GU Bay

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Geo: 11.9909, 102.297



So new adventures await... Addy from Rainbow organises my trip to Bangkok starting with an uplift from Hostel to Kuah Ferry Terminal, a ferry to Satun in Thailand which only takes one hour and an overnight 15hr bus journey into Bangkok. Thankfully I managed to get some sleep and I didn't even mind the Chinese bloke resting his head on my shoulder when I woke up in the middle of the night!!

I can't believe I've arrived back in Bangkok... this wasn't in my plans but neither was meeting Danny and Robert I suppose. Luckily I arrived in the same bus station for Koh Chang and managed to arrange a connection on arrival although it wasn't as straight forward as that! Everyone tries their scams and initially I had a tuk tuk driver telling me the only way to Koh Chang was from another station 30km away where he would take me 'good price madam'... yeah sure.

So after an eventful start I'm glad to be on a bus to Koh Chang which takes around 5-6 hours, I've my instructions from Danny on how to get to Balain Bay and although a bit apprehensive, I'm looking forward to seeing him again. After another hectic few hours of roads I get dropped at the roadside stop where we arrange our ferry to the Islands, everyone pays and jumps into a waiting songhew for maybe a 10km journey off the main beat and track and finally arrive at the ferry terminal.

The ferry fills up quickly and we're off, it only takes around 30 minutes and it's a beautiful clear day to enjoy the journey. On arrival I get another songhew out to Balain Bay and tell the driver I'm staying in 'GU Bay' which he knows, it's 100 baht for the journey which is round the other side of the island and the roads are pretty treacherous, especially the steep uphill and downhill twisting roads. So thankfully I arrive in GU Bay, after a journey of around 23 hours, so first things first a cold beer and a 'welcome shot' from Sun Ya as he asks if I want a room... Well not being presumptuous I tell them I'm meeting a friend and before I know it, they ALL know who I am, ah welcome Clare, the girl who has cycled from China... looks like Danny's introduced me well ha ha... next minute one of the staff runs off to tell Danny I've arrived, thankfully I had that beer first!

So Danny arrives and with welcome hugs'n'kisses and we catch up on the past few weeks, ha ha it's like we've never been apart, that's good friends for ya! There's a party here tonight so the day is spent meeting lots of new friends who will be attending tonight and having some chill out time with Danny before the party starts... it's a hard life!!! So I'm settled into our room and rest a while after the long journey, the room is perfect... looking directly out to the sea and the most beautiful sunsets, it's right next to the pool and yet far away enough from the bar/restaurant area that we won't be disturbed if they're having a late one, ha ha 'old age does not come alone'!!

The party starts with Sun Ya serving up 'welcome shots'... the red liquid set to kick start the fun and it didn't disappoint. Everyone is in good spirits and it makes for a fun night of party games, dares, forfeits, some music, dancing, singing, swimming in the pool and lots more. At one point Danny and I did a spectacular toss off our seats onto the floor, it was all Mr Brown's fault trying to grab a hold of me (well I am a catch you know ha ha)... So it's a fun beginning in a beautiful place, 'he brings me to all the worst places you know' and a fabulous few weeks!!!

After our eventful night, the next day is spent chilling out by the pool, having the odd dip in the sea and well it's 5 o'clock somewhere so the beer starts to flow again with the party continuing with everyone in the same boat. Same, same... and fun good times. We decide to spend a couple of weeks on the island before heading back to Bangkok for visas etc. and I have to admit we had a ball.

I hired a motorbike and decided to head off exploring round the island and thankfully Danny didn't mind taking a back seat (well for a wee while at least), we cruised around the islands many beaches and villages, Lonely Beach, White Sands Beach, Bang Bao and much much more, we cruised the whole island with me riding one direction and Danny taking over on the way back which was fun. Some of the roads are really bad, steep, winding, sharp and I didn't realise that the last time Danny rode was when he had an accident here... thankfully his confidence returned and I was really proud of him overcoming a bike accident and getting back on with it... I know how difficult that is!

So our days continue hiring motorbikes to tour the Island, visiting beautiful beaches, or just relax by the pool or with the great crowd that stays at GU Bay, the staff are all very very friendly and we have a really good time. I love visiting the Koh Chang Choppers and love some of the bikes the guys have here, it's probably the best motorbikes I've seen in a long time as it's always tiny scooters that everyone is on. I love some of the viewpoints looking out over the many islands that are round about, the clear water and beautiful white sands. There's elephant trekking on the island and in fact the island name means 'Elephant Island' and I suspect is also where Chang beer comes from and of course we have to sample a few!

On one of our tours we tried to find a deserted beach, the road literally came to an end with a wooden platform you could ride over to get to the other side... now this was highly dangerous and I was thankful Danny was in control at this point. There's a handwritten 'Danger' sign which you really have to stop to read, 'this road is dangerous' I can't believe they let us continue on this road which led no-where and we definitely didn't find the beach we were looking for but it's all part of the adventure I guess!

Other days we head to remote beaches and enjoy swimming and having the place to ourselves to relax, the water is roasting, and the outlook of all the islands is stunning... you can easily while away the day, beautiful place and lovely company... On the way back we head to the impressive fish markets of Bang Bao, the floating villages and where a number of snorkeling/diving/island hopping tours depart from... we have really good seafood in the evening after watching the most beautiful sunset from the pier.

Sun Ya at GU Bay organised a Seafood BBQ one night which was incredible... 'thank you Sun Ya'. He laid out tables and chairs for everyone and it felt more like a Christmas affair and is the first proper sit down meal that I've shared with friends in a long time. The BBQ was fan-tas-tic with fresh seafood, fish and local dishes, all served to perfection in a beautiful setting with new friends. Needless to say after the BBQ the festivities continued in traditional GU Bay style and another fun filled night was had by all!

I love it here, and the atmosphere of GU Bay is ideal... it really is a beautiful place. I'm glad I came and I enjoyed my time here, so much so that Danny and I have decided to extend our time together and have another couple of weeks in the north of Thailand... well why not, life is too short so let the fun continue, unfortunately it will need to come to an end at some point when we head different directions but just not, yet.

So I'll let the photographs tell the rest of the story of the lazy, hazy, Koh Chang days!!!

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Photos

Motorcyclin'
Havin' fun