Ko Lanta and Khao Sok

The Mangroves

The Fish Farm in the Mangroves

Lanta ended up being an okay place; not my favorite beach but okay.  A wrong choice in accommodations has a big impact and, while it was an inconvenience not staying on the beach, I got plenty of beach time.  There is really an interesting mix of folks there with a large Muslim population.  Everyone gets around on motorbikes or tuk-tuks and it's not unusual to see a woman in traditional Muslim clothing (fully covered from head to toe) driving a motorbike in 90+ degree weather.  I don't know how they can do it.  I sweat just standing still in shorts!  You also see tuk-tuks full of young men in traditional clothing on their way to school?/worship?  It was different than anywhere else I've been in Thailand and I liked that aspect of it.

I found a great Thai/Pizza restaurant that I frequented with great food and the 72 year old cook coming out to ask me if I liked the food.  The manager was a guy in his 60’s with a constant smile and who ran around constantly trying to tend all the tables, selling gas to motorbikes in between.  My last meal there, the cook hugged me and the manager said he would miss me! 

Koh Rok was definitely my favorite part of Koh Lanta, but the half-day kayak trip through the mangroves was also pretty cool.  I loved my guide.  He was 19 and kept asking me, “You okay?”  He said I was strong because I paddled for two hours, but really we spent a fair amount of time playing with the monkeys on the shore.  He would laugh and say, “Look, the snorkeling monkeys.” Because they did stay under water for a long time and were really good swimmers!  They were cute and not aggressive – a good thing in monkeys!

Then on to Khao Sok.  I visited Khao Sok last year and loved it and I STILL love it and hope to go back again someday.  It’s a beautiful place with great jungle noises, including gibbons in the morning off in the distance. 

The smells are also amazing as are the birds, insects and some funny little tree-hopping chipmunk looking things. 

A Tree at Sunset

A Canoe Trip on the Sok River

The View from my Room

Another Karst View While Canoeing

A Hike in the Jungle

This morning I was awakened by monkeys jumping on my roof to get to the bananas near my room.  Fortunately, these also were nice monkeys with no interest in me. 

Monkey in the Park

Monkey in the Mangroves

Monkey by My Room

On the minibus to Surat Thani I met an interesting fellow from Scotland and we talked most of the way.  He’s traveling for 3 months total, has another month to go and is headed for North Thailand.  He works as a freelance nurse so can take off chunks of time he said.  One of what I think is the most difficult things (and at the same time best things) about traveling is that you meet people with whom you really connect, but it’s brief and that’s just the way it is.  No one expects that you’ll keep in touch or ever see that person again, but they make an impression that stays with you.  I’m now on the overnight train waiting for its departure back to Bangkok and winding down my trip.  It’s been a good one.  I’ve had some great experiences, met some incredible people, been to some amazing places and I am ready to head home.