The Cat Lady Abroad: Time for Lime in Koh Lanta

My flight home to New York was out of Bangkok, so where better to spend my last few weeks in Asia than in the Thai islands? There are tons, and although many travelers understandably hop around them to experience as many as possible, I wasn’t interested in doing that. At the tail end of my trip, I wanted to park myself on a beach and chill. So I settled on Koh Lanta. It was not as famously beautiful as other islands like Phuket or Koh Phangan, but also not as overdeveloped or party centric. And once I found out about Time for Lime, well, I was sold.

Time for Lime is a restaurant, cooking school, and collection of beach bungalows run by Lanta Animal Welfare, a wonderful rescue organization on the island. The proceeds from Time for Lime go to support their animal rescue efforts, AND there are about ten rescue kitties living on site at Time for Lime. You can even take them in your room at night. SOLD. I booked two weeks.

How do I love Time for Lime? Let me count the ways.

For a very reasonable price (about $25 USD) I had my own bungalow, complete with porch and hammock, just steps away from Klong Dao beach, a long, wide sandy strip of swimming heaven.

The staff were incredibly kind and helpful, hooking me up with rides, directions, and reservations on the island. I made fast friends with Sally the bartender as I would head to the beach bar nearly every night to watch the sunset.

Although I didn’t partake in the cooking school, I ate at the restaurant often and can vouch for it being completely delicious. $15 USD gets you a six course tasting menu that changes daily. I had spicy coconut soups, kingfish with tangy herbs, and a fried papaya salad that would have knocked my socks off if I weren’t living life in flipflop mode.

At the bar, Sally’s lemongrass margaritas were the perfect accompaniment to the daily sunset. And since the proceeds go right back to Lanta Animal Welfare, you are literally drinking for a good cause.

And every night, I would pick a furry friend or two to bring back to my bungalow for the night.

After so much time away from my own kitties, it was so comforting to snuggle up with my new cat friends each night. Delta and Fraser, fluffy ginger boys who nearly chewed up my iPhone cord and liked to wait on my porch; Pixie, a white and orange grumpy lady; Mango, a talkative calico, and so many more, were all great companions.

Sadly, Time for Lime recently suffered when a massive, unseasonable storm hit the island last week. To repair the damages, they need to close for two weeks to rebuild, which is a big revenue loss during high season, resulting in much less money for the cats and dogs. So if you are in the mood for charitable giving, I so recommend Lanta Animal Welfare. The cats will thank you!