สวัสดี from Thailand!

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Our first day in Thailand started out a little rough. We've been quite spoiled by the ease and comfort of Malaysian transportation, so we were a bit cranky when our ferry from Langkawi landed in Satun, Thailand and we were crammed into a small van with 4 other backpackers, several locals, a few deliveries, and a Swedish family with 2 toddlers...adorable blonde kids but not the kind of passengers you want to share a 5 hour van ride with! We thought our trip to Koh Lanta would be straightforward enough, but after several hours, they emptied us out at a random travel agency in Trang, and then 20 minutes later loaded us back up into a different van, where we spent the next few hours making deliveries, waiting in line for car ferries, watching our driver relieve himself on the side of the road, and trying to block out the crying toddlers with our headphones. To make matters worse, the resort where we wanted to stay gave away our room while we were in transit.

Not knowing where we were or where we should stay on Koh Lanta, we asked the driver to drop us off at Sanctuary, a humble resort on Phrae Ae beach that was listed in Lonely Planet. Instantly our luck started to change. They had space for us to stay as long as we liked, and they gave us a cute bamboo thatched bungalow with our own open air toilet and shower attached to the back for only 500 baht per night ($8 each).

Sanctuary is a simple, family owned place right on the beach and has an incredibly relaxed vibe. After such a long day of travel, we headed straight for their Bongo Bar and selflessly helped train the owners' son in mixology by ordering as many frozen cocktails as possible. Sipping a banana colada while watching the sunset glow across the Andaman Sea was the perfect cure for a bad mood, but we took it one step further and topped the night off with a 1 hour oil massage on the beach for only 300 baht ($10). The next 24 hours were spent alternating between frozen cocktails, sunbathing, thai massages, pedicures (we have flowers painted on our toenails!), reading in a hammock, playing with puppies, and of course eating delicious thai food.

I think it's safe to say we'll be spending a few days on Koh Lanta...