18th Jan to 19th Jan, 2016

I did plan on covering 10 days in one blog, but it has proved to be impossible, so bear with me.

We arrived here on 18th January  via Bangkok but were too late to make our way to Ko Lanta as the journey involves two ferries and we would have been too late to catch them before they shut down for the night. So we spent one night in Krabi. The difference in temperature was the first thing we noticed as it had been almost chilly at the end of our time in India (OK, I know, not as bad as where you are!). Hotel was simple, but clean and comfortable.We went out to eat at a local restaurant which had some great food and amusing staff as you can see from the photos. Val was in heaven as she got stuck in to some good Asian grub – and a coconut!

The next morning was MY BIRTHDAY! We had breakfast and then took a quick stroll along the promenade by the river where a quick birthday photo was taken to prove that 61 is not really all that bad and I am obviously surviving fine. Note the pathetic attempt at a selfie!

Then off we set in our little Mitsubishi for Ko Lanta. It took a bit longer than we thought it would as there are two ferries to cross, but some 3.5 hours later we arrived at Crown Lanta Resort that will be our home for the next three weeks. Our room is really nice, the star attraction being the pool outside. Luckily neither of us sleepwalk! The pool runs the length of our block and then does the same at a right angle down the side of the other block, making it, by my estimate, about 100 metres in length. I managed 2 lengths on the first attempt! More on this later. The rest of the resort is also very pleasant, though VERY HILLY. The climb to the restaurant (called The Peak) for breakfast is a challenge!

As it was my birthday we decided to celebrate with a visit to the Reggae Bar at Happy Hour, which we enjoyed so much we stayed on to eat and to enjoy the birthday cake that Val had organised. We shared it with the staff who were there (there were 4 of them and 2 of us) and had a nice chat. All in all a lovely way to see in another year. Here are the embarrassing photos…..