Liz and Chris Take a Trip

And…We’re Back in Thailand!

Chris the Phenomaly and Farang Fong are back in Thailand! We got into Koh Lanta, an island on the Andaman Sea off the southern coast of Thailand, Wednesday afternoon. With so much going on in the world and especially after the tragic, terrifying bomb in Bangkok a few days ago, I’ve decided to do more up-to-date posts on our location so you can rest assured that we are safe and sound.

We got into Koh Lanta, Thailand Wednesday around 3:30pm after an 11-hour journey from Penang, Malaysia. Our travel included three mini-van rides – from Penang to Hatyai, from Hatyai to Trang, and from Trang to Koh Lanta – two ferries, and a tuk-tuk driven by a Muslim Thai woman with her young son sitting on her lap.

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Our tuk-tuk driver fishing change out of her purse after she dropped us off at our hotel. She taxis around in her tuk-tuk while her young son sits on her lap like a prince on a throne.

For the first time during our travels, we booked a nine-day stay at one location. Typically, we don’t book more than a few days at a time since we like to be flexible – we want the freedom to up and go as we please; but, in Koh Lanta we have a specific goal: Learning to fight! In addition to booking nine nights at Lanta Sport Resort, we also signed up for a 7-day Muay Thai course at the gym connected to the resort. Starting tomorrow, we will spend a few hours a day learning Muay Thai boxing techniques.

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Total cost for the week-long course is $50 USD per person, plus access to their outdoor gym with weights, benches, a few stationary bikes and of course, a lot of punching bags. For cost comparison I used to pay $80 for a single 50-minute personal training session at 24 Hour Fitness (and that’s on top of monthly gym fees!). I burned through $50 after 31 minutes and 15 seconds working out with a trainer. So safe to say that our $100 bucks will be money well spent. At the very least – we’re learning to fight…best couples’ therapy yet, we joke!

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The gym connected to our hotel, Lanta Sport Resort We signed up for a 7-day class with training a few hours a day.

I’m super excited about Muay Thai, but I’m ecstatic out of my freaking mind about nine days at the hotel we’re staying at! The hotel is called Lanta Sport Resort; it is a small resort that’s connected to the Muay Thai boxing school/gym. We have a 2-room suite with a bedroom that opens to a lanai and a large living room that opens directly to the pool.

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And best yet, we have a kitchenette with a humble set of kitchen supplies – toaster, pots, pans, hot water boiler, fridge. I’m excited about the idea of “cooking” at home. We stopped off at 7-11 to pick up our first set of groceries – six eggs, a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jam. We also stopped at the local market for fruit and more fresh eggs – handed to us in a plastic bag which I had to carry in hand as we motorbiked home.

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In the morning we have a hard boiled egg. For lunch, mango with PB&J toast (and another hard-boiled egg). And instant coffee from the water used to boil eggs…extra calcium!

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We bought 15 fresh eggs from the outdoor market down the street. Fifteen eggs for 52 baht, or about $1.50 USD. The vendor loaded the eggs into a plastic bag, and I held the bag to my side as we motorcycled home. Proud to say…no broken eggs!

Hotel cost is a splurge for us at $20/night, about $7 more than our average daily spend on accommodations. The other places we were considering include a $7/night basic room with a fan, mosquito net, mattress on the floor and a shared bathroom ,and a $15/night basic room (fan, net, mattress) with free breakfast. We decided to splurge on Lanta Sport because of the private bathroom and pool, and so glad we did! Well worth the extra few bucks!

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Our goal is to swim 10 laps a day while we have access to a pool. Here we’re just taking selfies but we’ll get to the laps soon enough.

One thought on “And…We’re Back in Thailand!

  1. KRK

    Looks awesome, as ever. If you are learning muay thai, we may have to fight when you get back to the US though.

    Sash and I are in Seattle right now. I’m finding I’m not nearly as entertained when I can’t drag you guys out for a beer and a game of pool.