A Koh Lanta Christmas

Around the time we left for our Asia trip, we had read how crazy Thailand gets around the holidays. So we booked a cheap guesthouse in Koh Lanta early on. We figured it was a central island to get to where ever we were before Christmas and had read that plenty of people loved Koh Lanta.

After our overnight stopover in beautiful Koh Kradan, we took the speedboat up to Koh Lanta to celebrate Christmas. 

It was great to see a new Thai island and we left Koh Lanta with full tummies and nice tans. But confession: we liked Koh Lanta, we didn't love it. Why didn't we love it?

1. The beaches weren't as beautiful as we expected. But now I know that the beaches I love the most are small, cove-like beaches with clear turquoise water instead of the long stretches of open beachfront.

2. There were small sting-y things in the water! Everywhere! And we saw quite a few big jellyfish washed up on the beach. We found out later that the sting-y things in the water were either tiny creatures who sting when they touch skin and/or were jellyfish stingers which wash up on the beach from jellyfish from the open water. So every time we got in the water, we never really stayed too long.

3. Koh Lanta is SO big so the touristy stuff is very well spread out. But it's still very touristy...then again we were there at peak season.

While we were kinda bummed we didn't love Koh Lanta (and we wanted to love it so much!), we embraced everything we enjoyed during our few days there, like:

*The best Thai meal we had so far has been at Nong Cat by the Koh Lanta pier. This place is managed by a sweet German woman and was so cheap and delicious. We went to this place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and enjoyed free welcome cocktails before dinner. This place has few reviews on Trip Advisor and we were shocked! If you find yourself in Koh Lanta, get to Nong Cat ASAP.

*We rented a motorbike for $5 each day and explored the island. On Christmas Eve, I even took a shower in a jungle waterfall! Highlight of Koh Lanta for sure :).

*We enjoyed a relaxing beach day on Christmas Day near Kantiang Bay (much prettier than the north of the island) and had delicious vanilla bean pancakes and bacon at Drunken Sailors cafe for 'Christmas Brunch'. And relaxed in their hammocks afterwards.

{Look at the size of these things!}

{The beach we liked most in Southern Koh Lanta: Ao Nuy}

{Christmas brunch at Drunken Sailors in Kantiang Bay}