Ko Lanta Solo Travel (Part 1): An island loser(?)

“Seriously? You are going to an island alone? What a loser!”

Yes, I got teased by a friend after I said I’m going to Ko Lanta alone. I was debating whether or not to do it, simply because I was afraid I would get bored or…lonely perhaps? But the free domestic flight I received from SCB credit card privilege combined with the fact that I got free time to travel on weekdays (Read: Everything cheaper!) did push me to JUST DO IT. I wasted this SCB free flight privilege last year, let’s not repeat that mistake again this year!

Another friend also asked if this is my very first trip of traveling alone and not meeting any friends. Come to think of it, hell yes! It didn’t feel that way because I flew alone quite often, but never entirely alone the whole trip. Cheers to the first real solo travel!

So far, let me tell you, I LOVE THIS TRIP! Why didn’t I do this sooner? A mini beach/island getaway for me, myself and I. It’s so good for the mind and the soul! There’s something about an island that draws me in more and more (as I get older, HA!). It’s so chilled. Everything feels slower on the island. You get to walk by the beach and see the sunset, and that alone clears your mind like no others. No, I don’t really enjoy snorkeling or scuba diving or any water sports. Simple walk by the beach, sipping coconut juice or cocktail on the beach bar are more than enough to make me feel, wow, life is all good, what else could you want in life?

Where I stayed: Soontreeya Lanta Resort

Gotta admit, this part sucks when you travel alone as you have no one to split accommodation cost, and usually hotel takes up majority of your budget. Meh. And because I’m by myself and safety is #1 priority, I don’t plan to go too cheap as I do need comfort and a peace of mind. Following some blogger I randomly found via Google search on her girls getaway blog post, I chose Soontreeya Lanta Resort. I called hotel to book directly and got even more discount than Agoda and Booking. Total 3 nights cost only 4,500 THB (Around $140).

Soontreeya Lanta is a nice little resort with only 20 (or fewer) bungalows tucked in a tiny Soi, 2 mins walk from the main road, at the end of Long Beach which is the most popular beach on Ko Lanta. Nothing too fancy if you ask me, but it’s quite lovely for the price I paid. Comfy bed and fairly nice pillows, little pool to chill, Typical American breakfast like any other resorts in Thailand (lol), and 1 min walk to the beach with a beach bar. More than enough, isn’t it?

What I’ve done (On the first full day)

Lanta Muay Thai Gym

Like I said, I have no interest in joining those snorkeling tours. So…I went to train Muay Thai for the very first time (What lol). The most convenient thing is Lanta Muay Thai gym is across Soontreeya Lanta resort.

It was 1.5 hours of intense cardio and upper body strength training. Also a lot of kicking in between! Just a warm up is tiring enough if you don’t exercise regularly. Thankfully, all those HIIT training at Base the gym I go to saved my life. I ended up sweating like a pig after 10 mins of warm up though!

All Muay Thai trainers are very nice and friendly, and I’ve got a one on one session as I had never done this before. He had to teach me all basic movements. I found it lots of fun although I sucked, haha. I’m so bad at kicking! Couldn’t seem to get it right and didn’t have much power at all. Oh well, still fun!

And they gave me half price discount. I felt so lucky! 200 THB only for a one on one session, the price you can NEVER find anywhere in Bangkok! Just because I’m Thai and no Thai ever really came to train Muay Thai here, haha. Almost everyone I’ve seen today are westerners.

I gotta admit, I tried boxing (no kick!) years ago with my PT and didn’t like it at all. It felt too tiring, next day with soreness in my arms and shoulders. I did think boxing wasn’t for me. Today though, wow, so much different! I feel stronger, with more strength. I could punch and punch and didn’t feel burn out that much. Finally all those bench press, dumbbell bench and upper body strength training paid off. And let me tell you, it’s the best feeling in the world that you can do things you couldn’t back then. Feeling strong is so amazing, and I would keep raving about it to anyone who wants to be stronger too!

Another Thai lady who came with her Swedish husband warned me I would pass out today and feel so sore afterwards. Guess what, I didn’t feel that sore at all! And think I will be ok tomorrow. Yay strength training. Got bruises all over my knees from all the kicking today though. Pretty nasty here, ugh.

Infinity Spa at Crown Lanta (Best one ever!)

My friend stayed at Crown Lanta last time she was here and raved how amazing the hotel was. So I decided to try their Infinity Spa. It was the best decision ever as everything was so perfect. I went it all in and picked a 2 hour spa package; body scrub and aroma massage. Once again, the original price was around 3,000 THB but the lady was so sweet and gave me lots of discount and I ended up paying less than 2,000 THB. Just because I’m Thai, and she said there are hardly any Thais here. Say whaaat?

The massage was too good to be true. Everything the massage lady did felt just right. I love her technique so much. Also her service is top-notched. It wasn’t like 5 star hotel formality kind of nice service you find in Bangkok, it was more sincere, more down to earth, but you feel like she truly cares about you. Afterwards I was served fresh fruit and ginger tea while taking my time absorbing the view right here.

Fantastic. At that moment I truly felt my life couldn’t get any better than this.

Apart from that it was all about chilling, eating, iced coffee, reading, evening walk on the beach. All in all a simple but really good day.

Ko Lanta beach surprised me though. I did think the water would be more crystal clear and the sand would be white. It wasn’t the case and less pretty than I had thought. But maybe it’s because I’m on the most popular beach, and it could be more beautiful way down south of the island. Ko Lanta is pretty big. Most people are really nice and friendly, way friendlier than Bangkokians for sure (Ha!). And somehow they are very welcomed when they know I’m Thai. I got asked if I’m really Thai by a Muay Thai trainer *chuckles* It’s so western-oriented here. But the reason I picked Ko Lanta is because it’s not a party island, more like a quiet and relaxing island which is what I was looking for. Overall it’s a lot of couples, families, or even girls getaway. But somehow I don’t feel lonely at all, which is a good thing.

Will get up early tomorrow to either do CrossFit (never done, looks too intense and I’m a chicken, haha) or yoga by the beach (haven’t done yoga for years). Still undecided. I’m glow with “Lovin’ life” mood right now, with very minimum makeup on my greasy, oily face. So glad I decided to come here by myself!