be glad of life.

Hello Everyone!

Cailin and I have spent the last five nights on the beatiful island of Lanta. The trip to get here from Chiang Mai was quite the shlep! We boarded the night train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, and the following night hopped on a night bus down to the coastal town of Krabi. Once there, we climbed into a crowded mini van which we rode across two ferry rides to Koh Lanta. Phew! After all that travel we were both tired, hot, sore and in desperate need of a shower.

After some rest and a freezing cold shower, we set off to explore the pristine white beaches and clear blue ocean. Unfortunatly Lanta thrives almost completely off of tourism, and we just happened to be visiting at the peak of high season, Christmas! This became clear as we boarded a small long tail boat for a day of snorkeling. Wedged between a family of six, a young european couple and seven Thai tourists, non of which spoke much english, or cared to, we set off to the first stop on our four island tour.

As it turned out, just about every other snorkeling company on the island went to the same spot! Dodging the feet and flippers of everyone else we squinted through the bubbles at the colorful fish. As the day went on every single boat seemed to be folloing us. At the famed Emerald Cave, we paddled our way through the dark passage, constantly whacking people in frony and behind us. I felt like I was on a ride at water world, waiting for a dinosaur to stick its head out of the wall. In the end, the trip made up for itself with the picturesque islands, home cooked lunch, and of course all the pretty fish.

Today is Christmas on Lanta and it is the strangest thing. The fake christmas trees, lights, and music seem so out of place. People walk around shouting "Merry Christmas!" in their thick accents and we have to ask twice to find out what they are actually saying.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday!

Misra