Our alternative was to breakfast at one of the establishments on the waterfront. Beautiful Restaurant is, as its name suggests, one of the nicest of such places and offered us a wonderful view. K and I chose our favourites - clear noodle soup and pad thai, respectively.
Old Town looks much the same at Christmas time as during the rest of the year. The odd shop has a piece of tinsel or a tiny Christmas tree, but there are few concessions to the Christian holiday on this side of the island. Bizarrely, the 7-Eleven has decorated its frontage with some disturbing images, presumably sent from head office to all branches.
There is also an upsetting Christmas cake in the 7-Eleven, more on which later. However, what it doesn't stock are decorations. As a result, we have had to improvise a centrepiece out of shells collected from Ko Por beach and a candle.
The result of living in a house that is open to the elements is that the local wildlife often pops in. Geckos and lizards are frequent visitors, a bat flew into our bedroom the other day, and even a crab marched through the front door. Today however, we had a different kind of guest.
Since our arrival, we have seen and stroked a grey-and-white cat that hangs around outside our house and which wears a pink collar that ironically labels her as 'Dog'. When we first saw her, it was clear that she was pregnant, but recently she has had a less pronounced waddle and her stomach has not been so distended.
After returning from breakfast, we noticed the cat emerge from a cupboard. Upon investigating, we discovered four fluffy little kittens.
Unsure whether the kittens had been born there or been brought in by the mother, it was still about the least appropriate place to nurse them - a darkened corner of the cupboard under the stairs full of bleach and rat poison. Still, this was the spot she had chosen and we weren't about to argue. However, we went in search of the owner, only to discover that the collar had been attached by our next-door neighbour because "it looks pretty". With no owner in the frame, the cat family had nowhere else to go for Christmas.
It was the best of presents, it was the worst of presents. Having cats for Christmas was a wonderful gift, but we had to consider that we are due to leave Ko Lanta and Thailand in a week's time.
Our only options, aside from turfing mother and kittens back onto the street, was to give them to the already vastly oversubscribed Lanta Animal Welfare centre or to see whether someone local would be willing to adopt them.
Fortunately, some friends we have made nearby have already taken in two stray kittens and are amenable to further feline friends. In the meantime, we had our own nativity in the cupboard under the stairs.
Dinner was a festive display of red curry with green beans. The curry was mouth-wateringly moreish with shiitake and cep mushrooms, tofu and baby Thai aubergines.
For a dessert treat, we tucked into a miniscule cake decorated with Santa's face arranged out of apricot jam and strangely tasteless cream with a beard of hundreds and thousands. The remainder of the cake was largely synthetic sponge and pink calorific air - a suitable confection for Christmas Eve.
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