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Published: February 12th 2011
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This will be a relatively 'short' blog for the amount of days covered as we didn't have a busy programme compared to some of our other locations, and that was our intention! We chose to head towards the beach and having heard good stories about Ko Chang and favouring a short drive over a long one we decided to go there.
On our 1 day in Bangkok we attempted to pay for Jorn's KLM flight (not possible as all offices were closed and the Dutch office was unable to help) we booked a bus ride for the next morning and explored the busy streets around Khao San Road for one afternoon / evening (and that was enough for us).
After driving about 4-5 hours the next day we arrived at the ferry which took us across to Ko Chang. From the other side a shared taxi took us to our hotel. Or so we thought. Apparently there were three hotels with the same name so we ended up at the wrong one. Thankfully the reception staff arranged one of the people from our hotel to pick us up. And it was nicer than the first one we saw 😊
We spent two chilled out days on the beach in Khlao Prong Beach and then decided to stay a few days longer. We looked online and found a better deal (through Agoda, around 40 dollars) at a fancy looking resort in Whitesand beach. So we checked out, dealt with Jorn's KLM payment in an internet cafe and headed for the Chang Buri Resort & Spa. It had an infinity pool! We had a gorgeous bedroom with pretty towels and rose petals! WOW. We were pretty happy and spent our first afternoon watching the sunset from the infinity pool. And we didn't do much else the next days so I'll just add some pictures!
After 5 relaxed days in Ko Chang we took a minivan to Bangkok Airport where we were met by a driver to take us to our family friends' place in the outskirts of Bangkok. Piengmanee (Penny) and Amorn are friends of my parents from when they lived in Bangkok (1982-85) so it was great to meet them. Apparently I still look very similar to when I was 3, because they recognised me (I'll take that as a compliment 😊!
They took us to the
Royal Palace the next day as well as the first pillars of Bangkok. They explained to us about Buddhism and we enjoyed alot of local Thai snacks. They also found out about my mango and sticky rice addiction and made sure it was served with every meal!
What I forgot to mention: during our stay in Ko Chang I skyped with my mother and told her about my plans to visit Myanmar on my own, as Jorn was now going back to Holland for 12 days. She joked 'well, maybe I should join you!'. I thought this was a great idea but didn't take it that seriously. The next day she emailed that she would REALLY like to join me! And so she spontaneously booked a flight for Sunday. So after our visit to the palace we headed for the airport to pick up my mom! It was great seeing her again after 3,5 weeks and we enjoyed a lovely dinner in town with Penny and Amorn (to celebrate his birthday too!).
The next morning we had an early start so that we would arrive at the Myanmar Embassy at opening time. It was already busy and there
was some chaos. The procedure was unclear, but we got some forms from a copyshop (not necessary we figured out afterwards) and handed them at the counter. We then got a number, waited for about 45 minutes and handed in our forms, our flight ticket for the next day, 2 passport photos with white background and the money for an express visa. This was no problem, we were asked to come back at 3.30 pm to pick up our passport. Yay! Relieved we headed into town and took the Skytrain to Thong Lor, our old neighbourhood in Sukhumvit. Mom still remembered where our house was even though things look very different now. Our house was still there, and I recognised it from the photos. No one lives in it at the moment so it looks a little bare, but it still looks nice and the garden is still very pretty.
A quick trip on the Chao Phraya ferry to Phraya Athit (Khao San area) later, we walked around KS Road to buy a few things ("harem pants" for Myanmar, shorts for Jorn, some gifts) and we had to go back to Penny and Amorn's to have dinner before taking
Jorn to the airport. The taxi ride was interesting, the driver missed a turn to Makkasan station and we got stuck in traffic along the railway. we could see the station but there was no way we could cross the railway. He kept saying, "You get out? Walk?" and then as we asked about how we would get there he offered to take us to the airport (Well no, that wasn't what we asked 😊 but it was quite amusing. In the end we did get out and walked to the end of the road, from where we could cross. We took the express train to the airport which was 15 minutes (!). Incredible, especially since we spent about 1,5 hours in traffic on the same route the day before.
We had another delicious dinner with Penny and Amorn and took Jorn to the airport for his midnight flight. After returning home we had a good night's rest and prepared for our flight the next day to Yangon!
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cameronL7
cameron L
Nice trip
Hey Looks like a nice stop in Koh Chang, I am currently writing from there. Staying in a Jungle Hut with WiFi, never would ahve thought. I am making my way around the world and writing about it. Next stop is Cambodia. Check out our travel blog at: www.feelfreetobefree.com Hope the rest of the trip goes well!