Another beautiful day in Lanta. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we set off to explore the east part of the island and the Marine National Park on the Southern tip.
We set out on the motorbike and drove across the island which sports some beautiful forests and some steep hills (the motorbike got a good workout). The opposite side of the island is just as beautiful as our side but lacks the white sandy beaches thus there are not many resorts on this side and little tourism. Many of the little towns are fisherman villages and a lot of the houses have evidently been built since the tsunami.
We drove south to the end of the road hoping to run into the National Park, but instead finding a little village and kooky resort with overpriced banana milkshakes. Shucks.
The scenery was still beautiful and we decided to try our luck heading south on the West Side of the island. We made it back across with a brief pit-stop at what we thought would be some caves, but instead turned out to be an elephant trek that we weren't in the mood for.
Back on the west side we found a neat beach called Nui Beach. We had to hike down a steep little trail to the almost deserted white sand. Besides for little shade huts constructed by various travelers the only building on the beach is a ratty old bar sitting on an overlooking cliff.
After a few dips, some sun, and a little reading, we continued on our journey to the state park only to find the pavement made way to a loose dirt road that the tiny motorbike could barely handle. We gave up on our dreams of the State Park and sat down for some lunch at a beach side restaurant called Same Same but Different, which (besides for the amazing location on the beach) was more same same than different.
After a quiet rest of the afternoon at the hotel, we went North for some seafood on the pier in a town called Saladin. It was tasty and cool and even rained a little. We got a whole red-snapper and to Emma's dismay I ate the eyeballs, my grandfather would be proud. We also had some tasty peppered crab and some pineapple fried rice, all for about 500 baht ($17). Not too shabby.
I (Sam) am very very happy we spent the extra day here in Lanta. I think I could live here, or at least spend more time vacationing. Sad, but excited we leave for bluer waters tomorrow morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment