sun and sand and massaman curry

.
Went out salsa dancing in Bangkok this weekend at La Rueda, an unassuming little place on Sukhumvit 18. They offer free beginner lessons on Saturday nights so Ivy and I, in our constant quest for free entertainment, put on our dancing shoes and spent the evening salsaing to Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Jose Alberto... It was like being in Latin America again. with lots of asians.

Now back to the October vacation...

From Ko Tao, we took a night ferry to Surat Thani, followed by a bus over to the Andaman sea coast, followed by a 4 hour wait at a remote little "bus station" - really a hut in the jungle full of travel brochures - then a minivan ride to Krabi town where we had another hiatus while the drivers' friends tried to sell us ridiculous transport/vacation packages, then a couple of ferry rides, a bumpy trip in the back of a pickup and then, finally, we arrived at Kantiang Bay View Resort. The word "resort" is, i think, a bit misleading but the place - a spot right on the beach with a restaurant, bar and 20 or so little bungalows - ended up being a great place to stay. As it was still technically low season, we got a good rate (about $4/night) for a bungalow with a fan, private bathroom and porch complete with rope hammock.

Kantiang bay from the bungalows at our "resort"

Ko Lanta was everything that Ko Tao was not.. Quiet, relaxing, peaceful, we spent most of our time swimming, reading/sleeping on the beach, snorkeling in the bay and eating. We barely ventured farther than Kantiang Bay - one reason I'd love to go back sometime and explore more of the island. Another striking difference between the two islands was that the culture of Ko Lanta has a very prominent Muslim influence. Most of the girls and women on the island wear head scarves and kept most of their skin covered whenever they were outside or in public. Alcohol isn't served at many of the restaurants because they're owned by Muslims. Our favorite food on Ko Lanta was the sweet, creamy, incredibly spiced Massaman curry, ubiquitous at restaurants and street stands on the island. The name Massamam is apparently thought to have derived from a variation of the word Muslim. It's a coconut milk curry flavored with cardamom, cinnamon, fish sauce, tamarind and chilies (and loads more I'm unaware of, i'm sure) and full of potatoes, toasted peanuts and chicken (or beef sometimes).

low tide

there was one ultra swanky, fancy pants resort in Kantiang Bay. some locals told us each year at the start of high season (which happened to be the last day of our trip) they construct this big plastic floating jetty so that their guests can be delivered directly by boat without having to get near the dusty dirt streets of the island. An unsightly blotch on the otherwise pristine bay, it was nonetheless kind of cool.

playing on the jetty

squinting in the afternoon sun - the fancy resort behind me

Same Same but Different Restaurant in Kantiang Bay

Four days later we reluctantly packed up and enjoyed another pickup truck-minivan-ferry-minivan-ferry-minivan-bus trip to the Surat Thani train station, boarded a sleeper car this time and were Bangkok bound once again...

.