Bri: "So what do you want to do on Koh Chang?"
Binder: "Lay on the beach, stuff myself with cheap Pad Thai and coconut shakes, then leave tan, fat, and happy. And some SCUBA diving."
Mission accomplished. We chose the right place to relax, as Koh Chang is designed for chilling. About 5 hours and a ferry East of Bangkok, Koh Chang is the quintessential image of what you picture when you think of backpacking on an island in Thailand, paradise. Lonely Beach, where we stayed, is particularly suited for a someone looking for a $5 hut on the beach, and prefers to spend the money they saved on a bucket of vodka Red Bull. We chose to stay next to those huts, in a hotel with A/C and a pool. We're what's known as "flash packers", typically ex-backpackers who like the backpacker scene but dont carry backpacks and have more than a $10 budget.
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| Lonely Beach, at around 11 before anyone gets there |
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| The streets of Lonely Beach. |
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| Our hotel/resort. Pool, A/C, free wifi, and a nice big room with an ocean view. |
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| Many meals and drinks on the deck at Warapura |
Our routine consisted of waking up, having breakfast on the deck of our hotel on the water, walking 5 mins to Lonely Beach (which we had to ourselves since most people were too hungover to wake up before noon), renting umbrellas, having a $6 lunch of coconut shakes and awesome Thai noodles, walking back, jumping in the pool, having happy hour on the same deck, and walking into town for dinner. There were some really cool spots, such as the Magic Garden with a great playlist and swings to have a drink on, the "upscale" seafood joint where we stuffed ourselves with fresh seafood for $15, or even Barrio Bonito where we got our fix of Mexican. We repeated that everyday, except for 2 days where we went diving, and one night where we hit a party at the backpacker huts and listened to the worst DJ in the world. Bri gave diving a try, and despite doing great and being really brave to try it for her husband, decided its not for her. Brando still loves it and had 4 awesome dives in the bath-water temperature water.
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| Our walk to the beach |
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| Over the shady bridge, and through the woods, off to Lonely Beach we go. |
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| The Siam Huts, unreal location. If this were the states, there'd be a 5 Star resort there. But instead they have moldy huts. |
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| Coconut Shakes at Nature Rocks. Everyday. |
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| View from Nature Rocks. |
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| Lay down, roll over, move to water. |
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| Cooling off on the warm water |
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| Pretty much sums it up |
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| Diver Bri |
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| In the pool with our instructor Patrick. |
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| Old converted fishing boat for diving, not the fastest, but nice and sturdy. |
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| Brando likes diving. |
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| Logging serious hours on the deck |
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| Everyday, same table. |
Tomorrow, we head back to Bangkok to catch an early flight the following day to Bali! 5 days at the W in Seminyak for FREE on Starwood points, probably a few days in the Gili Islands, and 4 days in Ubud. Then 2 days in Bangkok and home, just about 2 weeks to go, but we are excited for a totally new place and look forward to seeing what Bali is all about.
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