KERCHING- A few days of luxury on Koh Chang
Koh Chang Island
A few days after my arrival in Bangkok I decided to venture out the city and head to the East Coast to spend long weekend in Koh Chang, Thailand’s 2nd largest island.
Less crowded than the shores of the South, I was assured that Koh Chang would be a restful retreat away from the chaos of the city where I’d be able to chill out and get my fix of sun, sea and beach.
Bus ride of fear! (Prayers! 🙏)
To get there I had chosen the cheaper option of mini bus rather than a flight. As mentioned previously Thai transport can be a little sketchy, in the case of these minibuses buses- what a MASSIVE understatement that turned out to be!
Rather appropriately I was picked up from my hotel admist a thunderous, lightening filled rainstorm! (I have no better pictures than this due to the fact I was super-pananoid about being struck by lightening!) Trust me to travel to an island on such a day.
To begin with I was the only person on the bus besides the two Thai drivers, which didn’t feel too great given that at this point I wasn’t too sure whether the tour I’d paid for was 100% legit!
Stop the bus!
Soon enough though I was joined by more passengers. In Final Destination-esque style, a French couple demanded to be let off the bus 10 minutes in, pointing at the sky saying “Not safe, not safe “. I’m not going to lie, there have been calmer moments in my life! With little choice but to stay on I simply clutched at my St Christopher and prayed!
BRACE YO’SELVES!
My story-telling abilities will fail to describe just how reckless this guy’s driving was. Aside from the constant texting and call making, he’d cut people up, nearly knocked several people off their bikes, sped at 100 mph; even doing 80mph when the rain was so heavy you could not see through the windscreen! 😱 Worse still he would only overtake if there WAS oncoming traffic, regularly forcing other vehicles to steer off road to get out the way. This said, he seemed confident in what he was doing, even if he did treat the 5 hour+ journey like one big race.
I practically kissed the ground when we arrived at the ferry which, as you can see from the pictures, was likewise not the epitome of safe! I was just relieved that my heart was still beating and that Koh Chang was only a few more miles away!
Marvellous mercure 💃💁👙🌅🍹
Feeling flash I’d decided to spend a few nights at the Mercure Hideaway resort. Being on my own I wanted to be confident that both myself and my belongings would be safe, plus once I’d seen the hotel picures I wanted my slice of that beach! After the adrenalin fuelled car chase to get there, the resort was even more of a treat than I had imagined! Yes it was a tad indulgent of me, but boy did I make the most of it and appreciate every second!
My room was palatial in size and adorned with all the features you’d expect to see in an upmarket spa. The pool was located next to the beach. The shore was quiet and secluded meaning you could relax at your leisure and there were plenty of nice resturants nearby to eat. Oh, oh! *jumps up and down* and private jaccuzzis overlooking the sea! (I enjoyed one of these on my last night and blissfully watched the sunset over the beach- ACTUAL HEAVEN). 👈👈👈
Fishies!!! 🐠🐟🐳🐬🐠🐟🐳🐬🐠🐟
My time here wasn’t all about relaxation (though I did lots of it!) I also explored other parts of the island too. I took a 4 island snorkelling trip on a boat along the nearby coastline, where I made friends for the day with a group from LA/ San Fransisco. I saw heaps of tropical fish whereby the shores we visited were blessed with golden sands and rich greenery that was simply beautiful.
Elephants!!!🐘🌴🐘🐘🌴🐘🌴🐘🐘
More exciting still, I paid a visit to Ban Kwan Chang Elephant Park and spent a morning treking through the jungle on the back of an elephant before getting in the water afterwards to bathe them! These creatures are so majestic and soulful, it was magical to be in their prescence. (Photos to follow!)
Bye Bye Sweet Beauty!
I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Koh Chang. Though brief (3 days) it gave me the chance to unwind and immerse myself in it’s beauteous surroundings. I had to keep the trip short and sweet in order to head back to Bangkok for Songkran (3 day Thai New Year Water Festival)- which I had decided I wanted to experience in a big city.
Ding, Ding- Round 2!
The drive back was similarly chaotic (if not more so!) than the first!
We were crammed into a tiny min-van with so much baggage it was impossible to see out the back window, passengers squished in like sardines! We had to physically hold suitcases to stop them bashing into our heads when the driver braked or went downhill (Nb: Koh Chang is famed for it’s precipitously steep hills punctuated by sharp, unexpected hairpins!) Two german guys asked to leave after the ferry ride to catch a bigger bus- it was that BAD!
Less than an hour in, the mini-van had to started to leak oil from the back wheel (right where I was sitting!)- it took another 4 HOURS for the driver to pull over to fix it. We stopped at a road side garage, where a mechanic took the wheel appart. Myself and a few other guys observed him in action whilst trying to avoid his pet baboon tied up nearby on a leash! 👇👇👇
Highway to hell! 🎶
The driver later reveresed on a busy 3 lane freeway as he had overshot his junction and missed the cafe where we had intended to eat. Fortunately we survived the manouvere unscathed!
As when I had left Bangkok, we returned to the city during a thunderstorm- only this one more fearsome than the first! The traffic was gridlocked the entire way and the driver had no idea where our hotels were, (plus spoke little English). Things got a tad hectic as people were tired and starting to stress.
All in all it took what should have been a 5 hour journey, nearly a whole day to complete! I was picked up from the Mercure at 8:20am and reached the Holiday Inn at 6:30pm! I guess that’s what you get when you only spend £15!
Despite the drama I actually rather enjoyed my day. The other passengers were mostly super friendly; we were able to laugh about our misfortunes and share stories to keep us entertained.
I’m sure they’ll be plenty more days like this to come! (Though I am SO relieved I booked my travel pass with Stray!!!)