The whole journey only took about 3 hours and cost 100 baht in gas. Add to that 50 baht for copious snacks and another 50 for the drive-on ferry and you have a grand total of 200 baht for the day - or $7! A mighty fine deal, especially considering friends of ours came the following day, took twice as long and spent twice as much via minivan. Plus, we were able to avoid the incessant pick up stops, caterwauling Thai music, and jam packed seating arrangements typical of every Thai minivan ride. We got to make a day of it instead, hitting the open road to check out the sights and sounds of rural Thailand and cruising in the sunlight.
While we managed to make it the whole way without getting lost, (partly because there were only three major roads, and partly due to our genius and well planned friend Richie who calculated how long each leg of the journey was and matched it to his speedometer. Cheers, Richie!) we weren't without mishap. As I was driving, my bike started to feel a bit wobbly. I thought I was imagining things until I remembered that about 20k back I hit a major bump. I pulled over and sure enough, I had a flat tire. Luckily, across the street was a mechanic / motorbike salesman / tire guy or whatever you want to call his multipurpose shop. I actually pulled over because I saw the universal Thai sign for that kind of shop: a pile of discarded tires on the side of the road. That's one of my favorite things about Thailand, bike fixer guys are a dime a dozen - there's literally one every 5k at least.
Note the ubiquitous discarded tires I was referring to above. The guy pulled a four inch nail from my tire, so I'm glad I stopped when I did! The whole affair only lasted ten minutes and cost me 120 baht - $5. Much nicer than in the states where that would have taken two hours and cost me 120 dollars!
I'm not going to lie, bums and lower backs were significantly aching once we arrived. Luckily, that's nothing a few paracetamol (Tylenol) and a $10 massage on the beach can't change.
We were able to have a nice four day holiday because the schools shut down all week save Monday due to the protest situation in Bangkok. Side note - the south of Thailand is a big supporter of the movement, and apparently politics and education are not separated here. But I digress . . .
Koh Lanta was a lovely spot. A bit pricey - but we stayed near the beach (not in those huts, I wish!) It as so nice to have our own scooters to tool around as we please. We pretty much kept to one main beach / bar - the Pirate Bar on Long Beach (Phra-Ae), owned and operated by some sweet Reggae men. The boys played pool there during the day while the girls soaked up the sun, as we do. We went to a cool beach party at Korner Bar the last night, but I didn't grab any photos. There was still a lot we didn't get to see, but I have plans to set up base on Koh Lanta again for my birthday weekend in March because it's pretty close to the Emerald Cave I've been dying to get to! (The one featured on The Bachelor, shame on me.)
All in all it was a great weekend. Koh Lanta, I can't wait to see you again!
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