In this second post about visiting Thailand as a tourist destination, I will share with you the villa life!
Lets explore villa life on the island of Koh Lanta, Thailand as we explore more about Thailand as a Tourist destination!
When visiting Thailand we opted to stay at a villa on the island of Koh Lanta. While staying at a hotel/resort is absolutely lovely and can offer so many amenities, for this experience, we wanted to be a bit more immersed. We stayed at a beautiful home, The Great Escape Villa. While the villa also offered fantastic amenities, it encouraged us to explore more. We sought out different cafes and restaurants. We even hired scooters for our sightseeing excursions and to get to and from some of the local restaurants!
Renting a villa doesn’t have to be expensive! We travelled with another couple and shared the expense. This made having our own place, with the opportunity to explore based on our interests, on our own time table, all the more affordable! Although, it is always best practice when traveling with others, to discuss, open and honestly, what to expect on your travels together. Talk about your must-do’s, about possibly needing your own space at times. Discuss the types of meals you enjoy, the attractions you want to see and even those you may not care to bother with. Be honest with each other. Set expectations for some “alone time” if that is a must for anyone in your party! Discussing your travel plans ahead of time, and even mentioning boundaries, will ensure you all have a great time!
How to get the most out of Villa life in Thailand as a tourist destination!
The villa we stayed at on the island of Koh Lanta, Thailand was named “The Great Escape Villa”. Once we arrived at the airport in Krabi, from Bangkok, we took a short taxi ride to the port. From the port we boarded a speed-boat to take us to the port in Koh Lanta, and then a short taxi ride from that port to where our villa was located. On our return trip, we skipped the speed-boat ride and took a two hour taxi ride directly to the airport.
(©amschotel)
As I mentioned in my previous post about Thailand food, (see link https://yankeebrit.blog/2024/02/07/thailand-tourist-destinations/) our villa was about a 5-10 minute walk to the local village, with numerous cafes, restaurants, bars and the beach! The amenities, setting and view was absolutely stunning! The infinity pool was the utmost.
Thailand as a Tourist Destination Villa Life (©amschotel)
Thailand as a tourist destination Villa Life (©amschotel)
Now, as I mentioned previously, when traveling with companions, it is always best to be open and honest and afford each other their personal space. With that said, the floor plan of this particular villa was well suited for having a little privacy! The two main bedrooms we used were at opposite ends of the villa, with the pool, patio, upstairs hammock patio, and kitchen and lounge areas separating the bedrooms!
However, a little caution about villa life in Thailand! 😱
Before we began our exciting adventure to Koh Lanta, we did our “due diligence”, of course! That’s part of the fun and excitement of going on a vacation, right? Hubby read that the monkeys on this island can be a somewhat of a nuisance! We were a bit skeptical of course, assuming the articles were a bit of an exaggeration! Well….they weren’t!
When we met our host, upon arrival at the villa, she mentioned the monkeys. She said that they do hunt for “treasures” and will grab anything left outside. Again, still a little skeptical. But…let me assure you, that first morning when I woke and casually opened the bedroom door to the patio I found more than a dozen of these “cute” little creatures! After all, we were kind of invading their home territory! They were everywhere! On the patio, on the ledge of the pool, on the upper patio with the hammocks. They weren’t aggressive, but I was a bit startled, and quickly stepped back into the bedroom and closed the door!
Koh Lanta Thailand
(©amschotel)
Sharing space, with humans and monkeys, can be a challenge!
After that first morning, it took until the second day for our friends to admit at first they thought it was me making all that noise the first morning! But once they woke the second day and saw these little imps for themselves, they realized the noises they heard were the monkeys jumping from roof to roof! It was quite a ruckus overhead with them jumping on the tile roofs.
So, how do you deal with the monkeys and keep them from pinching things and from overtaking? When our host welcomed us, she also left us with this! Now again, rest assured, we never hurt the monkeys! We never hit them with any of these pellets! However, the slingshot and simply firing off a few pellets into the trees was enough to deter them and they would scoot off for a few hours. However, this didn’t save us from having the inside of our scooter helmets gnawed at and ripped apart, scooter mirrors played with and coconut suntan cream pinched!
A great benefit of villa life is being able to come home, sit outside in beautiful surroundings, and have some creature comforts.
Like a cup of tea anytime you want or to be able to have some snack foods readily available! We stopped at the local market just a few m minutes walk from our villas. The fresh fruits available were amazing! We also were able to get some bottled water, bags of snack foods and even tea and coffee!
Thailand as a tourist destination – Villa Life! (©amschotel)
I purchased some fresh fruits, including bananas! And yep, the monkeys stole them off of the picnic table while I was lounging poolside!
Overall, we were very happy with deciding to stay in a villa for our trip to Thailand as a tourist destination. And this particular villa was perfectly situated and offered a great floor plan with lovely amenities. Staying in a villa ensured we would explore, which is exactly what we wanted to do. Being able to explore freely and on our own terms allowed us to embrace the Thailand culture, food and people. We have been to resorts and never felt the need to leave the premises and this defeats the purpose of travel sometimes! Having an open and honest discussion with our friends before we traveled together for the first time also ensured we had a great time. So, you choose what works best for you!
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