Koh Lanta

There are a number of islands off the West coast of southern Thailand.  All have access to countless incredible dive sites.  Koh Phi Phi is the most well known and popular with the young party crowd while Koh Lanta is a little more off the beaten track so more popular with families and old fogies like us.

We bought bus tickets from Krabi to Koh Lanta. It was billed as a 2 hour drive, which of course means it’s a 3-4 hour drive in reality.  We were booked on the 11AM “bus” (turns out it was another over packed minivan) but that one was full so we couldn’t get on.  So was the next one…and the next.  At 12:30 we were finally able to get in a  van which didn’t drop us on Koh Lanta until after 4:30.  Along the way there are 2 ferries and while we rode the ferry the driver hopped into the back and gave the hard sell on a hotel he recommended i.e. he got a kickback from.  Luckily we had already booked and paid in advance so he gave up on us fairly quickly.  He was however pretty insistent that a room with 1 double bed and 1 single bed was perfect for the 4 Aussie guys traveling together.

We stayed at The Heart Inn (Aww) which was right in the middle of Saladan, the town on the north end of the Island and blocks from a number of dive schools.  We knew we wanted to dive while we were here, so we’d found 2 places that were recommended. Only 1 was still open when we got there, and we each signed up for the “Discovery Dive” the following morning.

We then wandered down to the end of a road and saw some locals walking down a wooded trail and decided to see where it lead.  Soon we found ourselves in a small local village where kids were running around laughing, playing tag, and enjoying covering their faces in baby powder. We also saw a group of young guys playing a sport we’d never seen.  They had a volleyball net up and a small (maybe 6” in diameter) woven wicker ball.  Similar to volleyball in the volley process, only you weren’t allowed to use your hands – only feet and heads.  They were really good and we watched for quite a while hoping they might ask Colin to join in.  No such luck, but maybe we’ll buy one of the balls and bring it to the next Ernst gathering.

As the sun set, dozens of food stalls opened up in the middle of the street selling fresh fruit smoothies, fried spring rolls, and enormous “kabobs” which seemed more like shwarma and were so good we each had one at some point pretty much every day on the island.  Rachel was also thrilled to find corn on the cob and spiraled potatoes on a stick. “It’s like we’re at the MN State Fair!” she exclaimed.

The next morning we woke up early and walked to the dock.  They served us breakfast on the boat as we cruised the 2 hours to the dive site.  We were taken to Koh Ha, a group of 5 islands in a protected marine reserve that was too far off for any of the dive schools from neighboring Koh Phi Phi to get to, so it was more secluded. We were in for a treat!  As we neared the islands, Doa, the guide assigned to us, talked us through a little training on diving, hand signals and what to do in case of emergency.  The boat anchored and we got suited up.

As some of you may be aware, I (Rachel) am not at all comfortable in the water, so it was a big leap for me to try out scuba.  I was getting pretty nervous on the boat, but was also really excited.  After a few deep breaths, I was determined to get in the water.  It was all good until the guide had me put my face in the water.  The view was amazing and I saw divers way down below me, but then suddenly, I experienced a full blown panic attack.  I was hyperventilating and crying, “I don’t want to dive. I don’t want to dive!” which with the regulator in probably sounded much more dramatic. (“I don’t want to die!”) Doa helped me calm down and after a few minutes I tried again.  This time, I was able to at least look down longer and see some cool fish, coral and bright white starfish, but I still didn’t feel comfortable enough to want to go down.  Instead, I swam back to the boat and let Colin and Doa continue down without me while I enjoyed the view of the area from above water. Not a bad sight!

Colin here: I continued on with the guide to see an impressive array of fish, including parrotfish, clownfish, barracuda, and a big spiky blue dome that I learned later is actually a starfish that eats coral.  Diving is an amazing experience.  It feels like you’re flying over the reef and right through large schools of fish.  You can even hover over corals virtually motionless and watch fish munching on the coral or cleaning parasites off of other fish.  One monster shrimp even popped out to check me out for a bit.  I only brought the camera down for one dive, but did get some cool shots.  Still, none of the pictures even begin to show what it’s like down there.

I had a snack and, as soon as I was allowed, dove back in for more.  Doa said that I was picking the skills up very quickly and recommended going for the full PADI Open Water Certification over the next 3 days.  We had been starting to feel a little rushed for time on our trip, but Doa said he thought I took to it naturally enough that I’d be able to complete it in only 2 more days, rather than 3.

We were sold.  Rachel would get a couple days to rest and explore the island on her own and I would get certified.  When we got back we rented a moped to explore more of the island.  Rachel got to try out driving a moped, which she’d never done before, so she could drive around the next couple days on her own.

That night I read through the PADI manual and the next morning whizzed through the pool instruction. The next day, we went back out to a different section of Koh Ha for the remainder of my certification.  We got through the first dive and all of the tests rather quickly, so the second dive was pure exploration.  We dove down to 18 meters (about 55 feet) and cruised the side of a massive cliff face seeing a giant clam the size of my torso, several lion fish and even a highly elusive frog fish hiding inside a coral.

While Colin dove, Rachel had some time to relax and explore the island.  She went down to Time For Lime cooking school and restaurant whose earnings fund the Lanta Animal Rescue which helps care for sick and injured animals on the island.  The cooking classes were all booked up, but they  are always in need of people to play with the animals and walk the dogs on the beach!  We also met up with our new German friends for some drinks and relaxing in a massive treehouse down by the water.  So far Koh Lanta is our favorite place yet.