thailand | part two | travel | markit photography

PART TWO | KOH LANTA AND HONG KONG

Catch part one of our Thailand trip? Well we’re back with part two of our trip with an overview, pro tips and favorite shots from Koh Lanta and Hong Kong! These two location surprised me, in many ways. Read below for details. Koh Lanta though, I will say, is my absolute understanding and knowledge now of what paradise CAN look like. It was just that. Those $10 Thai massages I mentioned in part one? Try getting one on the beach as the sunsets. NBD. While there won’t be as many tips below as part one, I

PRO TIPS

Once again, do some research. Many people asked us how we decided on Koh Lanta as the island we wanted to stay on. And a great question that is. We chose it because it’s one of the quieter, bigger, islands. Many of the islands offer the same thing, we just wanted to choose to go somewhere party-centric, rather than have it in our backyard 24/7.
We stayed here, and really wouldn’t recommend it honestly. It was really pretty, and a cool “concept” we just didn’t love the logistics around it once you’re actually staying there. Read: mosquitos, no TV, semi-uncomfortable bed, nothing to do onsite, no breakfast or any other bonuses). Really one of our only regrets from the trip, wamp. The best part of the place was their sweet, sweet host up front at the desk.
Koh Lanta highlight #1: We rented a motobike for $8 for the whole day and toured the island, top to bottom is only about 45 minutes. We stopped along the way to check out the various beaches, got burnt along the drive, and had a cocktail or two on the beach at dive bars, one of them being Why Not whic offered the most beautiful view.
Koh Lanta highlight #2: Snorkeling the four islands. We did this with the sweetest British couples we actually met during our elephant excursion in Chiang Mai. We started by touring the first island and snorkeling for about 45 min, beautiful. From there, we went to another for snorkeling, more beautiful. Then the third island we ate a delicious lunch and took a post-grub nap. Finally, we went to Emerald Cave. Which was incredible. We jumped out of the boat and were told we’d be swimming through a cave (pitch black) to get there. The view through that cave is one I can’t describe, and know I’ll never repeat.
Hong Kong: WE LOVED IT! Want to go back for sure. Only had 20 hour total between flights so we didn’t see as much as we would have liked to. But we at dim sum, saw the city lights show from the water (see below), had fantastic cocktails, rode the mid-levels escalator, and realized how much it reminded me of London. So I was in love. The one thing we missed was going to Blue Butcher which was voted best cocktails in Hong Kong for 2015, so we obv need to go back.