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Koh Lanta: A storm, a power cut, a lot of tuktuk rides

Phra Ae beach apartments koh lanta

Some cheery apartments in Phra Ae Beach

When it started to drizzle one afternoon in Lanta, we welcomed the rain. It cooled the air a little, and made walking outside more bearable, since we’d just returned our tuktuk to the rental place.

Then it got serious. The sky turned ashen, it began pelting down in earnest, and we took shelter where we could find it. The roads ran orange with clay dirt. Thunder and lightning joined the party. And by the time we made it back home, it was almost dark. There we were stumbling our way through to our hut, only to find the power completely out when we got there.

Rainstorm + electricity outage = our first slightly unnerving experience.

Luckily, the power came on maybe an hour later (partway through the movie we started watching on the laptop). Cue an almost-warm shower and a much more comfortable sleep.

 

View from inside a tuktuk thailand

The view from inside our tuktuk. We ran out of gas at one point (the gauge, unsurprisingly, wasn’t working) but fortunately, we puttered to a stop right outside a petrol station. Here, you pay the attendants at the pump!

Palm Beach Resort, Koh Lanta

phra ae huts

Out and about at Palm Beach resort – the second place we stayed (a bit of a downgrade from the Nakara Longbeach resort, but still nice).

Koh Lanta

koh lanta old lanta town pier

Over on the east side of the island is Old Lanta town. Check out the low lying fog.

Next stop, Bangkok. Trying to organise this myself online was thoroughly flustering, but Lanta is packed with travel agents who make the whole process pretty painless. And while this might not be the case elsewhere in Thailand, they don’t seem to be out to gouge you – the prices were on par with what I’d seen on the web.

6 thoughts on “Koh Lanta: A storm, a power cut, a lot of tuktuk rides

  • Reply krantcents May 20, 2013 at 12:02

    It looks beautiful! I guess with all that beauty comes rain and other inconveniences!

  • Reply Sense May 20, 2013 at 18:29

    that sounds quite romantic, actually! 🙂 thunderstorms are my favorite.

    Bangkok will be quite a shock after the peacefulness of that island. BKK was my least fave place in Thailand…dirty, noisy, busy, sweltering misery, rip offs. Are you going to get to Chiang Mai? That was my favorite area of Thailand. 🙂 Cooler climate, felt like a more ‘real’ thailand.

  • Reply Debt and the Girl May 21, 2013 at 04:42

    Your pics are lovely. Wish I was there too 🙂 Hope you are having fun.

  • Reply Richard May 21, 2013 at 21:46

    Wow, that looks great. I went to Thailand in 1989 and visited Ko Samui. Your pictures have made me want to return.

  • Reply The Happy Homeowner May 22, 2013 at 01:34

    Loving all these pics/recaps!! Glad the storm passed quickly. I’m trying to get to Thailand in the next 1-2 years, and I’m bookmarking your posts for reference when it comes time to plan 🙂

  • Reply What to expect when you travel southeast Asia in low season | NZ Muse January 12, 2014 at 16:31

    […] that rain didn’t seem to last very long, though – usually a few hours at most. Apart from one big storm in southern Thailand, it hardly rained during our trip at […]

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