We arrive at Koh Lanta and our bus driver lets us out at a place we found listed in the Lonely planet, although I fear immediately this is one of those occasions the LP is very very wrong, and I am right.
We wander through the cottages and no one is anywhere, not even a peep. Finally we find a man, but it is very obvious this is nowhere we want to stay.
Luckily there is a nice looking cafe not so far down the road so we decide to head there for some lunch and decide what to do, and this is where we meet Luke.
He is the funniest out-rightly gay young man with a hilarious infectious attitude that made you feel as though you wish you were this young vibrant gay guy or failing that, that he was your best friend.
Not one to be shy, he quickly became our hostess, our tourist information centre and our chauffeur.
Soon enough he had fed us and showed us a range of places we can stay and has got his father to give us a lift to the south of the island.
However his father drives us but because he's not too sure of the way and doesn't speak English, his mother comes because "she can speak a little English but doesn't know the way" and then Luke comes because he knows the way and obviously speaks English too. (Kind of makes the mums role redundant but I don't say anything!)
So me and my friend and the Thai family set off to this hotel Luke has recommended, all the while Luke's pointing out places he knows along the way and good places to eat.
We arrive at the hotel which is right on the beach and has a beautiful view. Luke and his family come with us to check out the place (even all coming to look at our room!) and leave when they know we're satisfied.
Unfortunately not so long after they leave we discover the rooms suddenly been invaded by ants and that there's no way which we can stay there! (Ants all over the bed and climbing up the walls!) So after some talking with the management they finally agree that we can move to a more expensive room although somehow we manage not to have to pay the extra.
Koh Lanta is a quite place not much going on daytime or evening. Just the locals going about their daily business and a group of expats that have made a home here, who we meet later on at the Drunken Sailor, a local cafe.
A perfect place to hang out- bean bags and hammocks, we'd already spotted it earlier on in the day and headed there after dinner.
Its a funny group of people, from an american couple who have just moved to live in Chiang Mai for the year to a couple who have lived in Koh Lanta for nine years!
We spend the rest of the evening between Drunken Sailor and What's up Bar at our guest house drinking Chang and Sam Song until the early morning with a band playing then later everyone joining singing popular pop songs from the book.
The next day we change hostel to one that one of the locals from Drunken Sailor recommended which is much better and cheaper than where we were staying, and spend the rest of the day chilling out reading on our huts balcony. For dinner that night we decide to check out the restaurant at the new hotel as it has a stunning view of the bay, and what a beautiful romantic view it was. A long curved bay with the sea lapping on the shore and lights twinkling along the beach.
The rest of our time on Koh Lanta continues in much the same way, quite and relaxed. Its definitely a place for not doing much as really there is nothing to do- a nice escape from the real world for a while but then to stay there for so long you really wonder what the group of people who live there are really escaping from.
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