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Published: November 2nd 2006
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view of the blue lagoon from our hut
"friends listen to endless love in the dark." We left Bangkok, heading south for the Bay of Thailand and its islands on October 11. The bus picked us up at about 8am and we were off. This was a pretty cushy double decker tour bus too, which surprised us since we were rather expecting to have a cramped minibus as the guidebook warned us could happen. We stopped about 10 minutes into the journey for gas, apparently the driver didn't like that station because we stopped about 10 minutes after that for more gas. We stopped about 10:30AM for restroom and snacks. Since it was still so early, and since we were supposed to arrive at the ferry to the island around 1pm, we didn't eat there. Turns out we had to go around some flooding - you may have read that the region has had an unusually heavy and long lasting rainy season. We didn't stop again until, oh, 5PM or so when we ended up at the ferry "terminal" to Koh Chang we had a bit of lunch there. Finally, around 8pm we arrived at a bungalow hotel we'd picked out of the Lonely Planet. It was raining again by this point and the guesthouse was located
the walkway leading to the beach
I use the term beach loosely, but you could access the beautiful warm water from there so I guess it fits. at the end of about a 200 meter dirt road. Luckily there were some lights along the way or it could've gotten ugly.
Whatever doubts we had about arriving at this place sight unseen, it turned out to be really quiet, clean, and nice. I recommend Blue Lagoon in Klong Prao beach on Koh Chang. One of the reasons we stayed there is that they also have a cooking school. Though the room was cheap (300B - about 8 dollars) the cooking class wasn't so cheap (about 1000B each for one class) but well worth it. We took cooking classes for two nights. The first night there were two other couples, one from Germany and one from Israel. They were both really nice and the two women who run the school were very knowlegable about different ingredients and herbs and their properties. The second night we were the only people which, though usually we would want to meet other travelers, actually was also great because we really got to talk to the women at the school about Thai culture, politics and cooking. We ended up learning, between the two nights, spring rolls (appetizer and dessert), four kinds of curry
cooking class
this is me making... something. knew I should have done this sooner. (green, red, masaman, and indian), three kinds of soup (tom yam, tom kai - two variations), pad thai, steamed fish with lime sauce, and sticky rice with mango. Hungry yet? me too. I can't wait to get home and make all this food!!!
Other than the cooking classes, we spend our time at Khlong Prao beach staring out at the lagoon over which our bungalow was situated, from our large covered deck, watching the sun set, walking along the water's edge scoping out all the giant resorts that are taking over the island and usurping any available dry sand, and eating. We also visited a waterfall and national park area, which was nice (though it cost over 10 bucks a person to get in!) But a lot of the time was spent relaxing and soaking in the scenery, the sun, and reading. *sigh* it was nice. We stayed at Blue Lagoon for 4 nights.
Our fifth day on the island we went to check out some elephants at an elephant trekking place more toward the interior of the island. It was actually a really fun experience and I'm really glad we did it, even though I had kind
more cooking
I'm thinking about getting a job with Gelsons when we get back now that I know how to make the fancy veggie decorations. of had reservations before. We bathed the elephants in the river and then this swiss girl and I ended up riding one of them straight out of the water and back to the headquarters area. (Justine: so far no Ghiardia, I'll keep you posted.) It was really strange. We then went on a 40 minute ride around which was cool and fed them bananas and then were packed off for the next group of tourists.
Koh Chang kind of went down hill from there, a fact that I attribute to our leaving Blue Lagoon. We went to White Sands Beach, although you'd be hard pressed to find any kind of beach, white sand or otherwise for most of the day. We stayed in a funky little bungalow guesthouse that we had to walk through thigh-deep runoff water and ocean water to get to, around one of the giant aforementioned resorts. The place, as I say was funky, and I mean that in the cool weird sense in that the bungalows were pretty much stuck on the side of the bluff and looked like a cool beachy place, and I mean in in the sense that once you get into
the dining area for our class
we sampled our efforts on the terrace overlooking the water. it was this pretty. the room, you notice a certain funk. The room itself was far worse than any room we stayed in so far, and that includes the Trujillo room with no window and bubbling septic. There were huge gaps in the drywall walls and mold growing EVERYWHERE. The bathroom didn't have a sink and was, basically, filthy. Everything smelled awful, like mildew and mold. Needless to say, sleepsheets were used that night. But the place had a raft we could use to float in the glassy bay and the restaurant at the guesthouse was right over the water and a phenomenal place to view the sunset. we enjoyed our day, endured our night, and left first thing the next morning.
That morning we checked into , a place off the water called Jinda bungalows for our last night on the island. It was cleaner, though still smelled faintly like mold, can't really avoid that I guess, had A/C and a TV - which we made good use of as the rain poured down during the early part of the day - and all the walls seemed whole. Later we searched unsuccessfully for a post office and hit the internet where I
making more food
after our appetizer course of spring rolls, we made the curries. This is me pounding the living daylights out of some curry paste-to-be. got email informing me that Lee's mom, my Grandma Carter, had passed away. This was obviously very sad news and terrible to hear when you're literally half a world away and reading it by email. But it wasn't unexpected, she'd been fading for a while. I just wish I could have been there to give my love and support. I'm sure they know I'm thinking about them all the time.
Following this, we made our way to the "beach" which was emerging from the water, this being late afternoon and the tide going out. We found a laid back beach bar, had some drinks (water for me ... seriously) and took turns swimming in the warm, calm water. In the late afternoon, the water looked like silver and was so glassy and smooth. It was so calming and peaceful out in the water. I swam out far enough to not hear anything from the shore, and looked back at the beautiful tropical island behind me and was grateful for being there. For such an up and down day, with such sad news, the water was just what I needed to reflect and think in complete peace.
We watched
the view for our supper
this is what we got to look at while we ate our three different kinds of curry and three different kinds of soups. the sunset from the beach and headed back to the room. We were set to leave for Cambodia the following morning. Cambodia is proving to be a more difficult topic for me, as it was a more difficult place to visit. Please be patient. I'll get over my block soon enough. in the mean time, know that we are safe and healthy and hope this finds you the same.
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laura w
non-member comment
glad you are okay!
nice to see an update - the photos are beautiful. i am so sorry about grandma carter. i want you to come back now. hurry.