This was a 6 AM wake-up for us; only those of you who know us well, know just how truly painful that was for us. We got cleaned-up and finished packing as this will be the final couple of hours in Koh Lanta for us. We got to reception just as they opened and got our 1000 Baht “key deposit” refunded and ordered breakfast just as the restaurant got going.

Our last sunrise at the Lanta Pearl Beach Resort.

After staying almost 2 weeks, it was like saying goodbye to good friends. Our ferry to Phuket was booked for the 8 AM sailing. So, we had the lady in reception phone to confirm a taxi pick-up for 7:30 AM yesterday afternoon. We had some time to kill so we talked with one of the owners of the resort. Apparently, aside from two of the big luxury resorts, they are the only resort in the area to stay open all year round. All of the beach-front and near-beach bungalow resorts and restaurant/bars are only open seasonally; most will close for the season by the end of the month. According to him, their resort stays booked pretty solidly even in the low season but he enjoys that time of year because it is, “more relaxed”. More relaxed? I’m not quite sure how the area becomes more relaxed without becoming officially declared as being in a coma; the Long Beach area of Koh Lanta was already like being on island-time on Qualudes. We’re not sure what it’s like here during the high-season but, it’s been a real soul-relaxing treat during the time we’ve been here; recreation as true re-creation. However, during the 12 days of our stay even we noticed a distinct change between the first week and the second. In the first week, there were noticeably more visitors and all the beach bars were still going full-bore, advertising end-of-the-season beach parties almost every evening. The second week, we saw fewer and fewer new Farang faces, no more beach parties advertised, and that some of the beach bars had already began scaling back their operations.

Creek leading to Long Beach in the glow of the morning light.

Well, 7:30 AM had come and gone and no taxi from the ferry company. The gentleman from the resort tried calling them but no answer. It gets to 7:45 AM and still no taxi. He tells us he wants to drive us himself but can’t because his wife isn’t here yet to look after the reception. But he tries to call for a taxi or tuk-tuk for… no answers from his calls. Now, 7:50 AM, he gets through to a tuk-tuk driver who agrees to come get us. Shortly afterward, he manages to get someone from the ferry company on the phone. They deny ever knowing about our 7:30 AM pick-up but they do agree to hold the ferry for us.

Our tuk-tuk pulls up just before 8 AM, we load up, say our Thanks and goodbyes, and off we go. Luckily, Koh Lanta doesn’t have any morning rush… or much traffic at all on a Sunday morning. So, the drive was hassle-free. On arriving at the terminal, we discover that the smallest denomination bill we had was a 500 Baht note; the ride is usually only 100 Baht and the driver didn’t have enough change that early in the day. Understanding our rush, he graciously declined any payment… Eron and I looked at each other and agreed, that kind of “nice” needed to be rewarded, if only for the benefit of our own Karma. I had to physically press the 500 Baht note into the driver’s hand; all the while him saying, “No, no, it’s too much.” The ferry was just loading the last of the passengers as we rolled up… now, the next roadblock. We walk up to the lady at the check-in kiosk and are told we needed a physical print-out of the confirmation and not just the confirmation number on a saved page on Eron’s iPad. She points out a travel-booking counter and says they’ll print it for us. We head over there to find out they’ll print it, but for a 20 Baht fee. Remember, earlier I didn’t have anything smaller than a 500 Baht note? Now, my smallest was a 1000 Baht note. I dug through my pockets and all I could come up with was 18 Baht in coins; luckily the guy at the counter took pity on us and accepted it as payment. With print-out in hand, we rush back to the check-in just in time to load onto the ferry. Oh yeah, we also find out that the “direct” ferry passage we booked actually involved a transfer to another vessel at Koh Phi Phi. So far, the events of the morning had definitely eaten into our banked “relaxed-time” but except for the ferry company’s screw-up with the taxi, we still left Koh Lanta with warm feeling for it’s residents. They, especially the owner of the resort and the tuk-tuk driver, really went to the next level of service in trying to help out two mildly stressed-out travellers.

Pulling away from the Ban Saladan Ferry Terminal.

Heading out from Koh Lanta.

Smaller ferry also leaving port at same time.

We needed to transfer onto another ferry for the final leg of the trip to Phuket. This happened at Koh Phi Phi.

Approaching Koh Phi Phi.

