Koh Chang

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October 14 – Becky and I woke up before 7am, did a little bit of packing and headed off to breakfast for an early start. Everyone in the hotel had much the same idea, so it was quite busy. I had a couple of fried eggs as well as fried rice and toasted baguette. One of my baguette slices actually ended up getting stuck in the moving toaster and lit on fire. Don’t worry – I blew it out and saved us all. It was a sunny early morning - our first of the trip – so we went up to the roof to look around. At 9am we headed down, checked out and got a tuk-tuk to the airport. We were a little more than two hours early, so we had to wait a little to check-in. We got in line when the check-in counter was announced but then we realized it was the counter for a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok rather than the Bangkok Airways flight, both of which left at 11:40am. Weird. A few minutes later our counter opened and we checked in.

Security was easy and then Becky made a quick purchase at a gift shop before we settled in to wait for our flight. I couldn’t get online for some reason, so I just read a bit. The flight was less than two hours but included lunch, a tasty chicken and noodle dish. The flight went quickly and then we were in Bangkok airport, moving towards the correct passport control and our on-going flight to Trat. I had read on the hotel’s website that we could use the lounge between flights, which was pretty cool. We were able to get in and had access to some (too many) snacks and drinks and faster wifi. I used some of the time to finish uploading photos for the blog, which was helpful.

After stuffing ourselves with popcorn and sticky rice and red bean sweets, we left the lounge and exchanged some money. We also had a look at the Krispy Kreme, which had a long line and Halloween donuts. I was too full to think about getting one, but perhaps I can be persuaded on our way back to Bangkok later this week.

The flight to Trat was not full and only took an hour, less, actually. We were given apple turnovers as a snack onboard, and we decided that it was enough now – no dinner needed. Once we arrived in Trat, there was a sign with just our names on it to tell us to go to the international luggage collection area, since we still had to clear customs. We were the only ones who didn’t start the journey in Thailand. As soon as we got there, a guy just walked up with our bags, handed them over, and off we went. The airport was tiny and as soon as we walked through, we had the minivan people getting us to buy our ride to the hotel. It included a minivan driving us to the ferry, the ferry to Koh Chang, and then the minibus driving us to the hotel. We bought the return as well, as it was slightly cheaper and there was no other way to really do it. Quite pricey, compared to Laos, but not expensive, per se.

It seemed we waited ages for the ferry to arrive, but the ferry ride itself couldn’t have been longer than twenty minutes. The full moon was out and reflecting off the water, which was quite pretty. They hold the last ferry to coincide with the last flight, in case the flight is late, but I think we were on the penultimate ferry, so we arrived a little earlier.

The hotel, Serenity, is owned by our friend and colleague Marcus’s stepbrother. Marcus’s mom Julie and his stepfather Keith are here for the next six months, and Keith met us when we arrived and got us set-up in our room. It appears to be a place more for couples, so we have one large bed that we are sharing. Once we got settled in, we walked around to see what we could see in the dark – not much – but we got a little feel for the place. There is an infinity pool and a nice little beach. We sat in the bar area looking out to sea where Becky enjoyed a pint of beer. I was overhydrated from the day, I felt. It was a long travel day, but it was good to have arrived.

October 15 – We woke up today a little after 7am, and relaxed for quite a while. We sat in front of the villa having a tea/coffee and finally made our way to breakfast around 10am. We both decided to go for a spicy Thai chicken and basil dish (Pad Krapow, I think). My, it was spicy. And it made me hiccup. A lot. And it was only medium. By the time I was done, I almost took the leftover milk from Becky’s coffee and scarfed it down to ease the pain. It was hard to think of anything but the burn. Julie came over around that time and introduced herself, and I noticed the burn start to fade. Back in the room later, I rinsed my face with water, and noticed my face felt funny. I think the spice that was around my mouth spread to nearby parts of my face, so I washed my lips with soap. Better. Phew.

Once we finally got ourselves together to get out for the day, it was around noon. We took a walk on the very short beach and then set up under an umbrella. We spent the afternoon reading, swimming in the pool, swimming in the incredibly shallow sea, and even snoozing a little. It was a good beginning to relaxing. Late in the afternoon I took a short walk along the main road to see if there were other food opportunities nearby. There are a couple of cheap Asian eateries, with tables set up close to the road. They are much cheaper than the hotel (though in western standards, the hotel is not expensive), and we might try to get there for a lunch or two. After my walk I took another quick dip in the pool, then a shower before we headed to dinner. I had Pad Thai and Becky had a green curry. There was a lot of heat lightning and I wasn’t sure if it would turn into a storm or not. It did get very windy, but I don’t think it did rain in the end.

