Chapter 7 Thailand - Koh Lanta (Looking for Nemo & Finding Dory)

Do you know that feeling when you wake up in the morning and jump out of bed full of energy?
-us neither!

Yesterday, we actually wanted to (once again) go on a snorkeling tour by boat to overwrite our disappointment from the other day with new experiences.
When the alarm went off at 7:30 am because the pickup was supposed to arrive an hour later, I, despite having slept for a good 8 hours, felt so unfit that I stumbled sleepily to the reception and mumbled something in perfect English about

'My friend feels not so good, we can not make the trip'.

Back to bed until 11 am (!!!).
Of course, we decided that Juli should look a little unwell if she spotted someone from the resort.

So, yesterday we didn't do anything except hang out at the beach and postpone the tour to today...

It doesn't matter how long we sleep - whether it's 4 or 11 hours - sometimes we can't open our eyes for half (or the whole) day.
The bed we're currently sleeping in is actually the best one of our entire journey.
It won't be easy to leave it behind.

.. .Because another week has passed!
Sooo damn quickly!
That's how it is on vacation, right....

F*ck! -
In 4 days we'll be back in unpleasant Berlin. (😱)
And believe us, we spend a lot of time thinking about how we can prevent this horrifying fact.

If you have any ideas - bring it on!

We have been spending over 4 weeks now in hot & beautiful Thailand.
Doing nothing else all day but riding the scooter along the island roads, drinking shakes, eating, sunbathing, counting palm trees, taking photos of the beaches, occasionally going on a trip....ah yes.... Simply living!...

Here in the south of Thailand, time ticks differently.
Actually, it doesn't tick anymore.
We only have an approximate idea of the time based on the very early sunset....

Koh Lanta is one of the islands where you could easily spend 3 whole weeks and probably still discover new things. (might be because you almost fall into an island coma and hardly move anymore)
Much bigger than Koh Mak, but considerably smaller than Koh Chang, it 'actually' doesn't have that much to offer... At least 'little' enough that it has been largely spared from mass tourism so far.

Maybe the tourist distribution is just advantageous.... because it really doesn't seem overcrowded, totally calm and relaxed...Koh Lanta is only 2 hours away by ferry from Krabi, but completely different - extremely sleepy.
I was here for the first time 4 years ago and the last time 3 years ago.... And to be honest - except for a few new road sections, not much has happened here.
Sure, there are a lot of resorts here.
But also a lot of empty beach sections...no clubs or anything like that, but really good and relaxed beach bars that offer delicious cocktails at a reasonable price and impress with the most beautiful sunsets you can imagine. 

It is the best choice we could have made for the last stage of our big trip.
(or Juli!?) 

Cows 'grazing' by the ocean.... Monkeys that we see everywhere from the scooter.... Relaxed people.... Gorgeous nature... Simply living the day! 

One day here was actually more than exciting and we actually had to leave our island comfort zone.
At some point last week, it occurred to me while sweating that we would soon be illegal migrants (!!!) here...

As a German, you have the privilege of traveling visa-free in Thailand for 30 days.
You arrive here, get a stamp in your passport, and that's it.
If you want to stay longer, in most cases, it is enough to cross the border once, chill for a few days in a neighboring country like Cambodia, Laos, or Malaysia, and when you come back, you get a new 30-day stamp... (you can do that 1-2 times a year, then it's the end without a proper visa)
Well.....
Initially, that was exactly what I had planned.
I wanted to spend at least 1 week IN Cambodia with Juli, but as you already know, we hadn't booked any accommodations beforehand, there was nothing available on Koh Rong, and we decided to stay in Thailand for the entire time.
Unthoughtful.
Until the visa issue came to mind and I got a little shock.
Our 'visa' clearly states that we would have to leave the country by January 8th.
But our return flight ticket clearly states that we won't do that until the 14th.
So 6 days OVERSTAY!
And with the Thai government, this is definitely not a good situation anymore.
You can even be put in immigration detention and in extreme cases, be banned from entering for life.
I have read so many horror stories on the internet that my feeling about it got worse and worse.
The thing is, if you 'turn yourself in', you usually only have to pay a fine.
At least for as few days as in our case. 
Currently, that's 700 bath per day, which is about 23 euros (and that's then x 6)
However, if you are checked - whether at the airport when leaving the country or perhaps during a normal traffic control, the situation could (and will) end differently.

