Koh Lanta: The First 7 Days

Klong Nin village

We have now spent a few days on Koh Lanta and the village of Klong Nin has become our paradise. The aquamarine Andaman sea gently laps the long pale soft sand beach.  A selection of accommodation in the form of beach huts inconspicuously line the beach, nestled amongst palm trees with attractive tropical gardens and a backdrop of wooded hills. Beach bars/ restaurants are rustic and low key, decked in driftwood and shells, cool seating areas with mats and cushions on the floor, there is a real chilled out vibe here. Music from the bars is kept at an acceptably low level and the overall feel is relaxed and calm. 

Swedes, Germans and French seem to outnumber visitors from other lands, and, with the beach so wide and the sea so friendly, Klong Nin is a popular family destination. Rather cleverly, a couple of the beach bars will only serve alcohol and no soft drinks at all; these are clearly designed for those moments when childless visitors want some time away from the sound of kids.

Koh Lanta is predominantly Muslim, the mosques brightly coloured lime green and the mournful call to prayer drifts across the trees to mingle with the gently lapping waves transporting your thoughts. Whilst the Muslim ladies here are modestly dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, they appear to have a relaxed stance and, rather unusually, contentedly serve both pork and alcohol in their establishments for the visitors to their island. There is one minor road running behind the beach bars which is also low key hosting a few more restaurants, a number of street food vendors, a handful of shops and some ATM’s, there is all you need here without any tacky tourist traps.

Klong Nin is perfect for sunrise strolls along the beach, the sunsets are absolutely stunning and once the sun goes down the pretty lights and the cool chilled music from the beach bars entice you in for a cocktail or two and the atmosphere simply washes over you. We end our evenings with moonlit walks along the beach, and drift off to sleep to the sound of the sea, yes Klong Nin on Koh Lanta is our kind of paradise; calm, peaceful and romantic.

Elsewhere on Koh Lanta 

There is much to see and do here despite the narrowness of the island, though of course most of it is based on the sea. We have in our first week visited Lanta Old Town, a town of traditional wooden houses built on stilts over the sea, now housing shops and attractive restaurants. The Shine-Talay restaurant serves a Massaman curry which probably tops the “best food” list so far. The tuk tuk ride over the top of the island adds to the fun.

We have also indulged in a longtail boat trip to visit three other islands – Koh Aung, Koh Talabeng and Bubu Island, out through the mangroves into the open sea. The visit to Koh Talabeng and its sea caves afforded us the opportunity for our first experience of kayaking, and we loved every minute of it.

Apart from Lanta Old Town, the only other place of any size on the island is the small town of Saladan, the ferry point where all visitors first arrive on the island. Its streets are lined with cool eateries, the so-called “Walking Street” is another street food haven, and the ferry point itself is surrounded by more restaurants on stilts above the water, like Old Town. Saladan though comes into its own as darkness falls; night markets come alive, smoke billows from street food stalls, restaurants fill with chattering guests. Vendors entice you in to each eatery, a buzz fizzes through the town. It’s a rather special atmosphere.

But back to “our” village. Within Klong Nin, tour organisers and agents are aplenty; it wouldn’t be difficult to organise anything from day trips, snorkelling or fishing trips, visits to other islands, onward journeys, return to Krabi, it’s all very easy.

Foodie stuff

Throughout our Thai journey so far, the food has been exceptionally good, everywhere, far exceeding our expectations even though those expectations were pretty high. Bangkok was varied and tasty with the additional attraction brought by the Oriental influence in Chinatown street food; Kanchanaburi was good; Koh Lanta is so far, for the most part at least, outstanding.

The bars which line the beach double front on to the bumpy coast road; the nightly beach restaurants look terrific and the atmosphere is cool, but the food at these establishments is westernised and generally pretty bland. But walk along the coast road to the village and there are plenty of more authentic Thai restaurants- yes still with some “international” offerings but also with a great choice of Thai staples, and a few surprising fish dishes.

Curries are spicy and tasty; Tom Yum Goong is a very spicy soup containing river shrimps and is madly tasty; the Massaman curry, originally a Muslim dish, now adopted and adapted by Thai cuisine, is unbelievably good. The Massaman curry Phil enjoyed in Lanta Old Town was just simply fabulous. After two weeks in this country, Thailand is in the running for top foodie country ever visited!

The tsunami remembered

All around the island there are tsunami escape routes directing you inland and uphill; the pole mounted warning sirens are equally numerous. Blue posts indicate the height of the tsunami wave which devastated this area on Boxing Day 2004. Standing next to one of these 4m high poles (that’s 4 metres in the village, not 4 metres wave height) and imagining that day is humbling: this village must have been obliterated. It is simply terrifying to close your eyes and picture what happened that day, even though we are told that Koh Lanta was relatively lucky, saved by the elongated shape of the island.

Half way

We are now half way through our time on this lovely island, seven days in, seven to go, and feel immensely content here. This romantic location is the perfect resting place before we head off to less well trodden paths.