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Koh Lanta
This beautiful island off the south coast of Thailand
has been home to an ancient sea gypsy race with their own language &
beliefs. What is Koh Lanta really like ? It's an island of wonderful beaches facing west, with
magical sunsets and verdant jungle. It's an island people come back to,
again and again. A place where it's always around 30 degrees where time is soon forgotten, where you can
spend hours watching the antics of hermit crabs.
The first five star resort opened now several years ago, and is blessed with owners who kept all the trees and ordered the architects to build a beachfront resort that could not be seen from the sea. On one of the finest beaches on Koh Lanta (and possibly one of Thailand's most beautiful) they created Pimalai Resort & Spa, a small heaven on earth. Stunningly well designed and just as well run. It appears that Koh Lanta is attracting more and more creative people and wonderful new resorts have been created by newcomers. Two PhD's (an academic & bureaucrat from Bangkok) have opened The Narima, which has drawn amazing reviews from the editor of Elle Decor and almost all other guests. Two Frenchmen took over a run down resort at Relax Bay and in a few months turned it into a stylish haven for international creatives and execs, recently 'discovered' by Conde Nast Traveller. Now our 25 kilometers of beaches are host to a hundred small resorts.
Koh Lanta still a Paradise ?? Yes, in deed !! Is it crowded? No ! Last Christmas at midday I counted about 80 people on the 3.5 kilometer long Klong Dao, Koh Lanta's most developed beach. If you want sex tourism, go-go bars, shopping clubs or discos then Koh Lanta is not for you. Come to Koh Lanta for snorkeling 'better than the Red Sea', dive sites regularly listed in the world's top ten, an Old Town where life continues as it did a hundred years ago.Rent some bikes or a jeep and spend days exploring the beaches, rivers, caves and waterfall. Just 25 kilometers long and six wide, you'll discover areas that are worlds apart. Explore coconut palm gardens and rubber tree plantations still functioning as they did fifty years ago. Watch sea gypsy fishermen build their nets as they have for centuries. Wait for the fishing boats and enjoy a seafood feast you'll never forget for the price of a croissant and coffee in Europe. t's expensive to get here , but inexpensive to stay. It's still non-commercial, and the locals smile almost all the time. If you lived here you'd smile too! We will develop the website with photos and information, recommendations about where to stay and what to do, the best places to eat and more.
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