Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta
Thailand
It wasn’t my intention to start our adventure in Southeast Asia with the idyllic Thai islands in the Adaman Sea. I wanted to see the “real” Thailand first, from Bangkok to temple towns and the wild life of national parks. But the most affordable flight from Amsterdam happened to go to Phuket, and because I sensed a lot of tension in my body (from family issues I may write about later), and I was worried about how I would deal with swarms of mosquitoes and intense heat, I let Daniel convince me that there was nothing wrong with landing in a place where we could first acclimatize and relax.
It was the right decision. We swam, we drank coconuts, we read, we wrote. And after a week of beach, we moved to Koh Lanta Old Town, a place that used to be the island’s main port and trading hub, and is now a laid-back fishing village on stilts. Locals still outnumber the tourists here, because there are no chain hotels and only a few guesthouses. We intended to stay only two nights, but found a house with multiple chairs (not a given in Asia) and a large deck overlooking the bay—a writers’ house. So we stayed.
Now, after a week of beach and another week of intense writing, I feel ready to face fresh challenges. Move more quickly from place to place, meet new people daily, involve myself with others without getting too involved, savor dishes whose ingredients remain a mystery, burn my tongue on peppers, deal with missed ferries, shadeless streets, bad air quality, scam artists, sneezers, and Corona virus speculators.
Chiang Mai, Rose of the North, here we come!
About this blog
I’m obviously not persisting with this travel blog as intended. Readers who follow me on Facebook or Instagram know where I’ve been last year and have been treated to photos and posts of our adventures. But my travel stories about the mosaics of Venice and Fez, the solitude of the Sahara desert, or even my short trip to New York and San Fransisco remain unwritten. Oh, well, I hope that the novels I’ve worked on instead will see the light this year. And I did write a short flash on Venice for New Flash Fiction Review.
