Thailand went from a wisp of an idea to a sharp hit of hot air upon entry at Krabi Airport. I love a place that seems exotic in every respect, reminding me every minute I’m not at home through smell, sight and a general sense of unfamiliarity. But I thrive in the heat, and I happily stripped off layers, anticipating sea breezes and cold drinks. My boyfriend and I boarded a bus for Krabi town, then joined a haphazard line of other dazed travelers waiting for a shuttle van that would take us to the pier.

The cold drinks were a bit further in our future than we would have liked. We had to take one more shuttle and two ferry rides to reach our Andaman Island of choice, Ko Lanta. That was before I learned that everything in Thailand takes longer than expected. The Thais are in no rush, and neither should we be. If your shuttle driver feels like stopping for take-out food, you’ll catch another ferry after the one he was aiming to make. If you have to wait an hour for that next ferry at the pier, you’ll while away an hour watching feral cats play. The sooner I let go of the idea of a timetable, the happier I was.

Long Beach (Phra Ae Beach) stretches most of the way down the west coast of Ko Lanta (Lanta Island). It is about a ten-minute ride by van or tuk-tuk from Saladan port. All the way down at the south end of the beach is the very best place we stayed: Lanta Marina Resort. A simple thatched-roof beach bungalow quickly felt like home.

We spent halycon days soaking in the Andaman Sea and drying on the hot sand. We ate fresh curries at restaurants on the beach at sunset. The same old sun we see every day all over the world draws worshipful devotees as it descends into the sea here. We turned to face it each day – on our towels, at our restaurant tables, on the massage platforms, on yoga mats – watching it slowly swell, redden, and disappear below the horizon.

There are rocks in the water at this southernmost tip of Long Beach, which isolate it a bit. This made it feel wonderfully special as compared to the rest of the beach, which gets a lot of (bare)foot traffic. It does mean that you’d have to swim past them to access the rest of the beach (we didn’t find the need), or don some rugged shoes to cross them at low tide, or walk north inland a few hundred yards.

Cheap massages (about $5) are available up and down the beach, but the first one I found was right “next door”. After an hour stretched on the open-air platform, I floated to my feet and joined my boyfriend on a cushion 30 paces south-west at the beach bar,  to worship the latest miraculous sunset.

Near the north end of Long Beach is Blue Sky Resort. For our second stay on Ko Lanta we hadn’t pre-booked, and the online rumors are true: you can just rock up and find a place to stay for $15 to $25 a night. We found another idyllic beach bungalow with little effort, and booked the last available air-conditioned hut. Two short rows of huts were divided by a sand path leading 100 yards directly to the beach. An AC unit wasn’t a requirement for us, but I can’t imagine our time there without it now; my stomach reacted badly to a benign-looking mango lassi, and I spent an evening dragging myself from toilet to cool bed.

The next morning I felt much improved, and by sundown felt well enough to take a barefoot run along the beach. The foamy surf marked my finish line, and I plunged in gratefully to float,  pant, and feel my muscles let go. The sky had turned this little world pink and perfect, and I felt a small but essential part of it.

We began to wear less and less as the week went on, due to minor sunburn and the sweaty discomfort of fabric, and the mere realization that it’s pointless to wear clothes when you are in the ocean 75% of the day. Shoes are actually discouraged indoors, and we quickly learned to leave them outside when entering the small market in our “neighborhood”.

I think the only other place I’ve ever found too hot to drink alcohol in daylight was Palm Springs, California. The pro of such a con is that you can stay hydrated, if you’re conscientious, and not pass out before nightfall. Our nightlife was mellow but just stimulating enough on this north end of the beach. The beachfront bar-clubs have DJs and colorful cocktails that could make a supreme vacation night out, but you can opt to walk the beach or lie in your front porch hammock; the sounds of revellers are barely audible as the waves make their foamy ascent and descent. We passed hours sitting and sipping beers, idly listening to the many languages of our beach hut neighbors whispered from other front porches.

This area is primarily jungle and wetlands cut back for the beachside resorts. Behind those is a network of dirt roads and small tin-roofed establishments – bike and scooter rentals, ice-cream stands, shops with beach toys and sun lotion.

If you want more life, you can hire a tuk-tuk or ride a bicycle to the port town of Saladan. We chose sea life over human, and booked a day snorkeling trip through one of the small shops on the beach. A large speedboat picked us up the next morning and we set sail for Koh Rok. Along the way there were two places we stopped to anchor and snorkel. Brilliantly colored anenome and fish loitered near the rocks of passing islands. Sunlight filtered through the water and reflected off technicolor fins. The journey was turning out to seem better than the destination, except for the life we found on Ko Rok.

Our crew parked the boat on the island’s south shore and set about making a fire for our lunch. The island is home to monitor lizards, which no one told us about beforehand but you can easily Google and watch amusing encounters on YouTube. Two of them lazily approached our group and hung at the outskirts, flicking their forked tongues. Our crew warned us not to get close, as their tails can cause serious damage when used as a whip. But they don’t seem to pose much of a threat, considering a public campsite is in their backyard and boatloads of people visit this shore all day. After lunch we spent a blissful hour walking the long expanse of white beach and napping in the shade.

What sets Ko Lanta apart from other Andaman Islands is its perfect symbiosis of activity and tranquility. We wanted peacefulness and privacy, but also a meal and a cocktail each evening. We wanted to buy beach balls and towels, without tons of shops and customers. We wanted to live sparsely but still be able to shower. Here we could pamper ourselves without luxury. Most importantly, we found pockets of solitude to remind ourselves what a very special time and place this will always be.

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REMEMBER:

• SPF 30 sunscreen for sun-up, Jungle Formula insect repellant for sun-down
• Cash machines aren’t everywhere; take advantage when you see one
• Remove your shoes before entering a business or home
  

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FORGET:

• Packing anything more than essential clothing; you’ll hardly wear it
• Drinking the water, and don’t eat ice, salads or raw fruit unless it can be peeled
• Blowing your nose in public; it’s rude

Help me fight Alzheimer’s for my mother: donate in the US: Alzheimer’s Association; in the UK: Alzheimer’s Society