Blogs from Ko Chang, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 3

Vanuit Ko Chang besloten we een busrit te boeken naar Cambodia – Batambang. De verkoopster van het busticket verzekerde ons dat we naar de grens Pailin gingen in Cambodia, dit is de enige niet corrupte grens! Hier betaal je een eerlijke prijs om in het land te geraken en geraak je er vlotjes door. We werden om 7u30 opgehaald door de buschauffeur (minivan). Hij gaf geen uitleg en kon alweer geen woord Engels spreken laat staan verstaan. We zijn het ondertussen al gewend dat er wordt 'beloofd' dat de chauffeur Engels spreekt en dat het uiteindelijk niet zo is. Toen we door het eiland werden geslingerd (heuvels en een chauffeur die heel snel reed) werd het ons snel duidelijk dat we de enige toeristen waren in een ganse minibus. Amai, zoveel beenruimte en bagageruimte hadden we ... read more

Koh Chang is welcoming more and more tourists every year, but it still has little bit of this wild beauty, that those not-yet-spoiled places have. Since they didn't finish the road around the whole island yet, the western side like Lonely beach is the one where you'll almost 90% of them. On the other side and after you pass Ko Chang Tai, there are very few of them, and if you go to Ko Phrao Nai, or Ko Phrao Nok - which you can do by renting a kayak, there are almost only natives, if anybody at all. After arrival, we decided for the southern part, so we was offered to be taken with a lovely lady from the harbor and her husband. There are many taxis on the island, but as I said, almost all ... read more

All told it took us about 7 hours to get to Koh Chang. The bus we had booked through the travel agent left Bangkok at 9;30 AM and didn't arrive at the pier to Koh Chang until about 3:30 PM. The driver made a few random stops along the way to pick up various items from shops to deliver to other places. The bathroom on the bus was SKETCHY and gross. Was VERY thankful to have the toilet seat covers and travel TP Mom put in my stocking for Christmas. They have both come in VERY handy on this trip! From the port the ferry took a half hour and then we piled into the back of a converted pickup truck for a terrifying drive through the mountains. No one fell out the back and we ... read more

The mosquitoes need to be exterminated! They are making my life a misery! Mark has a poorly tummy today so we have stayed close to the room. We popped over the road for a yoghurt and fruit breakfast, then laid on the bed and woke up at 3.30pm, went to the shop for water and sat on the deckchairs outside our room. I have had itchy feet and legs all day - driving me maaaaaaaaad. Had dinner in Buffalo Bills (very nice) and went to bed.... read more

After a breakfast of fruit, we took the scooter back and went on our elephant trek. This was fantastic, although in the first five minutes I wanted to get off. Our elephant was called Dua (Star) and aged 30 years. We both sat in the seat on her back that was tied with ropes under her belly, her tail and her chin. When she walked we wobbled from side to side and we were sooooooo high up!! We trekked through a rubber plantation and a pomelo orchard which took about 40 minutes. Then we stopped for 20 mintures at a rock pool, here we helped the mahout (elephant owner) wash Dao, we splashed water onto her and scrubbed her with a hard brush. She blew water over us too. Then I got onto her back and ... read more