One small detail they “neglected” to tell us was that we weren’t transferring to another ferry on Koh Phi Phi but rather, near it. Our ferry pulls up alongside a larger ferry and we are told we’ll be stepping (jumping?) across to the other vessel. Easy, right? It would’ve been a piece of cake if it weren’t for the 50 lb. backpacks and the carry-on bags in our hands. Well at least we had well-fitted backpacks; some of the other passengers were doing the leap carrying actual luggage.

Have to step across from one ferry to the other in open water.

Luckily everyone made it over safely and without anyone getting wet. As soon as the transfers were completed, the first ferry made a beeline for the docks at Koh Phi Phi.

First ferry heads for the docks at Koh Phi Phi.

With the new passengers on board, the second ferry makes way for Phuket.

A speedboat heads out from Koh Phi Phi’s harbour.

We round the point from Koh Phi Phi’s harbour area.

Leaving Koh Phi Phi behind.

Lower passenger deck of the ferry.

After an (thankfully) uneventful couple of hours, we arrive at Phuket (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phuket_(city)).

Phuket Ferry Terminal.

We arrange for a taxi and about 30 minutes later we arrive in the town of Karon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karon_Beach) and our final resort in Thailand; the Mandarava Resort and Spa (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1215780-d3399014-Reviews-Mandarava_Resort_and_Spa-Karon_Phuket.html). As these will be our last few days in Thailand, we made a conscious decision to splurge and spoil ourselves a little. We don’t make a habit of staying in 4 and 5 star properties but this one definitely caught our eye. We pre-booked a deluxe ocean-view room near the top of the hillside resort with breakfast included.

Main entrance to the Mandarava Resort and Spa.

Main stairs leading to lobby.

Hanging lights in the main entrance atrium.

Signs for the Men’s and Ladies’ restrooms.

That’s not a poster on the gym wall; it’s a view of the water feature through the window.

The lobby overlooks a waterfall and pond.

View of the Andaman Sea from the main restaurant.

We arrived before our room was available. So, we had lunch in the resort’s main restaurant. After eating, our room was ready. The Bellhop loaded us and our luggage into the cargo/people compartment of one of the tiny Suzuki trucks the resort uses as shuttles and he drove us up the hill to our room. When I say, drove us up, I mean UP… as in over 60 degrees up at points… it felt like we were in one of those little kiddie roller-coaster rides. On some of the steeper pitches, we instinctively hung on to stop ourselves from sliding out the open rear of the truck… good thing the truck has really low gearing.

Little Suzuki shuttle-truck.

Suzuki shuttle-truck taking guests to their rooms.

Room 1203.

The room is basically glass-walled on two sides with a deck that wraps around both those walls. It also features a vaulted ceiling complete with fan and patio doors that open through both glass walls. The bathroom not only has a glass shower booth with rainhead and wand, it also has a separate built-for-two bathtub with it’s own rainheads.

And we even got Bath-Bunny towel-art.

View from our deck.

One of three Infinity Pools at the resort, as seen from our deck.

We took the rest of the afternoon to just chill in the room. That evening, we grabbed a taxi into Karon. Definitely Farang-pricing in effect here; for the less than 10 minute ride into the core of the town, it was 200 Baht (about $7 USD). Compare this with Koh Lanta where the 15 minute ride from the resort into Ban Saladan was between 60 and 100 Baht (it depended on one’s negotiating skills and the time of day). Once in town, we wandered through the nightly markets and (as we do in many cities and towns) found an Irish pub.

There’s almost always an Irish pub.

We also walked along the beachfront strip; just in time to see our first Karon Beach sunset.

Sunset volleyball at Karon Beach.

A little more exploring and it was time for dinner. We chose a busy eatery in the heart of the town; the food was decent but not remarkable – the only thing that was notable was the tourist-pricing; we would’ve gotten terrific food at the Thai Cat for less money. After dinner, we stopped at a 7Eleven to pick up a few goodies. When we stepped back out, we saw a commotion across the street. It looked like a female tourist had likely collapsed from the heat and humidity… and maybe a few too many wobbly-pops? Anyway, there were already a number of people rendering assistance.

Tourist collapses in the heat and humidity.

Including this helpful Thai gentleman (with the dart in-mouth) fanning the victim with a piece of cardboard.

Man with cigarette fanning victim using a piece of cardboard.

That was about all the excitement we could handle. So, we hailed a taxi, made our way to the resort, and got back to our room. Time for one cigar on the deck, a quick shower, and then on the computer to do some photo-editing.