When we first arrived in Thailand just before Christmas we spent two days in busy Bangkok before heading on to beautiful and tranquil Koh Lanta.
The capital pit stop was probably more for my teenage niece, so that she could do a bit of hardcore shopping in the insanely huge malls over there.
Living in London for fifteen years has made me develop a severe dislike for big cities and I actually think I'm allergic to super malls or as I like to call them 'bastard bastions of capitalism' cause I can't spend more than ten minutes in one before starting to feel decidedly queasy.
Despite the fact that only 4% of the people in Thailand are Christians, you could have been forgiven for thinking otherwise, the sheer amount of gaudy Christmas glitz on display and tiresome tacky tunes abusing your eardrums was quite astounding in some areas.
The upmarket super malls had obviously been taking style notes from Oxford Street et al, with more Christmas lights than you can shake a stick at.
My favourite was the bright red faced Santa with Bono sunnies...DUDE!
We went walkabouts and took in the amazing flower market and Chinatown...
Then we jumped on a boat to get a view of the city from its Chao Phraya river and ended up at the Wat Pho temple, home of Thailand's biggest reclining Buddha statue...
There are so many amazing temples to see in Bangkok but on our second day there we decided to seek refuge in Chatuchak Park instead.
I was thrilled to escape the city the following day, a short flight took us to Krabi and then onward with taxi to Koh Lanta.
Twelve wonderful days of lolling around on stunning beaches, swimming in the sea, snorkelling, going for long walks on the island, popping off for a couple of days amazing scuba diving, visiting Lanta Animal Welfare, cuddling with cats and walking some adorable dogs, spending a precious Christmas with the people that I love and meeting some awesome new people too :)
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| Klong Khong Beach on Koh Lanta. |
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| A beautiful sunset is like food for the soul. |
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| Scuba diving, snorkelling and fishing boats on Koh Lanta. |
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| More stunning sunsets and a pic from an early morning walk with the locals bringing in their nets. |
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| Fresh fruit shakes and fabulous grub. |
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| I was tempted to try the Geek Salad but sadly I didn't, I did have a delicious Veggie Spattie though ;) |
New Years Eve celebrations on the beach on Koh Lanta were a hoot and a half, the entire islands population seeminlgy had made their way onto the beaches. Fire works galore and literally thousands of Chinese lanterns lit up the sky. There were an abundance of fire shows and a scattering of local bands performing for free.
On New Years Day we left Koh Lanta to head for Langkawi...
We visited three waterfalls, namely Telaga Tujuh (Seven Wells), Air Terjun Temurun & Durian Perangin.
Hired a car and explored the island, hung out on the beaches, went snorkelling and eat with the locals.
I ordered veggie fried rice and found little sprat heads in it, I did enjoy the gorgeous ice tea though.
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| Trust me to find a car boot sale half way around the world :) |
We went jungle trekking, saw the sunset from the top of the Langkawi cable car and enjoyed some general mucking about on the hotel beach and in the grounds.
All holidays come to an end too soon I think and before you now it it is time to leave paradise behind.
We had a day and a half in KL before we flew back home.
More shopping for my niece who also turned eighteen that day and more culture & city impressions for us...
We went to the amazing Sri Mahamariamman Temple which is the oldest Hindu temple in Kuala Lumpur.
Last time we were in KL we only managed to see it from the outside at night but this time we were able to delight in its interior.
We also came across the Kuan Ti which is a Taoist temple but unfortunately it was closed.
The last thing we did before going to the airport was meeting up with our cousin who lives in KL.
He works on the 52nd floor of Petronas Tower 2 and was able to get us a couple of visitor passes to come and have a look...
The lift was amazing, you could hardly feel it moving, it was so smooth yet tremendously fast and you had to pop your ears ;)
Pretty amazing views and the building itself is pretty stunning too...
KL from above; they do seem to like their tall buildings...
...and that was that!
Then we jumped on a plane back to 'Ol Blighty.
I've just a few more holiday posts to do and then I'm back on normal Frocktasia duties again :)
Lot's of love,
Jennie
xXx
