A quick stop in Bangkok and finding Paradise in Koh Chang

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Bangkok and Koh Chang – part 1

Whilst we were sad to be leaving Vietnam, we were really excited to be arriving back in Thailand, probably our favourite country. Unfortunately the excitement was short lived as we discovered that Vic’s big backpack had been picked open (through the zip) by baggage handlers at Ho Chi Min airport, even though it had a cover and padlock on it, and some bits had been stolen which were hidden in secret compartments in the bag – we think they must have been seen as the bag went through the x-ray machine. We have flown hundreds of times and never had a problem so this was a real shock and we didn’t realise until we got to our hotel so not a lot we could do, but hopefully our insurance will sort it out.

Anyway, we shared a taxi with two English girls who were on our flight to Khao San Road, our favourite area of Bangkok, and soon found a nice room on Soi Rambrutti just away from the madness. After re-familiarising ourselves with the area and relishing being back in Bangkok already we had our first Thai dishes - Pad Thai noodles and Chicken with basil and chilli, and they didn’t disappoint – oh Thai food how we have missed you! We had a wonder around seeing what had and hadn’t changed (happy to see our favourite spring roll lady is still there!) and sorted out our plans for the next few days, Christmas and New Year.

We decided to visit Koh Chang for a few days, an island about 6 hours East from Bangkok which we hadn’t been to before but liked the sound of, then go down to Koh Tao for Xmas and onto Koh Phangan for New Year, so booked our transport and went out for dinner and drinks that evening, happy to be back in Thailand.

The next morning we were up early for our bus to Koh Chang, which took almost 6 hours (instead of 4!) and then another hour on a boat, but as soon as we arrived in Lonely Beach we knew we would love the place. Although Koh Chang is the second biggest island in Thailand, each town is quite small and Lonely Beach had a great backpacker vibe to it, with a handful of bars and food stalls, friendly people, dive shops and great weather predicted for the next few days. We soon found a cute little bungalow to call home a stone’s throw from the beach, where we can see and hear the waves at night, and after dropping our bags in we sat on our veranda and watched a gorgeous red-pink sunset over the ocean – bliss. It's worth a mention that Koh Chang has a high number of snakes, and while Vic was waiting on a path for Scott when we first arrived, one dropped out of a tree and scared the life out of her! Luckily a local guy was nearby and promtly got rid of it...but needless to say she watches her step everywhere now!

We grabbed some delicious (and cheap) street food from a lovely lady for dinner and watched a great reggae band for a while – the Thai people out here could pass for Jamaicans, everything from the way they look to their accents and the music they sing – and were going to have a quiet night but had heard about a party at Paradise cottages just down the road so thought we would check it out. We are glad that we did, as it happened to be the biggest party of the month and played great house music all night, so we danced on the sand and chatted with some people we had met on the bus over until gone 3am. Aside from a few small reptile friends in our room, we both slept really well that night.

Our first proper day in Koh Chang was spent chilling on the beautiful beach and swimming in crystal clear waters. This beach is seriously stunning, and while we knew it would be nice it was even nicer than we expected so we were very happy. That night we had a yummy meal of yellow chicken curry and massaman curry, and after listening to some live music we got an early night, as tomorrow we had booked to go on a boat trip. A breakfast of banana pancakes started the day of the boat trip and we were picked up and taken to Bang Bao fishing port to get on the boat. The boat trip was brilliant and the crew lovely. We visited several small islands where we could snorkel/swim – first we went to Koh Rung and the snorkelling was great as the water was so clear, then we stopped at a gorgeous deserted beach for a swim. Back on the boat we were served a delicious Thai lunch (food is going to be a common theme in this blog!) before continuing on to a couple more paradise islands (Koh Wai and Koh Yai) for more snorkelling and relaxing. On the way back to Koh Chang we were given fresh prawns, corn and fruit which was a nice surprise and stopped at 'monkey island', a large rock where loads of monkeys gather each afternoon when the boats go past as they know they will get fed! We got back around 5pm after an awesome day at sea, a bit sunburnt but very chilled.

