A Rainy Holiday on Koh Chang (400th Post!)

I haven't updated much on the blog lately.

That's for a couple of reasons. First, the first quarter of the school year is always busy, but uneventful. This year has been especially busy for a number of reasons, and I've just been waiting for the first holiday to get here.

Second, because I was coming up on my 400th post, and I wanted to save it for something special! Wow... 400! I wrote a lot during the first few months of the year, and it hasn't been that long since my 300th, just last year.

Koh Chang

For the first holiday of the year, a three-day weekend, we headed out east, past Chanthaburi to Trat province near the Cambodian border. After a long day of travel, we arrived on Koh Chang, Thailand's third-biggest island. Geographically, we weren't terribly far from Koh Rong!

Koh Chang Ferry

Koh Chang means "Elephant Island", though I'm not really sure why. It's a big island though! Unlike Koh Larn or Koh Samet, the ferry to the island carries cars across. It's big enough to support supermarkets, hospitals, gyms, and barbershops. It's also mostly dense jungle; a ring-road circles the island, but the interior feels impenetrable. Dark jungle looms all around, and even though it's fairly heavily populated, it feels like you are really far away from everywhere. We approached the big, hulking island, surrounded by misty clouds on a big, chugging ferry from the mainland. After an unexpectedly busy few weeks at work, I didn't even care if it rained the whole weekend - I just wanted a vacation!

It took quite a long time to get to Koh Chang - nearly twelve hours. Even though I had to wake up at 5:00 am to leave Bangkok, we barely got to the island before dark. Monsoon rains slowed the journey to a crawl.

The long trip was worth it, though; the next morning I awoke to a tropical paradise!

the beach!

What is there to do on Koh Chang? Quite a lot! Snorkeling, diving, island tours, adventure packages... but for me, I didn't want any of that!

I just wanted a vacation! I've been so busy lately that I haven't had any time to read in months, which is a shame. Pinky and I brought our Kindles on the trip and spent hours just reading.

early morning on the beach

Yes, we visited the beach and swam in the pool. We enjoyed fresh, delicious seafood and explored the hotel's beach. But mostly we just relaxed, and it was wonderful. 

private beach on the island

The hotel was on a quiet beach, kind of far from the popular party beaches. That's perfect for me! There were no vendors walking along the beach, and no drunk tourists being loud and obnoxious. It really was an island paradise!

it finally became sunny on Sunday morning

We spent Saturday and Monday traveling to and from the island, but Sunday was spent entirely on the beach. I transitioned from Bangkok Michael to Vacation Michael, and let all my work stress dissipate.

mango and pineapple smoothies

The hotel hosted a weekend barbecue on the beach! A table full of fresh seafood was on offer, and you could just pick and order whatever you would like. It would be grilled right there on the beach and delivered to you as fresh as can be. I particularly loved the fresh grilled scallops, called hoyshell in Thai.

seafood dinner

In the evening the sky darkened for nightly thunderstorms. I know that monsoon season isn't be best time to visit the beach, but neither Pinky nor I were in the mood for an exciting adventure holiday with lots of sightseeing. Both of us just wanted a relaxing vacation. Island hotels are cheap during the monsoon season, and the beaches are quiet and peaceful.

sunset on Koh Chang

Once the sky was dark, the fire dancers came out to entertain the guests on the beach. It was a really cool show!

fire dancer on the beach

Back in Bangkok, I feel refreshed and re-invigorated! The fresh sea air did me good! Now I'm ready to work hard until the next holiday - a new holiday! This year, we will have another three-day weekend at the end of the month in honor of the birthday of HM the new King!