Home

Hi,

Our first full day at Lanaya was quite an adventure. We toured the island, learned a lot, and dined to an amazing sunset. But first, we'll go back and 'meet the chef'.

'Easy Monday' just breezed on by with The Jackson Five singing "ABC". Now try this: "We're gonna break out the hats and hooters, when __ comes home. We're gonna rev up the motor scooters when __ comes home to stay, we're gonna park in the street, sleep on the beach and make it, throw down the jam till the girls say when. Lay down the law and break it, when __ comes home." Clue: This song, by a duo or group (5) that was more jazz than rock. It's a song about the homecoming of a neighborhood star. The title is this person's name.

Our first dinner at the resort turned out to be more than we expected. The menu read: 'Pan roasted, free-range chicken in a bed of zesty vegetable salsa." Not being one to experiment with salsa in Thailand, I asked if they could switch that part with the grilled veggies from another dish. No problem. Lisa enjoyed the Tasmanien salmon. She mentioned to our server that I couldn't eat dairy or soy. The next thing we knew Claudio, the head chef, was at our table. This soft-spoken, humble man made every effort to understand my food allergies, and told us that he would alert his staff. Anything we needed, just let them know.

This morning when we went for breakfast, I was immediately met by one of the young women of the serving crew. First she asked my room number. Then she recited my food issues and made sure she understood. Just as I was about to approach the buffet, Claudio came out and went over the whole display with me. He pointed out what had milk powder, what might have soy, and which food came from outside suppliers. Whew, more info that I bargained for, but how interesting that they were so serious about my comfort. I ordered scrambled eggs, and the cook asked me if olive oil was OK, and then showed me the bottle. Now it's as if I can't get away with anything around them. (Ha)

After breakfast we went to the 'Tour Desk' to talk about the things we wanted to do. There was lots of discussion, and finally we got the whole story about 'low season' options. It's not a good time of year for snorkeling, and the elephant ride would not be as good as in the north. We decided to rent a car and tour the island. When we got to the front desk to rent the car, I was shown a truck. It was captioned 'Rent or Service'. 'Service' meant that a driver would be supplied. We chose that option, and I'm so glad. There was so much to see, and I would have missed most of it trying to negotiate the winding roads. We got to see amazing vistas, a huge resort, and the Sea Gypsy village. (More on them later) We had lunch looking out on the Andaman Sea from the side of a mountain, and saw a village that was rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami. All over the island there are signs with local escape routes highlighted. Our driver, Noom, told us that there are a lot of Swedish expats living on Koh Lanta and they helped promote a joint venture between Sweden and Thailand to rebuild the little community we saw.

After our island tour we took a swim in the pool. It felt so huge after swimming in our little pool. We had a nice lazy swim, hung out on the lounge chairs, and then returned to our beautiful room. Later we went to the library and checked out a movie.

The whole day was great, weather wise, with just a few showers while we were driving around the island. This evening we had dinner on the deck outside of the restaurant. No sooner had we sat down, then I was pounced upon for a review of what I can't eat. After our server left, I joked with Lisa saying: 'Enough already, leave me alone'. We laughed and then realized that this was the first place to really get it. We had another delicious meal, and just as we were finishing, Claudio came out to our table to make sure everything was alright. We had a long conversation with him after he discovered that we lived in Chiang Rai. His wife is from Chiang Rai, but now lives in Chiang Mai with their daughter. We exchanged cards and told him to give us a call the next time he's in town. What a small world. The real treat tonight was the sunset. It went on for about 30 minutes or more, the sky was filled with shades of pink, with accents of dark gray from some of the cloud formations. As it waned, the ocean reflected the pink giving us quite a light show.

Could it be Wacky Wednesday?

Peace,
Danny

"Never make your home in a place.
Make a home for yourself inside your own head.
You'll find what you need to furnish it -
memory, friends you can trust, love of learning, and other such things.
That way it will go with you wherever you journey."
~Tad Williams

Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
www.flickr.com/photos/gratidudepics
http://blog.risingstardom.com/
www.lisamosesgallery.com