A Vacation on Coral Island

Before flying back home to visit the family in the US, I took a short vacation with my girlfriend to Koh Larn (Coral Island), a small island off the coast of Pattaya, not too far from Bangkok.

Terminal 21 Pattaya

We departed Bangkok early, catching a morning bus direct to Pattaya City. From there, we walked to the brand-new Terminal 21 Pattaya for lunch.

Tower of Pisa in Terminal 21

Terminal 21 is an airport-themed shopping mall in Bangkok. It's really cool! Every floor is designed to look like a different world city, from Tokyo to London to Rome, to San Francisco. They recently opened a second branch in Pattaya The cities are a little different, and it was cool to explore. I really like taking visitors to Bangkok to Terminal 21. It's a fun way to spend a day, especially if it's rainy.

Eiffel Tower inside Terminal 21

This mall is different from the one in Bangkok. There's a scale Leaning Tower of Pisa and an Eiffel Tower, which Bangkok doesn't have. Terminal 21 is famous in Bangkok for having an especially cheap and delicious food court, so Pinky and I took our lunch there before heading out to Bali Hai Pier.

3d art

We got a little distracted on the walk to the pier, however, when we saw a sign for Art in Paradise, a popular 3D art museum. The museum has dozens of galleries and exhibits, all painted in cool 3D perspective, which makes you feel like you are standing inside a scene. It's really cool!

Thor!

Even though everything looks like it's 3-dimensional, everything is painted on the floors and walls.

Bali Hai Pier

Finally, it was time to head out of Pattaya and towards Koh Larn. We hopped on a songtaew headed for the pier, hurried to the boat, and just half an hour later, we were on the island.

the ferry from Pattaya City to Koh Larn

Koh Larn isn't a big island. It's one of the closest islands to Bangkok, and probably has the best beaches within a day trip to the city.

disembarking on the island

I've been twice before: once on my very first vacation in Thailand, and once on New Year's Day with my good buddy who was visiting from America. This time, we were going for a relaxing and restful vacation; four days of sun and seafood.

the beach

There are several beaches on Koh Larn, but the really popular tourist beach is on the opposite side of the island from the Koh Larn Village. We stayed in the village, so we took the local ferry (rather than the tourist boat) to the island. Most foreigners visit Koh Larn either for just a day trip, or just a night away from Bangkok, staying at the expensive resorts on the tourist beach.

sunny day at Ta Yai Beach

Not everyone knows how beautiful the quieter beaches on the village side of the island can be! It's also a lot cheaper; the village is full of budget guest houses and hostels (and cheap and amazing food, which I will write about tomorrow).

clear water at Koh Larn

We spent most of our time at Ta Yai Beach, a very quiet beach on the northern tip of the island, just a few minutes walk from the guest house.

Koh Larn Island

I like Koh Larn because it's so easy to get to, but it's also a really pretty island. It's sort of a hidden gem, not in the fact that people don't know about it, but more so that people tend to overlook it in favor of islands like Koh Phi Phi or Phuket in the south.

tropical Thailand

I had really been working hard before flying out to the USA, so a little mini vacation was much appreciated. In the last few years, I haven't gotten to travel much inside of Thailand. Recently, I've been having to make visa runs abroad so often that I haven't had the chance to travel inside my adopted country. I hope to see more of Thailand this year. Visiting Koh Larn reminded me just how much of Thailand I still haven't seen, and just how beautiful and exciting the country is. Sometimes it's easy to forget how pretty and tropical Thailand is when you spend all the time in the big city of Bangkok.

at the beach in Thailand

The island is just off the coast of Pattaya. So close, in fact, that you can see the skyscrapers and condominiums of the city across the bay. Still, it feels remote and distant, like you've transported to a new world. It's perfect for vacation!

with Pattaya City in the distance across the bay