At first, I wanted to risk it and be at the airport early on the 14th, look for the tourist police there, pay the stupid fine, and hope that everything would turn out fine....
But then we realized that we would already fly on the 13th, namely from Krabi back to Bangkok, where we would spend the last night.... and we didn't know exactly what would happen if someone checked our passport more thoroughly.
So, we googled a bit more, read some reports, and decided to take a day trip to Krabi to go to the IMMIGRATION OFFICE there to extend our visa (which technically is not a visa).
First, we had to take passport photos, fill out a form, and make copies of our passports and the arrival card.
I'll leave out the details for now, but believe me, it was almost a day's task.
We were glad that we had everything in the end, then we booked a mini-van for the next morning at 6:30 am and were in Krabi just before 9 am.
After only 15 minutes of waiting and a 2000 bath fee, we already had our new stamp, a good feeling, and the certainty that we are now allowed to stay in Thailand legally until February 7th.
So... To our airport pick-up service:
Sorry Guys!
(Our priorities are clearly set 🇹🇭 )

Hmm.
What else did we do on our island.... 🤔
Besides today's tour and the mangrove forest (we'll get to that later), I can't really think of anything.

Oh well.
We're pretty fed up with Thai food. ('Sorry for the expression) 
So, the food intake is a bit difficult (especially for Juli).
That's why we tried a lot of other things.
Especially pizza, burgers, french fries (fresh fres, frech friends, frenh fires, and all the other adventurous spellings they have here)
But you can also get a lot of stuff at the 7-eleven for less than 1 euro & after paying, the people there heat it up for you.
Do you know 'hot witch'?
From before?
I believe that's what it was called.
It was also pre-packaged burger or hotdog stuff that they finished for you right after the purchase.
It's similar here.
Only that in Thailand, there's sausage, Asian stuff, little cakes, or sandwiches.

But we also noticed that the majority of tourists mainly eat chips and beer.
Juli is in good company there. 
If you replace beer with cola for me, it fits. ;)

So:
Mangrove forest.
I wanted to do that a lot.
But somehow it never worked out... But this time, I didn't want to miss it.

Have you ever been to a mangrove forest?
No?
You should.
Have you been?
well then you know what I mean.

We set off in the morning and drove to a specific pier here on the island.
It is also offered as a tour, but in reality, it's just an expensive rip-off and we wanted to experience it on our own.
So, we rented a kayak for a few hours, bought a few cucumbers, and set off.
Juli and I are true nature lovers and what we saw was really beautiful.
The front seat in the boat was not very inviting without a backrest, so I selflessly let my pretty companion go first (and sat at the back myself) 😇
We saw a jellyfish that, dead or alive, looked like it was in a cheeseburger bun, damn many sea eagles, and finally were able to shout a little...
'Hello Echooo - Hello Viviii'
... Echos are cool somehow... My voice of reason (you know who I mean) rolled her eyes and told me not to disturb nature so much, so.......... I did it 3 times more.... 😝

And then...... Trumpet sound & Drum roll.... THE ultimate highlight !!
Well... Who can guess it?
What do you think the cucumbers we mentioned were for? ;)

YESSS!
Monkeys!!!... Apes... On the shore... Hungry... Cheeky... And looking for cucumber...
One of them quickly jumped into the boat and took a seat next to Juli. 🐒
Then he came to me and I gave him what he wanted.
He was really careful and I was in 7th heaven.

They have such funny feet.
So long and soft somehow.

Suddenly there was a 2nd one.
And a 3rd.
A whole gang that wanted to take away what we had just bought specifically for them, although we didn't really want to lose it after 2 minutes.
Actually.
I really like these animals.
I love watching them.
But usually, the big boss monkeys are the problem.
When they come, you can't do anything anymore.
Neither us nor the other monkey buddies who usually sneak away when the boss is approaching.
You automatically have respect.
They radiate something different.
They have damn big balls and teeth and a different build.
Monkey bosses, you know.
Anyway, he came to our boat when we were close to the shore.
Until that day, I didn't even know that they can swim and actually do.
They jump into the water and even dive.
Crazy.
Anyway, then came the monkey boss.
Nothing more to get from Juli, a smaller colleague took care of that, biting through the plastic bag and claiming all the vegetables for himself.
So, the giant came to me at the back of the boat.
At first, everything was relaxed.
But with due caution and a little excitement on my part. 
He immediately noticed that in my left hand, which I held quite far away from him into the water, there were still cucumbers.
He sat down on my lap, grabbed my hand, reached for the cucumbers in it, and stuffed them all into his mouth.
Then he targeted me.
The animal thought for a moment.
Suddenly focused on my backpack and tried to open it.
There was nothing to eat in there, but everything else that is important to me, so naturally, I held onto my backpack tightly and prevented him from looking inside or even taking it away from me completely.