We headed back to the room around 8:30pm and I couldn’t get the internet to show me anything other than my email or the New York Times, so I spent most of my time reading.

October 16 – We had an earlier start this morning, getting to breakfast about 9am. I decided on fried rice to eat Thai food for as long as possible. After breakfast we asked about visiting the waterfall that Steve told us about yesterday, and we agreed on leaving at 10am. I had to get changed and put on some sunscreen and then we met Keith, who drove us the five minutes it took to the drop-off. You can also drive up to the waterfall, but we wanted to have a bit of a walk as well. It took 20 minutes to get to the first part of the falls, and we spent another 10 minutes climbing a bit further up. It was warm and we were sweaty, so we found a nice pool there to take a dip in. We stayed in for about 45 minutes and then dried off to head back to the pick-up spot. Steve arrived to pick us up exactly when we got there, so that was some good timing.

Back at the resort we ran into Julie outside of her bungalow and we agreed to meet her for a chat ten minutes later at the restaurant. Our room was being cleaned so we headed there first to wait for her. We sat and chatted with her for about an hour and then walked next door to the local restaurant for a late lunch. I had fried noodles with pork and Becky had fried rice with pork. Yummy as always.

After lunch we went to the pool. Before we got in, I asked Keith about the villas close to the pool, and he took us inside of one to show us around. They built the villas and sold them, but they manage the rentals. They have a terraced roof with a jazuzzi, two bedrooms, and a kitchen. An ever so slight upgrade from our one room bungalow. Luckily we were walking out of the bungalow just as the people who were renting it were arriving. Phew. It’s actually starting to fill up here a bit. When we arrived there was just another couple staying and a small group of Germans who left the next morning. Yesterday a woman arrived and today a couple of families and another couple arrived. Our nearly private resort no longer.

We swam a little and read a little, and around 4:45pm we decided to take a kayak out. Usually the water is still, but as the tide changes around this time, it gets a little choppy. Easier to use the kayak than try paddleboarding in those conditions for sure. We had a nice little paddle and then headed back to the room for showers and some tea/coffee.

As we sat outside, my mom called and we had a chat before the internet went haywire. Then it was almost 8pm and we headed for food. We both got fried noodles – my second for the day. But they are so good here and I love the flat noodles in these dishes. We left a little after 9pm when we remembered that it was closing time. I think we could have stayed there, but the guys needed to be able to officially close up for the night. Another good day done.

October 17 – Sleep last night was not as good for some reason, and we were awake by 6:30 and up and moving by 7am. For breakfast we both had an omelet with cheese, ham and veggies, but we struggled to understand when the waiter said it included vegetables. Neither of us could work out the word he was saying and both felt bad later, but the waiter was awesome and didn’t seem to mind. He just found the word elsewhere in our menu and showed us. As we waited for the food to come out, I took tons of photos of a bug I was obsessed with at breakfast yesterday and again today. He had his place, would fly off like a rocket, but always come back to the same spot. Great photo subject.

After breakfast we headed to the pool and spent about an hour lying out and reading before Julie came to tell us that Keith would be back soon to take us to the Sa-Lak-Phet Mangrove Forest boardwalk. He actually came up as we were talking, so we headed to the room to get ready and off we went. It was a short drive there and we started to walk the newly refinished boardwalk and then Keith caught us up later, catching me taking several pictures of crabs. He couldn’t quite believe that they were that interesting, but I do like me some crabs.

On the way back to Serenity we stopped at a fruit plantation/diner/cooking school. Keith walked us around the grounds and then treated us to a coconut shake and some papaya. It was quite refreshing and enough to tide us over until dinner.

We spent the afternoon at the pool again, and I had a swim in the sea and then again in the pool with Becky. It was a pretty cloudy day, and by 4pm we called it quits. When we went for dinner, Keith offered us a complimentary cocktail, and I chose a mocktail called Sweet Cloud, which is essentially a chocolate milk with whipped cream. Not what everyone gets, but it was great. I’d been eyeing it up for days and it felt like having dessert before dinner. We invited Keith and Julie to sit with us, and then both came and had dinner with us, which was very nice. I almost tried a new dish tonight but chose pad thai, because I always enjoy it. Becky got her ginger chicken. We spent a couple of hours chatting and finally said good night just before 9pm., when we headed back to do some packing before bed. Sad to leave tomorrow, but it’s been a really nice visit in Ko Chang.

Tomorrow, Bangkok.

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