The past couple months have been kind of rough. From the rain in Australia to traffic tickets in Phuket, to yet MORE rain in Ko Phi Phi, I have been nurturing the suspicion that maybe I’ve picked up some kind of rare gypsy travelling curse. After all, the only common denominator in all my bad luck is me. Maybe I’m doomed to forever wander the world with a black rain cloud over my head.
I feel kind of guilty just writing that, because deep down I know I’m so lucky to be doing what I love. At the same time, when you get into a funk while travelling it can be really hard to get back out of it.
I was complaining on Twitter when my samurai master, Andy Hayes, gave me th remedy for bad travel luck: Stop Travelling. Well, easier said than done when we are stuck in Ko Phi Phi, paying $85 a night for a bugalow because we can’t find anywhere else to stay. Luckily we decided to relocate to the southern island of Ko Lanta and yes, just stop for a few days.
As luck would have it, Ko Lanta is an ideal place to slow down. It’s such a relaxed, laid back kind of place.Far more relaxed than the nearby islands. It’s missing the all night party lifestyle of Phi Phi or the crass commercialism of Phucket. I’m sure that will all come in time but for now Ko Lanta has a kind of sleepy, local feel that I really appreciated.
Luck shined on us a little more when we stumbled across a small budget island resort, tucked off the road and close to the beach (on the thai islands there aren’t really hostels, just budget bungalows and “resorts”). The place was fairly sparse, but our own little bungalow, a swimming pool, and a bar were all we really needed. Free wifi? Well that’s just gravy for two stretched out travel bloggers.
We spent four days in Lanta, mostly whiling way hours sitting by the ocean, fruity drink in hand. One day we rented a motorbike and explored the island (it took about 6 hours max, including a tour of the very cool inland caves). It felt so good to just catch up on emails and do very little besides wait for the sun to set.
And oh my goodness, what great sunsets. Somewhat marred by clouds yes, but I never got over watching the sky turn brilliantly gold before busrting magenta pink and then sinking into a deep purple. And I may be a city girl but I will NEVER get over the novelty of seeing a sky full of stars.
I’m feeling so much better now. Refreshed and ready to take on another round of the joys and horrors of travel. Sometimes you just need to stop the runaway train that constant backpacking starts to feel like. Packing, unpacking, bus schedules, guest house negotiations, all of the pesky day to day details that make up full time travel can get to be a bit much after awhile. Sometimes the antidote really is to just STOP and take in the beauty all around you.