He didn't like it.
He really didn't like it at all.

Have you ever been sitting only 5 centimeters away from a monkey's head?
Face to face.
At the same height.
Almost so close that you can smell his breath?
And thought that you would soon feel his teeth, which are also only 5 centimeters away??
Well, that's how I felt at least.
He wanted to jump at me.
Showed his yellow, sharp fangs, made a disgusting face, and suddenly jumped in my direction. However, I had the feeling that something was holding him back.
Well, it was also true.
I guess he felt that I am also tough. ;D
He actually aborted his feigned attack and with one leap into the water, swam to the shore, leaving his charming monkey lady behind in the boat.
She was sitting in the front with Juli and made the same face her husband did earlier with me, before she finally took the plunge into the water and we could finally breathe again.

Juli couldn't get away fast enough - ha ha.
I just found it funny somehow, although I am aware that it could have ended differently.
They are wild animals - Bla Bla
I know, I know....

Generally, I have to say that my favorite little animals on Koh Lanta are particularly 'aggressive'.
The day before yesterday in the national park, which by the way you can totally skip for the 7 euros entrance fee, a few of the cheeky creatures were also there.
Also with a lot of tooth showing, which scared and crying children, joyful Vivis and Julis... and well, somehow pretty aggressive.
The monkeys, that is.
Not us.

Yesterday during a scooter ride, another specimen also appeared.
We were driving along the jungle roads... in a good mood... unsuspecting.... until a gang of monkeys raced across the road.
The last one was so relaxed that I slowed down and eventually stopped.
The said monkey was maybe only 1 meter away from us... I even said to Juli:
'look how relaxed it is'.... And suddenly.. As if it had heard me, it suddenly made a jump towards us and made a really scary face while also making a growling sound...
Stupid monkey.
Really stupid monkey.
Juli kept him at a distance with her hat and I accelerated and we drove away pretty nervously.
Ey.
We can really do without such a monkey attack on the last stretch here.
Exemplary and prepared travelers, also very reasonable, we do have a rabies vaccination, but... Uhm.. *cough...
N O T.
.........

Let's change the subject.

In the above-mentioned national park by the way, there was also a nature trail.
And since you know that we can't get enough of jungle tours, we spontaneously decided to stroll along this path.
Well... Strolling turned into a very steep climb from the first second, and then we decided after about 30 minutes to abort our plan.
Too fresh is our jungle trauma from Koh Chang.
But hey.... We tried, right!? 😌

Today, there were no monkeys.... no jungle... Only the ocean... And us... And about 1278 other people...
But if we ignore the other creatures, it was actually one of the best snorkeling trips I have ever done.
And I have done many.
Seriously many.
A lot actually.

We went to Ko Rok.
about 40 minutes away by speedboat from here.
With a really decent lunch in between on a super soft powdered sugar beach and the best
underwater spots I have ever seen.
Real coral reefs... blue and purple huge starfish... very long fish swimming in large schools around us.... yellow-blue fish that were present in hundreds... And really gigantic rainbow fish - so beautiful and amazing.
Man, they really glow.
Some of them are really colorful.
Others in a crazy purple and others in such a beautiful turquoise that you couldn't look away.
And somehow they kept getting bigger and bigger.
I guess one of them was easily 1 meter long....
Then there were striped ones... dotted ones... And even transparent ones that you couldn't even see at first in the crystal clear water.

And yes... There were sea anemones too.
Guess who we found there.
And who was glowing the most. :)
And not just him, but also his buddy Dory and all her clones were floating in the ocean and made us really happy.
And do you know 'Nemo's savior'?
Juli calls it that.
I didn't quite get it at first,... can only say that the fish species looks damn cool and gets bigger than you can imagine.
I will remember today for a long time and for my blog entry, I will NOT use my own pictures for once, but look in the net for what I can find and show you exclusively only fish we saw, BECAUSE:
my action cam, of course, died at the decisive moment.

B A T T E R Y   E M P T Y .

Now mine too...💤

That's why I say goodbye with this penultimate post from one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

🇹🇭 💙☀️