After spending a week on the amazing island of Tioman, in Malaysia, we were unsure of how going back to Thailand and exploring the Thai islands would be. We had been completely spoiled with beautiful scenery, crystal clear water perfect for snorkeling and an abundance of wild monkeys on Tioman Island, how could it get any better than that!
We flew back into Bangkok and spent a couple of days reorganizing and finalizing our game plan for then next two weeks (our last two weeks in Thailand!) We decided to split up our time between two islands, Koh Chang and Koh Samet. So now that we had our rough itinerary we set off in a minivan to Koh Chang. What they failed to tell us when we bought our ticket to Koh Chang is that the van would stop about a half hour before the pier and from there you must hop on a songathew (truck taxi filled with as many people as possible) and ride 30 minutes to the pier. When we arrived at the pier, we caught it just in time! And by just in time I mean we had to sprint across the parking lot and down to the boat with our large backpacks as fast as we could! The second our feet made contact with the boat it immediately set sail! Talk about cutting it close 🙂
The ferry ride was pretty rough as a storm was coming in, so we didn’t get to pull up to the island with amazing water and a sunny grand entrance but thats ok because the next 9 days we had perfect weather each and every day!
Our first 5 days we booked a private room online on booking.com, we were spoiled with an awesome hotel that included a pool, A/C and it was in walking distance to everything we needed. For $11 US per night we definitely thought we got a bargain (and we did) but as we ventured off on the island the first few days we spotted an infinity pool that directly overlooked the sea. With the view itself from the pool and the whopping $5 US per night price tag they advertised we instantly booked a room without hesitation and without looking at the bungalow (we probably should have looked at the bungalow before hand, more on that later!). After we had final accommodations for the rest of our stay we concentrated next on exploring the island! We rented a motorbike and drove around the entire island, up and down backroads, explored beaches that only saw a couple of visitors a day and even got to see some more amazing wild monkeys. We swam in the salty ocean waves and relaxed in our fresh water pool at the hotel.
When it was time we made the switch to our bungalow on the beach that enticed us with its amazing infinity pool. We went from having ice cold A/C to a fan blowing around hot humid air, from hot showers to taking cold showers and from fully enclosed room to a roughly built hut that had an open air bathroom. But we had the pleasure to meet this fellow who came through one of the openings in the wall, we named him Tokay after Google told us he was a tokay gecko, we also learned they get up to 14″ this one was about full-size! Our stay here was definitely interesting but the amazing pool that drew our attention to this place to begin with completely made up for everything the hut was lacking and for the price we were not going to complain at all.
Koh Chang has a good bit to offer even during rainy season (which is when we went) We only had one night of rain during our 9 day stay, so do not let the words “rainy season” stop you from traveling here. Even though the water wasn’t as clear and blue as some of the pictures in high season we saw online, we had the beaches to ourselves and even the popular beach spots only had a dozen or so people on them. We found cheap accommodations and were able to nab up a scooter easily (we heard scooters and accommodations are hard to come by and are pricey during high season.) So traveling during off season can be a positive thing!
We also met this sweet lady who got to know us very well in our 9 day stay. She owns a fruit stand along the roadside of Lonely Beach, each morning she cuts up fresh fruit from the island and makes fruit cups that she sells for just 30 baht (less than $1 USD). And she makes the most amazing fresh fruit smoothies. We came back each morning and evening to see her smiling face and get fruit and smoothies from her. When it was time for us to leave on day 9 we all hugged and said our sad goodbyes. If you go to Lonely Beach, you should stop by and give her a hug and 30 baht and in return she will mix you up a refreshing drink to take away with you!
Along with great smoothies, we found really tasty food too! Thailand has yet to let us down on wonderful food.
Our original plan was to head to Koh Samet after 4-5 days on Koh Chang but since we ended up staying 9 days exploring and relaxing beach and pool side we decided to head back to Bangkok and finish out our final days in Thailand there. 6 weeks in Thailand has come and gone way to fast, but we are eagerly awaiting to see what Bali has to offer us in a few days! Three countries down, three more to go!!!
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