Koh Chang

Alexis and I had a 4 day weekend so we decided to head south again and visit the island of Koh Chang. We had heard it was about a 4-5 hour journey, but as usual Thai time kicked in and our travels took just over 7 hours. It was well worth it though, I think Koh Chang takes the cake on "favorite destination" in Thailand.

We arrived Friday evening and headed straight for the restaurant Magic Garden, recommended by a friend. The food was amazing!!! We split pumpkin curry with tofu and I had a delicious plate of chicken quesadillas. It was delicious and reasonably priced- right away we noticed that Koh Chang wasn't nearly as touristy or over-priced as Phuket. Everyone was very relaxed in Koh Chang and Alexis and I felt very comfortable in the Lonley Beach area- it was a pretty condensed area so it was easy to settle in. Friday night we were tired from traveling, so we wanted to find a mellow bar with live music to sit and chill. We found the perfect spot- 3 doors down from our hostel was an outdoor bar with hammocks to sit in and a live reggae band. You would think a Thai reggae band would sound pretty lousy, but the lead singer had a very good voice and we thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing evening.

Hammock at the Reggae bar! 

Saturday morning we woke up and had a delicious breakfast of porridge and fresh fruit. The mango was to die for, and there very cute Thai children hanging out in the restaurant. After our enjoyable meal, we attempted to rent a motorbike to ride over to Bang Bao pier. Koh Chang is a very mountainous and hilly island, so when I asked the rental man to teach me how to drive the bike, he showed me the breaks the key. I told him I needed a little more advice, because I had never driven a bike before (or a car for that matter, but he didn't have to know that...) and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He started talking very fast in Thai and repeated the word "never" over and over again. Then his wife came out of their shared office and exclaimed "Ah very bad for you- you will die in Koh Chang if you ride a bike. Very dangerous for you!! No hospital nearby - you will die! I will give you money back- very bad for you!" I swear she told me I was going to die about 15 times!! After that, Alexis and I were rather discouraged from our dreams of riding a motorbike, so we chickened out and paid for a song theaw to Bang Bao. They weren't kidding- it was a very hilly ride!!

It was kind of cloudy on Saturday so Alexis and I explored the shops on Bang Bao pier. Then we decided to rent a kayak as our "fun activity of the day." It wasnt really a beach day, so kayaking was the perfect solution. It was so beautiful, with the beaches and the mountains of the island in the distance. We had some issues steering the kayak against the current, and we saw some huge fish jump nearby, but other than that it was a really fun experience. After our kayak adventure, we grabbed lunch on the pier then did some more souvenir shopping. Then we headed back to Lonely Beach, for my first ever Thai massage!! Even though I usually hate when strangers touch me (like pedicures- eek!) this was actually very soothing. After our massage we headed to the beach to eat dinner and watch the sunset. The restaurant had a "beach party" going on with fireshows and British DJs. It wasn't crowded at all so it ended up being another low-key and enjoyable evening.

Kayak adventures

Dinner on the beach ! 

fireshow

Sunday we decided to book an all day boat cruise of 4 small islands off of Koh Chang. Alexis and I were the only english speaking people on our boat (Monday was a Thai holiday so a lot of Thai families were on vacation) and as a result, we were the only people sitting on the sun deck area of the boat. All of the Thai people sat under the covered area, and everyone went swimming in their pants and long sleeves! Their fear of the sun still fascinates me.

The islands we visited were very beautiful. 2 of them were snorkeling stops and 2 of them were beach stops.We saw so many fish snorkeling of all different colors and the beaches were very clean and remote. The lunch they served on the boat was surprisingly delicious and overall it was a very pleasant day. On our trip back to Koh Chang, the clouds rolled in and the island looked absolutely beautiful with the mountains in the fog. Koh Chang is HUGE! I have a prediction that in a few years, it is going to develop into a major tourist trap but I am happy we got to experience the island now, with its natural beauty and chill atmosphere.

ready to snorkel

island stop #1

Island #2

Island #3

Island #4

Sunday night we went back to Lonely Beach to have some drinks on the sand. Literally- the bar had small tables on beach mats where you could literally sit in the sand. There was a cool fireshow at the bar and again we had a very relaxing evening.

Monday morning we woke up and booked our van back to Bangkok. We had until 1 pm to hit the beach, so Alexis and I had another delicious breakfast with mango and oatmeal then headed back to Lonely Beach. We rented floating rafts for the morning and relaxed in the sun for a few hours. Then we got lunch on the beach- I had a delicious chicken bruschetta with Mediterranean veggies - so yummy ! Then we headed back to the hostel (which we were happy to leave. The only negative part of our trip was the bungalow had a serious ant problem!!) and grabbed our backpacks to head back to Bangkok. We expected that traveling would be a little delayed because of the Thai holiday, but we were not expecting to have to sit on the floor of an over crowded Song-theaw just to get to the ferry on time! Between the heat and the hills, it was a very unpleasant 45 minute journey!!!

Once we finally made it to the ferry, we had to wait on the other side (in Trat) for a second Songtheaw to the minivan. We finally started heading for the van when our fellow passengers figured out their bus had been overbooked and they no longer had seats. I felt really bad for them but the song theaw driver kept pulling over and negotiating ticket prices with them for a later bus. We finally had to speak up and say we had to keep moving, because our minivan was waiting!! Well, Thai time was not on our side this time, and the van had waited for us for 5 minutes (the one time a van actually leaves on time!) and we missed our ride. We had to wait another 40 minutes for the next van, and it was going to a different BTS stop than the one we needed. It was all very confusing... but I was relieved when the mini van finally pulled up. After about 10 minutes in the van I realized I was not going to be getting any rest on the 5 hour journey home... we were squished in the back row with a french couple (who were very lovey dovey in such a small space..) and the potholes in the road were making for a VERY bumpy ride. I was in the middle seat so my feet didn't touch the ground- so every little bump sent me flying. We finally got back to Bangkok around 9:15 pm where we then had to take the sky train to Victory Monument and a van back to Salaya. By 10:30 we were home safe and sound at CU apartment !

Despite the long day(s) of traveling, Koh Chang was a very beautiful island and I am SO happy we got to go. It was one of my favorite places because it had natural beauty, cheap activities  and very friendly and relaxed people (both tourists and locals). I would like to go back to Koh Chang sometime in my life and see the rest of the beauty the island has to offer.

Cannot believe this was our last trip in Thailand!! Tomorrow is our last day of teaching and one week from today we leave to meet Skye, Ethan, and Emily in Vietnam. I am so happy we have been able to see so much of Thailand- it is truly an amazing country with absolutely beautiful sights to be seen. The time is flying by and I truly can't believe I will be back on American soil in 6 weeks!! So many mixed emotions are going through my head as I prepare for my last day of teaching and start to prepare for our 5 week trip. This has been a truly incredible experience and I can't believe we are so close to the finish line! What an adventure this has been. I am so excited to see what the rest of Southeast Asia has in store for us :)

Lonely Beach

 Delicious Chicken Bruschetta !

 Relaxing on a floatie!