Koh Chang

      The beaches of Thailand serve as the epicenter of backpacker legend. By such standards, no where else on earth can you experience the serenity, beauty and affordability that Thai islands can offer. I’d love to tell you that is a farce. Really, I would. 
      I’ve read the books, seen the movies and been skeptical of the hype. Surely to goodness after such epic build-up the beaches here have been spoiled by an endless flow of heaven-seekers, developers, and scam artists, right? Right? Well, I can’t speak for them all... I’ve only had the opportunity to visit Koh Chang, the country’s largest non-mainland landmass. Let me tell you, all that magical hype is true; at least there. 
      I have spent 16ish Christmases in the Florida Keys, visited East Coast barrier islands, taken a Caribbean island cruise, backpacked on the Costa Rican coastline, and spent two spring breaks on Ambergis Caye, Belize. I’d like to think I am a North American tropical island aficionado (please note how small this niche is, I’d hate to imply I am an expert in anything). When I decided to take a retreat to Koh Chang, I was expecting a ‘same island atmosphere, different side of the world’ experience. Wrong. Completely, utterly, and totally false. 
      I was completely blown away by Koh Chang. In fact, I worry that one day I will wake up and realize that my experiences there were a figment of my imagination. It is THAT spectacular. 
      The island is a microcosm of beauty. Jungled mountains meet waveless, turquoise seas via mostly rocky, sometimes sandy outcrops. The vistas from the beaches offer intriguing glimpses of other mountains arising in the distance. Snorkeling havens dot the map and, having experienced four different locale, they teem with biodiversity. Development is minimal, transportation is limited, and the fruit is scrumptious. My response to inquiries about my long weekend went something like, “If there is a heaven, I hope it is Koh Chang”. That pretty much sums it up.
      My enjoyment of the trip was aided by the fact that I had a splendid traveling partner. Ryan, a fellow Mercer alumni, didn’t mind the odd traveling hours, seat-of-your-pants planning style or the sometimes eccentric company. We ran into some minor traveling snafus which might have driven some to annoyance (or worse) but we managed to go-with-the-flow and just enjoy the moment. Major props to him for tolerating me. 
So, the island was incredible. Enough said about that. One of the reasons it might be so well hidden from the bustling tourism industry here is that it is pretty tricky to get to. Enough of a hassle that it probably deters the vast majority of short-term travelers. Believe it or not, in many ways, it is easier to go to southern Thailand for an island experience. Planes, trains, buses, and vans are constantly whisking people out of Bangkok, bound for some of the better known southern islands. One can buy a single ticket that gets them from Bangkok to the beach all in one fair swoop. Easier than thinking. 
     How does one get to Koh Chang, you might inquire? Well, it requires a great deal of patience, some luck, and a willingness to just go with the flow. For Ryan and I this involved an epic interchange of 3 types of transport, 4 legs of a one way journey over the course of 8ish hours, starting at 11pm on a Friday. Here’s how we managed to arrive in paradise:


1.     Bus-Bangkok to Trat. This bus left MoChid Bus Terminal at 11:30pm on Friday night. Ryan and I were the only foreigners on board and were thus privileged to sit in seats #1 and #2. These seats seem lovely at first. One gets a full view out the windshield and the benefit of no seats in front of you. 3.5 hours into the trip we were both shivering, knees to our chins, thanks to the arctic air-conditioning unit and the bus attendants failure to give us the blankets that everyone else was curled up in. Naturally, we realized this when we were 20kms from our destination. Not even kidding. Our hopes to snooze on this bus were dashed from the start. No biggie.
2.     Taxi and Layovers-Trat to Laem Ngo Ferry: We arrived, blue-lipped, at the Trat bus station to a cackling group of foreigners who had clearly tempered their trip with some extra large Changs (I was wondering why I hadn’t done the same myself at that point). It was 3:30ish in the morning and I inquired with the taxi drivers about getting to the ferry. He gruffly pointed to the group of white people. Of course, I thought, every farang here is probably headed to the island. I had mixed feelings about this revelation. I tip-toed past the sleeping bathroom attendant, brushed my teeth, and tried to convince myself that I had, in fact, gotten a refreshing nap on the bus. Soon enough the farangs were herded into 3 waiting soong-tioews, bench-seat, pick-up truck taxis. We all marveled at how chilly it was... probably under 80F, downright cold compared to Bangkok. Since the ferry didn’t run until 6am, we took a breakfast break at a roadside restaurant. Our breakfast of choice? Toast, scrambled eggs, and a large beer. Perfect vacation starter. Added bonus: first western style breakfast (other than the one I cooked) I have had since staying in a hotel. 
3.      Ferry-Leam Ngo to Koh Change Pier: This was eventful in two ways... Seeing the mountains of Koh Chang rise out of the morning mist and experiencing embarrassment of sharing nationality with the drunken, trivia-obsessed, extra messy American chick whose every slurred word was heard by the entire ferry. “What is the 26th tallest building in the world?”.... “I don’t care.”
4.      Taxi-Koh Chang Pier to BangBao: My only request was to be in whichever taxi was not also transporting aforementioned american drunkard. Success.  The ride was significantly more bumpy, curvy and haphazard than the previous but I was so excited that at this point it didn’t matter. We took in the vistas, uttered lots of ooos and ahhhs, and struggled to wrap out heads around the fact that we were conscious and not in dreamland. Our selected accommodation was at the precise opposite side of the island from the ferry so our ride was extra long. It was so worth it. We were dropped off in BangBao, a sleepy fishing village by 7:30am had found our bungalow by 8:00 and were on the beach by 9:00. Perfection.


Was the minor travel hassle worth it? Totally. (Just don't tell anyone)


I am scheming some way to plant myself (and my laptop) in hammock for paper writing sometime towards the end of my Fulbright appointment. Don’t be surprised if I take up residence there for a couple weeks.