Thailand: Perfecting the Art of Doing Nothing at Koh Lanta

I have found the ideal place where you can shut away from the world and perfect the art of doing nothing. Koh Lanta is that island on the southern part of Thailand that reminds me of my childhood days; eat, sleep, play and complain of boredom. But the adult in me ain’t complaining on getting bored. Sometimes, we need to have a week or so of shutting out every little thing that keeps us sane; retreating to a laidback tropical island that is.

We were on our fourth week of our Beach Hop Asia 2016 summer backpacking trip in Thailand and after the crazy full moon party in Koh Pangan with some of our friends and the fun island hopping trip in Krabi, we headed towards Koh Lanta for four days of, well, nothing but whatever comes to our mind.

Imagine yourself lounging all day, like all throughout the day

Our trip to Koh Lanta was a suggestion from a dear friend (after scrutinizing our rough itinerary on this trip). His stories of a beautiful island with chill vibe made us wanna go there (especially after the loud partying at Koh Pangan).

After scoring a good deal on the van transfer (which they call mini bus) from Krabi to Koh Lanta (THB275|US$7.87 each), we were collected at Holiday Inn Resort Krabi at around noon. We were then brought to Krabi town with a dozen or so other travelers and hopped on to another van. The van itself parked on the car ferry which transferred a number of vehicles to Koh Lanta. We were then dropped off to our lovely home on the island, Soontreeya Lanta Resort.

Krabi to Koh Lanta via Car Ferry

We settled on our bungalow, rested for a while and explored the nearby beach. We passed by a dirt road that led us to a rustic bar right on the edge of a cliff. We went further, tiptoeing on the scattered rocks and noticed the sky that was all lit up. Just in time for sunset, we watched as the sun dipped lower on the horizon with the chill reggae music from the beach bar as the background music.

What to do in Koh Lanta?
You can mimic a yoga pose at sunset.

Signaling the end of the day, we went back to where we came and followed the path going to the main road. We looked for a nice place for dinner and were kinda dismayed that no local eateries were around but restaurants that served Western dishes. We then decided to grab some bread, instant noodles and Chang beer for the night and brought it back to our place.

The next day, we got the services of Rainbow Lanta Tours for a sea excursion at Koh Rok which was so great. We got back to our homebase and decided to walk along the long stretch of Long Beach.

Or walk all day on Koh Lanta's Long Beach.

A number of huts and beach beds lined the shore and only a few were occupied. It was a quiet walk as we strolled along the sugary cream sand of Long Beach. We reached a pine-laden park and my buddy went oh so giddy.

Or maybe bask in the sun until you achieve my Asian color.

The water wasn’t as inviting as I thought it would be, so swimming wasn’t our option at that time. Also, jellyfish warnings were everywhere so we just settled on a bench at the park overlooking the beach.

Or chill along the pine-laden park.

The next day, we had nothing to do but just rest. We were offered by our gracious host at the resort to use a motorbike for exploring the island but we chose to stay and look for ways to chill out.

Or down bottles and bottles of Chang beer (like what we did) at Relax Bay.

We followed an uphill path from our resort that led us to a nice surprise. We ended up on Relax Bay where we lazed all afternoon with the Secret Life of Walter Mitty as our background music. Beer sesh followed after.

Fine day for some chillin'... Enter 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' OST... #BeachHopAsia2016

A photo posted by blissfulguro (@blissfulguro) on Apr 28, 2016 at 9:07pm PDT

Our 4-day jaunt in Koh Lanta was one of our most chill moments during the trip. We may not have explored the entirety of the island but we got to visit one of the most amazing snorkeling sites in Thailand, Koh Rok. It was great to find some time to just stay still and enjoy each moment. Halfway on our backpacking trip or not, Koh Lanta was the perfect setting for a retreat.

Check here for discounted hotels in Koh Lanta