Travel 2 Awaken

Halfway down the mountain from Chiang Mai’s crown jewel of temples, Wat Phra This absolutely gorgeous temple, nestled in the middle of jungle, can only be accessed by hiking the Monk’s Trail! We took the Monk’s Trail, on the way down the mountain, after visiting the super-crowded Wat Phra The tenth tree, with a special orange ribbon signifies the end of the Monk’s Trail, if coming down from Doi Suthep, but it is actually the starting point if heading up to the temples.

As one of Chiang Mai’s most sacred temples, and top attraction, there is zero problem finding a red songthew to drive you and six other people, up to Doi Suthep for about 100 baht each. Alternatively, you can hike 4 steep-ish miles up to the temple via the Monk’s Trail. Stepping away from the Golden Stupa area, things got a little less crowded, allowing us to fall into a more relaxed groove to enjoy the rest of the buildings, bells, paintings, carvings, statues and shrines. We followed the signs  down to the Meditation Center to have a quick sit, before we hit the Monk’s Trail to a smaller, forest-style temple further down the mountain.

Ride a bike instead of driving The journey from Klong Dao Beach, at the northern end of Koh Lanta, down to Bamboo Beach at the southern most tip of the island is 13 miles. Wendy and I agree that if we don’t make it all the way down to Bamboo Bay, we’d still have fun checking out beaches and island life, away from the resort area. However, we actually did not end up making it all the way down to Bamboo Bay, on account that Wendy’s brakes totally and inexplicably locked up in between Klong Khong and Nin Beach— about 7 miles into our trek. Refreshed, we got back on our bikes and made it down as far as Kantiang Bay before facing the fact that it was almost sunset and we’d still have 13-miles to slog back in semi-darkness, on a curvy road with no helmets!

Strolling In The Rain Our first day in Koh Lanta was a drizzly and decidedly not a beach day! The wet yet warm weather was perfect for taking a walk down to the Saladan Pier – situated at the north end of the island, where we came in at, via the Lanta Bridge. The Pier is a quaint hub of cozy cafes, souvenir shops, diving outfits, tour operators, and of course many seafood restaurants. A great way to relax away an afternoon is to grab a drink and snack at one of the cool wooden-stilted restaurants right over the water, facing Lanta Noi and Lanta Bridge.