Category: Travel

The Kings Last Procession….

26th October 2017

A year and 13 days since the death of Thailands beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and the day set for his cremation. Having been in Bangkok on the day of his death, and seen the outpouring of emotion that occurred, I felt duty-bound (well, not really, but very interested), to watch this last ceremony that the favourite monarch would be involved in.

The TV coverage, of course, was completely in Thai, but the emotion, ritual, and splendid spectacle was communicable in any language.

The initial stages of readying the Kings’ sarcophagus were accompanied by continuous Buddhist monks chanting, and the ragged, but beautiful off-tune of Thai instruments, with the occasional boom of cannon salute. Elaborate gold ornamentation, incredible in its detail, bedecked with jewels……Perfect merging of tradition and respect, with all approachment done on knees….. 60+ pallbearers marching with semi-bended knees…….Almost pageantry.

Black-clothed citizens kneeling respectfully, lining the streets, bowing deeply as the King passes with his entourage, tears flowing freely. The music having progressed to big, brass omm pah pah……Sarcophagus upright and encased in ornamentation……The rituals I wish I understood….the new King placing new bolts of saffron fabric at the base of the sarcophagus, monks approaching and taking them away? Repeatedly.

216 red-pyjamaed men pulling the gilded funeral chariot by red ropes, while the band reverted to dirge, and dozens of Beefeater-like military types marched alongside, agonisingly slowly……the procession around the walled Royal Palace taking at least two hours.



The Royal Chariot, built in 1795, now in use for the 26th time. Since his death, King Bhumibols coffin, lying in state at the Royal Palace, has been visited by 12 million people. The day after the cremation, his bones and ashes will be returned to the palace and placed in the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred Buddhist site in Thailand.



*Please excuse the quality of the images, they’re all taken from the tv.

Coco Cape…..

This place!!!

I hesitate to use the word ‘Resort’ because I’m not a fan of them as a rule…..’ everything in one place and exorbitant prices’ and all that, but the Coco Cape Resort is the exception. Casual – no grand entrance/reception buildings…..in fact the only ‘buildings’, in the true sense of the word, are the bungalows, the common areas are all bamboo and thatch…..albeit quite ‘grand’ in view of their materials. The bungalows are more like apartments actually, with large bedroom/living space, bathroom and covered deck half the size again.



Large open restaurant area alongside a stunning rectangular infinity pool, and the bar – also open-sided, multi-levelled right down to the beach, oh, also with pool alongside! Bliss!!



Of course, the food and drinks are a little more on the expensive side, but town is a short 2km scooter ride away, the way pleasantly bereft of traffic.

The road being so quiet (relatively), it’s perfect for my solo-scootering practice. This is something I’ve had neither the time nor inclination to ever learn, but surprisingly, after my third day, I’m really starting to enjoy the experience!

But back to the Coco…..if ever you should find yourself in Koh Lanta, this is the place to land!



Lanta Old Town

Today was a revelation!

We scootered south, and then over the hill to the east side of the island. Initially it was just the trip over that made the soul feel renewed…..the cool of the jungle and the lack of traffic madness. But once we followed an almost-missed sign to Lanta Old Town, and arrived at old-time teak shophouses, and lantern streetlights, I knew this would be somewhere that I’d remember with a special fondness. Right along the left of the street, almost all the shophouses extend out over the water (at high tide of course), the stilts, poles or even tree trunks stand bare when the tide is out, but the charm remains.



We chose a restaurant that was advertising a whole fish ( Snapper?) for 250 Baht – I couldn’t possibly resist! One normally walks through the front/shop/reception area to the back, this being the bit hanging over the water. At this restaurant, however,we were led through what appeared to be living quarters, and then the kitchen, eventually emerging to the dining tables. While walking through , looking down at the wide, rough-hewn-but-smoothed-by-decades-of-feet, you see that what’s beneath is sea-shore! I LOVE that!! This wee place had a few tables under a roof (open sides), then a walkway of random boards extending to a small landing at the end with one table! Cute as a button!!




Unfortunately Scott was feeling a bit off-colour and the whole fish seemed a little indulgent, for me, so I settled for a delicious Pad Thai…..O, and the obligatory Margarita!

As the light disappears quickly once the sun sets, in the tropics, we couldn’t explore any further- not wishing to be on that rugged road in the dark, so back over the hill we came…..just in time to see the orange sun sinking into the Andean Sea…..a glorious sight indeed!!!

Koh Lanta Cruisin’

After my shock at seeing the nearby beach, I decided to focus on the hills on the other side of us, with their lush, green jungle. This sight in itself felt uplifting and…..cleansing, even. We’ve decided that our next ‘home’ will be somewhere closer to this much less ravaged environment.

Once again,  a scooter has proved invaluable, and after the traffic mayhem of Phuket, Koh Lanta seems marginally safer…..apart from the potholes one could lose oneself in!!!!!

There are two islands that form Koh Lanta – we crossed the bridge that links them yesterday. The other island ( Koh Lanta Noi) has a minimal population, appears to be mainly National Park, and has a car ferry that crosses the short stretch of water to the Krabi mainland. We made the trip to the pier and hung out for a time, but didn’t make the crossing ourselves – it appeared to be well-utilised by the locals however, with crossings being more or less continual.


On one of our first scooter outings, Scott stopped at a lone petrol bowser to fill up. I thought he was joking – this thing was ancient! It looked as if it had been there since the island had, rust the only thing holding it together……However it had a money slot and buttons to press, and much to my surprise, actually worked……but wait, there was more! While the petrol poured, music played!! Certainly the funniest thing I’d seen in a while!

Riding around, particularly on Koh Lanta’s one main road, it’s phenomenal the amount of bars, restaurants and accommodation the island has. At present, this being the tail end of the monsoon season, there are a minimum of tourists about…..but judging by the number and size of the above establishments, this place must QUADRUPLE in population over the next few months.

Our first night here, Scott was excited to have found, he believed, Koh Lanta’s answer to Bangkok’s Happy Bar. ‘Ya Dong’ is indeed grungy, but not quite with the vibe of the Happy Bar – and being directly on the roadside, its groovy ‘music’ unfortunately becomes the sound of traffic!


Last night we went to ‘Forty-five’ for dinner, a smallish restaurant, quite new looking, with a smart minimalist decor. My barramundi and simple asparagus/capsicum, warm salad was easily the best meal I’ve had in months, and the accompanying Margarita, at 120 Baht, will have me returning – probably daily! Fabulous staff and great prices, as well, I hope this place prospers!


While at ’45’, I spotted a small, hairy dog who seems to be a local character. Last night he appeared to ‘have some people’, but we’ve seen him several different times now, in several different places, and he’s appeared to have people before. As with a lot of the cats and dogs in SE Asia, particularly Thailand, these guys must just live on the street, and befriend whomever they deem to be ‘befriendable’….. This fellow, and a couple of cats we’ve come across, appear to have happy, uncomplicated lives, at odds with our western ideals of ‘pets’…..long may they survive with their streetwise verve.