It seems common in SE Asia not to prepare one's own breakfast. Stalls and shops selling food often have a simple seating area and offer the option to 'eat here' (kin thii nii, กินที่นี่) or 'take away' (glap baan, กลับบ้าน, lit. 'return home'). In the case of khanom chin, for example, the soup, noodles, and accompanying vegetables can be separately bagged up to be reassembled at home. However, I like the opportunity to cook my own breakfast when I have time, so today I made khanom chin (albeit with rice vermicelli noodles).
We hired a pair of bikes from a lady who has spent a number of years in The Netherlands. As such, cycling is natural to her, but it's rare to see a single other bicycle on the island. She says that people think she is mad to pedal from one side of the island to the other (approximately 15km at its shortest). There are no walkers here either, so there are no pavements and certainly no cycle paths.
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| Spot the Bike |
Fortunately, the roads are quiet and we made it to the west coast without incident and, given the bright but overcast sky, relatively little sweating.
Our first port of call was Lanta Animal Welfare. This centre was set up by the owner of the Time for Lime restaurant and cooking school. A lack of basic veterinary services on the island meant that the local population of cats and dogs was out of control, with the result that the burgeoning number of strays were (often inexpertly and cruelly) kept in check. She initially rescued a dog that had been scalded with hot oil and a cat that had been attacked with a knife. Both survived, and were joined by many others of their kind in a purpose built shelter built from donations and the proceeds of Time for Lime.
When we arrived, the volunteer staff and other visitors interested in the animals' welfare were exclusively British. I suppose this serves to reinforce Britain as a nation of animal lovers, although it must be said that the owner is Norwegian.
The shelter now provides free and affordable services to the local community, such as immunisation, vaccination, and sterilisation. Many visitors are interested in adopting one of the animals, giving it what they call a "forever home". However, the pet must remain in quarantine for three months, many visitors are likely to have returned home before the end of this period. Given this, volunteers are sought to act as custodian on a flight to the pet's new home, if they happen to be going that way. The centre is doing some excellent work, as the cats and dogs we have seen, whether owned or stray, seem happy and healthy.
While on the west side of the island, we wanted to visit a different beach. The weather was warming up by now, so we stopped for a cool drink and a light bite at chilled out (and deserted) Irie Bar.
"No we don't have wifi. Talk to each other", reads a note on the wall. I appreciated the ethos, and so we chatted and had a rare indulgence of cheese - feta in a salad with tangy dressing - and some more delicious spring rolls (not quite up to the high standard set by Fresh Restaurant).
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| Long Beach, Ko Lanta |
Irie is set back from the aptly named Long Beach (หาดลองบีช) - also called Phra Ae (หาดพระแอะ) in Thai - which stretches for five kilometres. As the second beach from the north of the island, it is similarly developed and populated to Khlong Dao. In fact, when we tripped onto the sand, we found many more sunbathers than out last visit to the coast. However, it is now much closer to Christmas, so I suspect those wishing to escape the wintry northern hemisphere for the holidays are starting to arrive.
Conscious of the journey back and the fact that our mounts were not equipped with lights, we did not stay for sunset.
Back at home, and only a little saddle-sore, I made us some Thai comfort food - the ever-popular som tam. For an unripe fruit, green papaya makes for a delicious salad with only a few simple additions.
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