My visa run to Thailand – Langkawi to Koh Lanta

We woke up at 6:00 a.m. after going to bed at almost 2:00 am. I only had a few minutes to dwell on my emotional hangover after giving away our kitty the night before. We had to be ready at 7:30 am to leave from Alamanda Villas.

After a rushed shower and last minute packing of photo cameras, tripod, and yoga mat included, of course, we finally loaded the car. We followed, our host-boss, to drop off our car at the mechanic while we were away. I couldn’t look at him in the same manner after his remarks a few days before about the “possible solutions for the cat“. I think he sensed my feelings. (You can read the full story here). He nodded an uneasy and unusually sympathetic “good morning“. I feel uncomfortable around him now, but that doesn’t really matter because I will only see him one more day after we come back from our visa run and when we leave he will not be around.

The trip – Langkawi to Satun, Thailand

We could have gone to the Thai island of Koh Lanta (north of Langkawi, on the Andaman sea), either by land or by boat. Our choice was to go by boat due to rumours of tourists being kidnapped on the border between Malaysia and Thailand.

The ferry trip was pretty peaceful, unlike the one from Penang to Langkawi., where I really had to concentrate not to get sick. Only one hour for crossing to Satun. Our seats were right at the front of the boat, in a separate compartment. Our trip was rich in conversation with a very friendly and just as talkative young English couple, Emily and Andy. We found out he works in Kuala Lumpur as an investment manager and she lives in the U.K., working in a high-class nursing home, and is only spending summer vacation here. We talked about all kind of subjects: Brexit, Trump, vertigo, changing lifestyle, the life-changing documentary ” Fed up”, the difficulty of eating out as a vegan on the road and a few other subjects. Almost at the end of the trip, I handed them our business cards and we promised to keep touch and exchange photos of our final destinations, which for them was Koh Lipe and for us Koh Lanta.

Upon our arrival, on the line for passport control, there were already a number of agents trying to sell package trips to various destinations. Our new friends when first and rushed off to keep their travelling schedule. After going through passport control we followed one of the travel agents. With a bit of bargaining on James part, we bought our tickets to Koh Lanta for 550Bartper person, instead of the initial asking price was 650Bart.

On the way back we chose to buy our tickets independently instead of using an agent, after all, going back we would be familiar with the procedure. That decision saved us around 300 Bart (approximately 7€). Seven euros may not sound like much but, to give you an idea, it is enough for a one-course dinner with fresh fruit juice for two in Thailand. The same goes for Malaysia, being that in Malaysia you can probably through in one dessert or appetizer. All in all, in a three and a half months trip every penny counts, right?

My visa run to Thailand – Langkawi to Koh Lanta (and back) step-by-step

(NOTE: Prices practised at the time of our trip – July 2017)

Although very short, during the monsoon season and with an accident in between, the trip to Koh Lanta was very much worth it. We managed to finally relax for a couple days and prepare for the following two days of volunteer work.

Back to Malaysia, at our arrival, I accomplished the main mission of this short trip to Koh Lanta: the stamp! I could now stay three additional months in the country.