Koh Larn Speedboat

After returning from my adventure in Sri Lanka, things have settled back down into my regular routine.

Sadly, my wife wasn't able to join me on the Rickshaw Run, but she's been working so hard lately, and she definitely deserves a break as well.

We decided to take a short two-night getaway to Koh Larn, an island off the coast of Pattaya that is just a few hours from Bangkok.

Koh Larn is the closest nice-ish island to Bangkok. The waters in the Gulf of Thailand outside of Pattaya aren't as sparkling clear as in, say, Krabi, but it's definitely nicer than Koh Sichang, and on balance, it's one of the best weekend retreats from the city.

We woke up early to take a mini bus to Pattaya's Bali Hai Pier, where we bought tickets on the next ferry to the island. About 45 minutes later, we were standing on "Coral Island", ready to begin our mini vacation.

There's a really nice beach on Koh Larn, but lately it's gotten really overdeveloped and overrun with tourists. Instead of visiting the beach side of the island, Pinky and I opted to stay in the village, a much quieter part of Koh Larn that foreign tourists hardly ever visit.

We checked into a small guesthouse, and headed out to the island's little beachside seafood market to buy some of the freshest grilled seafood in the whole country.

It was nice to have a lazy, relaxing weekend out of town.

Although we didn't do many activities, we both really enjoyed and appreciated the break. It was a good opportunity to have some good food and a nice change of scenery.

On the way back to Pattaya, we decided to pay a little extra to take the speedboat instead of the ferry. I was really impressed with how quick we were back in town.