Sà-wàt-dee kâ

... is hello in Thai. I’ve just returned from a 3-week-holiday in Ko Lanta, Thailand. It’s been one of the best holidays ever, and I was so sad to have to return to reality. I’ve seen and experienced so much that I don’t even know where to start. I’ve recorded some of it in the journal I made and brought with me, but most pages are still unfinished. The journal will keep me busy for months, which is great, because that way I can keep the memory of our trip alive for longer. I’ll share some pages later when I feel they’re more finished.

Here are some of the things I fell in love with:

Corals. 

Swept ashore by the tides.

Lelawadee. 

There are so many beautiful flowers to enjoy, but the simple lelawadee is one of my
favourites. It has a lovley scent that is particularly noticeable in the warm and dark evenings.

Garden of Eden. 

We stayed at hotel Lanta Resort on Phra Ae beach, which has a lovely garden. 

The garden was home to a great number of different animals, including 

geckos and other lizards, birds, butterflies, frogs and even a snake.

 Phra Ae. 

This is the northern end of Phra Ae beach. I love the colour combination of white 

sand, emerald sea and blue sky. The same colour combination appears in many boats.

Fishing boat.

I love the colourful fishing and long-tail boats. After dark you can see the fishing boats like a 

string of light along the horizon. When the weather is hazy, they lit up part of the sky too.

Tropical thunderstorms. 

We experienced a few tropical thunderstorms during our stay. During one, we were 

having lunch huddled in a little bamboo hut with no walls. The first gust of wind half drenched 

us and blew away all the paper napkins, but the friendly staff did their best to shelter us.

Crabs, part I. 

We discovered some intriguing patterns in the sand and figured out that they were 

created by crabs. There were a lot of crabs around, which gave me a chance to study them 

both at a distance and up close. They’re like little aliens. Very funny and fascinating.

Crabs, part II. 

These patterns were also created by crabs. They reminded me of crop circles. 

Every crab had its own style.

Geckos. 

These little fellas have stolen my heart. I miss them already.

Snorkelling. 

To my surprise, I developed an addiction to snorkelling. I just loved the weightlessness 

of floating on the surface and looking down into a different world and its inhabitants. 

The fishes I saw were amazing. Striped, spotted and chequered in every colour 
imaginable. I loved it when I could swim into a whole school of fish and be one of them.