Koh Lanta - travelling with a one year old!

The bus ride to Koh lanta took a little longer than we anticipated, There is only one road onto the island that connects via a drive on boat, this only allows a few cars at a time! It was mid-tropical storm outside, so it was quite cosy on the little bus! Cassius decided to have a poo, we tried to keep it quiet and change him with nobody noticing, but one of the girls on the bus asked what the awful smell was, they had recently turned off the air conditioning, and refused to switch it back on, so we had a little chuckle amongst ourselves, since we had complete poo smell immunity!

The first night we were unable to get a space at our desired resort! So we stayed at a little resort nearby, it was £16 a night, there were no windows, and it was a little dated, but it was relatively clean and did the job for the night! We walked a few mins down the road after checking in and dropping off our bags, the rain had finally stopped and we found a great road side restaurant, it was jam packed and had a live reggae band, lots of couples and families enjoying the atmosphere and food. Cass had his usual rice and broccoli, followed by several hundred bananas offered by staff!

The next day we got a taxi to The Crown Lanta resort, a little out of the way, along a very narrow road, with beach either side of it! Staff as always were amazing, the resort itself absolutely beautiful, could do with a little updating, but stunning all the same. The breakfast was brilliant, lots and lots of choice, curries, pancakes, cereals, fruit, eggs and bacon, beans, toast, freshly made juices of choice. We have always found breakfast is brilliant in most places with lots of variety, always useful for filling little tummies as there will be something they'll like!

At breakfast, you are on the second floor restaurant, this has open sides, so you can see right out onto paradise while you eat! In the trees you'll see lots of cheeky monkeys! There is a resident monkey, she hangs around for food, and enjoys catching bananas! You can throw mini bananas for her to catch and eat whole, she is great! As soon as you produce a banana, her little face lights up, her eyes double in size, I LOVE HER! She was there every morning! She knew she wasnt to go into the restaraunt itself, but she swings through the trees, watching out for treats!

Crown lanta is a very large resort so you usually have to call a golf car to pick you up and drop you off at your room! There is a lot of wildlife, which is lovely, lizards EVERYWHERE, cassius LOVED seeing the little geckos, trying (and failing) to catch one! One evening we did some fireworks on a quiet beach (there are some steps down from the pool directly to the beach) it was COVERED in crabs and other crustaceans, to the point that as soon as you walked, the entire beach moved! Cassius found this hilarious! Win was sure to do the fireworks well out of the way of the sand and on some flat rock (we also collected all debris and disposed afterward, there is a lot of wildlife, so this is really important!)

The hotel had a lot of chinese guests they were all in awe of little Cass, and as usual gathered round for family photos with him! (you'll see a shot i managed to get of this below).

We hired a car on day 1, but the island is small, so we did all of our exploring on that day, we drove to see the sea gypsies houses on stilts in the water! It is a very picturesque island, incredible views, it feels a little desolate compared to other places, but it was out of season and gets slightly busier into the summer months.

We ate mostly at the restaurants built on part water/part land, near the coast, there are lots and lots of these, all competing for your business, they all have rain covers for when a storm sets in, as we experienced a few! There is a 'busy' main area, with a 7/11 and a good few shops and market stalls, if you would like to stay away from the hustle and bustle and like a really quiet location this would be perfect for you!

We chose not to go over to near by phi phi, as it is said to be extremely busy, there have been 2 films made and based there, that has caused a huge influx of tourists, the small island cannot handle it, but economy loves the boost....so it continues.

On our last night in Lanta, we headed down the huge steps of the hotel to the beach, where they have huts made on the sea shore! You have a little bell to call for service, and a selection of free treats! Nuts ad crisps etc. Cassius had a fresh coconut, we played games and watched the sun set, a perfect end to our little trip to Koh lanta!

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