As we were watching another fantastic sunset that evening sipping a fruit shake, we both looked at each other and decided that as much as we love Koh Tao, we didn’t want to leave Koh Chang as it offered everything we wanted and more, so changed our plans and booked to stay for an extra four days! So now we are staying here until after Xmas and then travelling back to Bangkok, then going down to Koh Phangan for New Year from there. This island just feels really special and we are loving it so are more than happy to be staying for longer. It has also surprised us with how cheap it is compared to other Thai islands – there are food stalls with delicious meals for just 40B (less than £1) and even the restaurants only charge 50-60B a meal which is a lot less than any other island we have been to here. There is also so much choice for a small place so we knew we would have more than enough options for our time here, even though we have our favourite places already. Accommodation is also great value here – you can get rooms for as little as 250B (£5) – granted they have shared bathrooms and are fan only but you could never get this on say Koh Phi Phi or Koh Samui – for a bit more you can get rooms with a/c and private bathrooms with hot water – places haven’t even raised their prices for Christmas, something which every other island does, so we are really pleased that we are spending less than half of what we expected to pay at this time of year somewhere else. And, there are parties every night if you want them, or live music, so a good night time vibe but still very relaxed. Can you tell we love it here?!

Our next couple of days were spent on the beach soaking up the (very hot) sun and our evenings eating yummy Thai food and having drinks in several different bars. We went to another good party at Himmel bar and then Magic Garden which both hosted an 'end of the world party' (thankfully the world didn't end!) with the girls we met on the way to Bangkok which was cool, and another night we went to a beach party celebrating that it wasn't the end of the world, which had a fire show and great music. As we have been here a few days now and it is a small place we have made friends with quite a few locals too which is always nice – everyone is so friendly here – and the lady at our favourite street food stall says hello to us each time we walk past now - even the guys in the bars give us free food and drinks when they see us!

We can’t believe it’s almost Christmas, although a few places here now have Xmas tree’s up and we have heard a couple of xmas songs being played which is funny. Scott’s friend Steve arrives soon and we have another boat trip planned, as well as some more beach time and parties so it’s looking like a tough few days – hope everyone is well at home and enjoying the festive period! Must go, we are just about to watch another stunning sunset…



S&V's Travel Info & Tips:

General Info: Approx 50 Baht to £1.

Transportation: From Bangkok airport to Khao San Rd a taxi cost around 200 Baht. The bus-boat combo to Koh Chang cost 300 Baht each, and a truck from the ferry pier in Koh Chang to Lonely Beach cost 100 Baht each. In Lonely beach you can walk everywhere or hire motobikes but its hilly.

Food: So happy to be back in Thailand, the food is the best! In Bangkok we enjoyed the food stalls on Soi Rambrutti, in Koh Chang there is a great little food stall down Soi 1 with meals at 40 Baht and also Cafe Del Sunshine (also on Soi 1) does delicious meals for 50 Baht. Nature Bar on the beach is a good choice in the day as well. Pad Thai, Red curry, Fried rice, Basil and chilli chicken, spring rolls, Pad Si Ew, Green curry...the list goes on!

Accomodation: In Bangkok we stayed at New Siam 1 Guesthouse just off Soi Rambrutti for 620 Baht a night. You can get rooms for around 300 Baht if you are willing to have a shared bathroom. In Koh Chang we stayed at Sunset huts on Lonely Beach for 600 Baht a night - again if you are willing to share a bathroom or have cold water you can get rooms for half this price around Lonely Beach.

Other observations:

x) Prices in Bangkok for food and accom are either less than we remember or have gone down a bit, which is good. Also the Khao San area seemed quieter than normal for this time of year.

xx) As mentioned the people are so friendly on Koh Chang- there are also dogs everywhere here but even they are friendly!

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