as the ferry does not leave till 12.15. plenty of time to get sorted and pack the bags before being taken to the pier head. I've cocked up a little by booking the onward voyage online. I assumed that the boat would be a speedboat the same as the type that brought us from Phi Phi to Jum. It turns out it is a ferry and as such has a lot of seats and is never fully booked. Valerie from our lodgings berated me for wasting money with an online booking. She could have got the tickets for the equivalent of four pounds cheaper if I had allowed her to sort them for us. After she had finished telling us that we were wasting money her husband did the same but in much stronger terms. We feel suitably chastised and I feel cheated. I will beat myself up for being a spendthrift for the rest of this trip. Lesson learned and I will not make this mistake again.
At 1145 we said our goodbyes to our incredible hosts and we're driven away to the pier in the hotel pickup. This place has been amazing and Dear old Crispy is reluctant to leave this little piece of paradise. In future winters to come it will be a go to location when the cold starts to bite and our aging bones start to ache.
(0ne of the guard dogs. They are great and follow you about to keep on monkey watch. The monkey are not aggressive but will steal anything unattended. If this is your passport or money then it's a world of pain)
The ferry arrived at 1230 and we boarded without incident. 45 minutes later we arrived at the harbour in Kho Lanta. Before we docked the ferry guys asked where we were going and offered to book shared taxis. It's a side line for them to earn a few extra Baht and saves the passengers considerably on booking individual rides. I think we got a bargain here and I'm feeling a little better about the unnecessary spending of four pounds sterling.
(Good bye Kho Jum❤️)
The lodgings where we are staying are about 40 minutes from the harbour and ferry port. I anticipated this being a nuisance when again we move on in two days time but I've managed to sort it. On arrival at our hotel. We checked in and got Crispy settled in the room so she could shower. I went to speak to the owner to arrange our onward travel and sort out an activity for tomorrow to keep Crispy occupied. She's easily pleased but can become fractious if not occupied. We really enjoyed the kayak on Kho Jum and so I have organised a full days kayak adventure around some of the smaller outlying islands. Only being here for a full day it's a great way to see the sights the island has to offer. Also I have negated the need to return to the harbour for our onward travel. The owner has a friend with a long tail who will pick us up from the local beach and take us direct to Kho Ngai, our next destination.
The huts we are staying at don't have an onsite restaurant or bar so we had a walk about to try and find somewhere to eat this evening. At the end of the small road where we are staying is a great little eatery so we had a snack and again ate there this evening.
Once again the food was amazing. Everything in Thailand is spicy. It goes with the territory. It's a brave man that responds to the question "do you like spicy" with a yes. I could wax lyrical about the delights of the food and post a myriad of pictures. Pictures of people's dinners on facetube are a pet hate of mine so Suffice to say it was all fantastic.
As we were setting off there was a loud bang and a huge shower of sparks from the office building. I thought they were letting fireworks off to celebrate something or other but in fact it was the main fuse boxes blowing. The entire place was plunged into darkness. Within the hour it was fixed and we are tucked up in bed under the Aircon. It would have been a long hot night if they hadn't managed to fix it. I always carry a torch in case of such eventuality as it has happened before.
Crispy is asleep dreaming of another day in a kayak on crystal blue waters.
Bare and Crispy signing off Kho Lanta, Thailand.
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