People are often amazed when they learn that we are traveling for months with just carry on luggage. We pack only what we need and if we need to replace something, the theory is that you can “buy anything we need, anywhere”. I am beginning to understand that is not always true. We have gotten colds in other countries and are able to find over the counter stuff that works… but it isn’t quite the same as American stuff. Deodorant in other countries will work…. but it isn’t quite the same. We knew we couldn’t probably get Deet mosquito spray in some countries, so that is now part of our standard packing stuff. We ran out of toothpaste last week and I bought something that I thought was “Japanese Mint”. I missed the other title that said it was SALT toothpaste. Who would want to use salt toothpaste???
It was a shock the first time I tasted it but now I’m kind of getting used to it…
The big problem came this week when both my pairs of shows got holes in the soles. We had been doing a lot of walking and the rocks were starting to poke through to the bottom of my feet.
This needed to be replaced right away but I am still in Thailand in tourist beach towns. Not much to choose from. The biggest problem is that I wear a size 12 or 13 shoe. That is a lot bigger than most Asian feet. I would go into a store and ask if they had ANYTHING in a size 12 and the answer was always “SORRY”. I ended up having to buy some sandals in size 11 and just suffer with some minor rubbing until I can get back into a bigger city again in a few weeks. Koh Lanta is not big enough for shoe stores but it is also a good place to be barefoot. I can find enough restaurants and activities just by walking down the beach. Our “resort” had a restaurant/bar overlooking the beach that we had a lot of meals at. When I say “resort”, I mean cheap bungalows with geckos and possibly bugs inside. We aren’t resort people.
It was time for me to get a hair cut this week which is something I always dread because of the possible language barriers. Now I had the additional issue of walking to the road and crossing the street to get to the haircut shop while wearing shoes that were too small. Below is the main road on Koh Lanta, not particularly scary.
When I entered the shop, she glared at me and looked at my feet. Many shops on Thai islands require you to remove your shoes when entering and I had forgotten to do so. Maybe this is a good island to just stay barefoot. We have been in a lot of pools and swimming in the ocean so my hair was just getting stringy and icky. I decided to just shave it all off and found a Thai barber that gave me my shortest haircut since Buhner buzz cut night 25 years ago. It feels awesome for this climate and my current water lifestyle… even if it doesn’t look that great.
On the way back to our room, I stopped at the drug store for spray on sunscreen (for obvious reasons) and then to the 7-11 for some more beer. Both of those places had shoes at the front door from the workers and shoppers. I guess I am going to be OK not wearing shoes for a few days.
The next day, we were told that we wouldn’t have power on our beach for most of the day, due to a repair needed for the general area. That seemed like a good day to take a tuk-tuk to the other side of the island and have lunch in Old Town Koh Lanta. Of course that meant a whole day in too small sandals… I did it and survived. The town was just a small street of T-shirt shops and restaurants built on stilts over the water. We had lunch but were unable to find any shoe stores…
The rest of our time on Koh Lanta, we just spent on our beach. The temperature has been 90 during the day and 80 at night so we are often in the water to try to cool down. The big activity for the day was always sunset. Everyone is out on the beach watching it and then there is a huge rush for the restaurants once the sun is finally down. We have gotten used to this and think that finding somewhere to live without shoes might be a good thing.
Next stop is Koh Lipe- our last week in Thailand before heading to Malaysia. Koh Lipe is even smaller than Ko Lanta so I’m not expecting any shoe stores.
Ah who needs shoes when you have all that sand to walk on. Stay safe and enjoy life. Thanks for the update.
Enjoyable read. We are hosts & pleased to say we do provide all the information. Sadly most guests don’t read the listing that tells how far we are from the airport, the public bus, distance to the ferry, etc. I created a few standard replies that I can copy & paste.
We are early retired.
Ps: your contact me button leads to a blank screen.