Second day in Ko Lanta

When we paid the woman on the boat for our first night's accommodation we had agreed a bungalow, but when we got there they didn't have any free so they offered us a bamboo bungalow. They also have wifi, but you have to pay extra for it, and we wanted to hire a bike but they wouldn't because it was too late in the day (even though everywhere else rents bikes per 24hours). Last night we took a walk around to find somewhere else, but didn't find anywhere to make it worthy of moving. So this morning we got up early before check out time and went for another walk to find somewhere, and came across Fevrier Resort. It's a little more expensive, but has free wifi and includes breakfast which easily covers the extra cost. Not to mention the place is amazing, the people are really friendly, we're right across the road from the beach and we have an outdoor bathroom with no roof! They even drove back to our resort with us to get our bags for us!

After we had moved to Fevrier Resort we hired a bike to explore some of the island. Most of the island is still completely undeveloped and has since become a national park. Electricity was only introduced to Ko Lanta in 1996, and telephone lines were installed in 2001. First we rode down to Ko Lanta 'Old Town' which is on the east coast. The east coast has no proper beaches and so is mainly inhabited by locals and not many tourists, but it was nice to see. We ate lunch at this really cool little restaurant built on stilts above the water.

After lunch we went to the Orchid and Butterfly Farm. The orchids were not so much my thing, but Izzy had a nice time. The butterfly part was quite good fun for taking photos. We were able to get really close to the butterflies before they flew away, and some I could have touched !

On the way back to our bungalow, we stopped off at Lanta Welfare Centre for dogs and cats. We had seen an ad in the local guide book saying you can help them by walking one of their dogs! By the time we got there the dog walking time was over, but the staff were still more than happy to show us around the place and give us a dog to walk. In the centre they have several puppies up for adoption, another puppy that is being quarantined for its owner in Sweden, lots of fully grown cats and dogs and even a couple of monkeys. The centre acts as a vet's for the locals by performing imunisations that were previously only available on the mainland. As we turned up a local man was leaving with his dog that had been shot in the neck! The dog they gave us to walk was called Dolly.