Ko Lanta (Yai)

The trip to Koh Lanta was driven by my passion for SCUBA diving (in between meals of course)!

Koh Lanta is off the beaten path for most tourists due to the travel time and steps to embark on  this under developed oasis.  My journey began at 6am, with a 1 hour car ride to the pier, catch the ferry from Phuket (city) to Phi Phi (2 hours), transfer (by means of hopping across a wooden board) to another boat, make 2 stops and finally to Koh Lanta (2 hours).  However, there are other ways, but for me this seemed the least painful of the three! Total trip time 6 hours!

Koh Lanta, or “Lanta” as the locals say is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and even sea gypsies. Possessing little knowledge of the island beyond what a few quick Google searches provided, figured how rough can life be? I there to SCUBA dive, check out the Southern Thai style of food, and get some well needed R&R before heading back home.

The beaches are peppered with dive bars, restaurants, and one massage place after another.  Sign me up, already in heaven!  My stomach was growling  for neglecting it of Thai food for more than 4 hours, time to find the local eateries! Rumor has it that the farther south you head in Thailand the spicier the food.

Prancing through the rain I took in the surroundings and then started picking off one  local joint after another.  The first stop was a tree house made of huge pieces of what appeared to be drift wood (probably left from the Tsunami) over looking the sea.  The sign outside simply said, *BBQ *Papaya Salad *Curry, sounds good, I’m hungry!  I hike up the uneven wooden stairway only to find a tucked away paradise. I quickly order Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad ,medium spicy), and a 350g  fresh BBQ snapper .  In heaven, out of the rain, listening to my Ipod, and rereading one of my personal favorite books The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss (see photo)!

The food was dynamite!  The chilies from the Som Tum salad lit me up to consume over 1.5 ltrs. of water before the perfectly BBQ-ed fish arrived.  Now proven the Southern Thai food, even at medium heat, is too hot!  Just imagine someone rubbing all your innards with scotch bonnet peppers and then tossing in Thai Prik peppers to garnish!

The snapper was finished off with the traditional wedge of lime and small salad of tomato and fresh sliced onion.  I waited out the rain here for a few hours and simply embraced the surroundings of my new port of call, Koh Lanta.

Where next…more food? beers?, Thai massage?

(more…)

The best way to enjoy a day of “Seafood, Suds, and Sucking”- Phuket (Kata Beach, Kata Noi Beach, Patong Beach)

Paradise all over again in Phuket, Thailand!  I went to see my friend Lek remember her from last years post?  I gave her the best street food award of 2009?  Her pork and duck soup was the best I had ever had!  I went for dinner in Patong Beach with my good friend Hari (from Kata Beach).  The rain was piercing my arms, as we drove on Hari’s moped.  Yes, stupid idea, what one will do for great food!

Hari and I grabbed some seafood at the local restaurant, I did the ordering and per usual my eyes are bigger than my stomach!   I ordered one whole 450g Snapper, 2 massive prawns, and 1 squid weighing in around 400g.  Add the salad and veg to that and we had a food orgy!

After this massive meal, I introduced Hari to Lek and with the warmest hug and hello’s Lek not only remembered my name, but also got upset with me. She quickly reminded I promised her I would be back by summer 2010.  This is why I love Thailand, they are the kindest people but will give you a ton of grief if you don’t follow through, how she remembered blows my mind!

It rained EVERY SINGLE DAY, the Phuket weather is unpredictable. The sun was scarce this trip so spent the majority of my time  visiting friends and exploring areas of Phuket I did not make it to in 2009.  The blistering sun broke for a few hours so went to get some color on my pathetically pale skin!  (In Asia taking your shirt off and catching some rays is culturally unacceptable, unless at the beach)

I walked Kata Noi beach several times hoping to turn my “blanco skin” a few shades darker. In heaven I stumble upon one of the best local dives named Ska Bar.  Hmmm, do I stop in?  The thought of a frosty Chang beer sounded excellent, mental thought to self- make another lap then indulge.  Yeah, that didn’t work out so well…after a few quick camera shots I ended up just hanging at the bar and meeting a few Swedes (boy do they love their afternoon alcohol consumption!) At Ska Bar you can expect lots of reggae, dreadlocks, Bob Marley look-alikes and that ever so chill atmosphere. My kind of place, and for you future visitors to please add intoxicated Sweds to the list.

The clouds began to form again, rain soon to follow, it was time to bail or I was going to end up like Ernest Hemingway “aka Sloppy Joe” at the bar.  Thanks, but another time!

I headed back to my hotel and on the way passed a Thai massage shop that had this massive fish tank outside. The tank was filled with Garra rufa - doctor fish.  I had read about these little critters that nibble all your dead skin away… why not?  In go the feet, my eyes are bugging out and all the girls are laughing at me… as soon as my feet hit the water thousands upon thousands of these pulse sucking “guppies” start attaching themselves.  How do I get myself into these situations?  Finally, I accept the fact that there are fish sucking my legs and feet, I have a deep  internal thought, “Are my feet and legs really that bad?”

After all it was a fun experience, and it gave the group of employees something to laugh at… glad I could make their day! (Even if on my expense!)  Soon off to Koh Lanta for SCUBA diving, exploring, and most important EATING!

(more…)

Dune Boarding in Swakopmund, Namibia

14 hours later….after Fish River Canyon we hit the beach town of Swakopmund

We have driven up through Windhoek (the capital of Namibia), then headed west to to Swakopmund.

“Swak-up” as the locals call it, is best know its laid back atmosphere. It boasts a wide golden sand beach with plenty of restaurants and pubs.  The best kept secret of this sleepy beach town is the rolling sand dunes just 10km. west.  There I met John, the #2 dune boarder in Africa.  He took me out for a whole day of boarding!  John and his brother (#1 in Africa) have built jump ramps into the back side of the dunes to practice on!

Swakopmund is only one of two places noted in the world for dune boarding, so it was a must!

There is no modern ski lift to get up and down the dunes… that’s right baby its walk up and down in powdered sand! Nothing like it in 30 lb. snowboarding boots!  What an AWESOME day!

see the photo gallery below!

(more…)

Hat NANG YUAN, Thailand (outside of Ko Tao). Day trip to Hat Nang Yuan

After passing this magical looking place I began to do my research when I returned back from the dive boat..sure enough it was listed in both travel books I brought along… it is 3 islands that are connected by powder white sand bars (only during low tide!).

I knew it was time for me to move on from Ko Tao, but first I had to make it out here, not too far from the island, so I hired a “long tail” boat to take me there, and that experience could be a whole other post, but time in the sun is just to precious!  If you want the experience you will just have to come to Thailand yourself!

The islands host a resort called Nang Yuan Resort.  This is the only resort allowed to operate a restaurant, dive facility, etc. on the island… I would like to know who to strike a deal like that with!

(more…)

Travel Thailand. Eat Thailand. Cook Thailand. Ko Samaui, Thailand

You have to all realize that you never seem to know where you life or journey will take you unless you are so uptight and need to plan every minute-(We all know people like this!), but the reality is that you leave no time for yourself…

Food Shots- “Eating Local”

If I had a set plan of my travels I would have never had this experience- and again it just kind of happened.. so embrace it instead of say “it didn’t fit with the plan”. The “plan” is over rated, if you always stick with the plan you will be eating 3 meals a day and working 45 hours a week the rest of you life! (Borrrrring!)

Take a break and realize life is just about adventure, experiences, and you can’t control the energy that passes through you from time to time! We have all had wonderful feelings as well as the bad, purge the bad, embrace the good!