24 AUGUST 2019 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
WANDER
Ta ke a Wa l k on
the Quiet Side
The eastern shore of Koh Lanta offers a more subdued take
on the popular Thai island, writes Joe Cummings, who is
already daydreaming of his next visit.KOH LANTA CONJURES MEMORIES of blissful
days on the beach, drinking beer in sling chairs
and cruising the coast in a chartered longtail. A
few years ago, just getting there involved two
long waits for ferries, but the world is catching
on and catching up to this tropical idyll.
Foreigners now outnumber locals on Koh
Lanta Yai’s Khlong Dao—a strip lined with
small- to medium-size resorts, tourist
restaurants and beach bars—so that, although
it never feels crowded, even in high season,
you’re not really going to have much of a “Thai”
experience here. But when the sand twinkles
and the sky runs clear blue to the horizon,
not hing else matters. It’s t he sa me most of t he
way down Koh Lanta’s west coast, with another
nine or 10 eye-popping beaches making you feel
like a privileged castaway.
An early flag-planter on these shores was the
luxe and still very much of-the-place Pimalai
Resort & Spa (pimalai.com; 66-75/607-999;
doubles from Bt7,300). Built discreetly amid
native cashew trees on a hillside overlooking
striking Kantiang Bay, the venerable 18-year-
old resort offers huge, contemporary Thai-style
rooms, suites and villas, along with an award-
winning jungle spa, two large swimming pools,
a dive center and three world-class restaurants.
The massive hillside pool villas offer separate
living and sleeping quarters, decorated CLOCKWISE^
FROMT
OPRIGHT:^ COURTESY^
OFP
IMALA
I^ RESORT^
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SPA;^ COURTESY^OFSW
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LIFECOM
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UNITY^GUEST^HOU
SE;^ JEYTSUEN^SUJATAWANGMOCLOCKWISE FROM BELOW:
Southern Thai food in a rustic
setting; Pimalai Resort & Spa
has a gorgeous stretch of the
west coast; a place to chill at
Wooda House in Old Town.