Homeward Bound!

Well after 4 months of travel, 5 countries, a great visit with Jess and Catlin, numerous flights, ferries, trains, rental scooters, cabs, subway systems, rental cars, many accommodations, and meeting many great people along the way, we have arrived home. With 20 hours of travel from Thailand to Canada, we rested up in Vancouver for a couple of nights, hopped onto Via and after 50 hours of train travel we arrived in Melville and was greeted by Addison who collected us from the station, and delivered  us to our home!! The saying is so true...no place like home! And now to get caught up with our new grandson!


                                            Our view from our hotel room in Vancouver.

                                          Via train

             This young lad from Ontario entertained us with his music in the dome car.

Relax Beach, Koh Lanta, Thailand

We are enjoying the last few days of our trip. We found this nice little beach in a small cove not too far from our accommodations. It lives up to its name and is very relaxing and quiet!

                                  The beach comes with accommodations and restaurants.

Rock Beach Bar and Pool, Koh Lanta, Thailand

While motoring around on our scooter we discovered this gem of a place. It's nice to have an alternative to the beach. The pool water is cooler than the ocean water!

The Salty Fish, Koh Lanta, Thailand

When coming home from the beach one afternoon, we stopped for a drink and a beautiful view in the heat of the day at a small bar on the side of the road called The Salty Fish! We were entertained by a hermit crab and introduced him to a small lad who showed considerable interest in the creature.

                                                 A fisherman at low tide.

                                         A fishing boat looking like it's sitting pretty low!

Mai Pai Beach, Koh Lanta, Thailand

We rode our scooter about 30 minutes south with no particular destination in mind and ended up at the south end of the island at Mai Pai Beach. We stopped because it looked quiet and interesting. There was no shade to be found so we made a sorry attempt at creating some with driftwood and our sarongs. We had a lovely afternoon!

                            This funky structure is a light. It is probably beautiful at night!

                                              A small beach restaurant.

                                     
 Same, same but different. Another small beach restaurant. Both are right beside each other.

This restaurant must have a weight restriction! It looks like it's about to collapse into the ocean!

Koh Lanta Sunset at Long Beach

We are loving Koh Lanta. It has wonderful bamboo restaurants and lodgings that fit in so well with the Thailand's tropical background. It also adds to the laidback vibe you feel here. It reminds me of the song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". It you can't find relaxation here, then I don't think it's in your psyche!

Mangrove Trip, Koh Lanta, Thailand

We rode our scooter about 20 minutes southeast of our Long Beach accommodations. It was a pleasant trip and the mangroves are always interesting to visit. We rented a longboat operator and off we went.

Boys having a lot of fun jumping off the bridge. But I wish they were in school instead of apprenticing for a long boat operator!

                         
                       When a boat is rented the young boys run and help our the captain.

      At one point in time you could stay in this lodging in the mangroves. I know we are granola travellers, but this wouldn't appeal to me, even when it was in better shape. I am sure only young people and hippies would be interested! There are still signs advertising its availability.

  Our boat captain stopped where the monkeys hang out and they invaded our boat like a bunch of over eager pirates looking for loot. Thank goodness we weren't carrying any food, but one monkey did try to take Hoss's water bottle that he was holding.

                                                They also love to swim in the water.

                                                 A small fishing hut.

 We saw this beauty when leaving the mangrove parking lot. It's a huge step up from the bucket of bolts we rented! Every time we get on and ride away I'm expecting the machine to fall to pieces  leaving us stranded on the side of the road.