We successfully arrived at our hotel and almost immediately headed to the beach. Although we were exhausted from traveling for 30+ hours it was not even noon, and since we only had three days in southern Thailand we were determined to enjoy the sun. After taking a ferry boat past the famous Phi Phi and Railay beaches it was a relief to walk down the local road to a sandy beach with no one in sight except a couple of fishermen. Phew. We waded in the incredibly warm (bath) water, and took in the fresh air.

After a relaxing nap in the sun we walked the 10 min back to our hotel, showered, and then took an unsuccessful walk in one direction looking for dinner, came back and settled at the travel agent/restaurant across the street. I was surprised to see the owner wearing a head scarf and hear the Muslim call to prayer broadcast. While the country identifies as mostly Buddhist, there are significant Muslim populations in the south and Christian in the center and north.

The next morning we expected to sleep in but we both woke up before my alarm, Daisy from jetlag and me from habit. We decided to spend the day relaxing and walked further up the beach to where hotels and restaurants are more concentrated. We treated ourselves to an (amazing) hour long massage for about 9$, cold beer, and fried noodles.

We also asked a lot of people about where to go to see the famous sandstone cliff formations, but without the crowds. We settled on taking a boat tour (I cringe to admit I become a regular tourist when necessary!) to the “Four Islands” that are southeast of Koh Lanta, and we were not disappointed. We swam through sea caves, kayaked around islands, did some of the best snorkeling I’ve ever experienced, and visited white sand beaches. It was a lovely day; just what we had imagined.