Koh Chang

I'll admit, I wasn't quite sure where to go first for my holiday. There's just so much to choose from. I planned on going to Chiang Mai, but changed plans when the school asked me to do the two weeks of activity days. So, after going to Ayutthaya last Friday to take care of my immigration 90-day check-in, I went to Bangkok to meet up with Rachael, as per my usual weekend routine. She'd decided to go to her favorite resort Koh Chang this week, and let me tag along.

We took the night bus on Monday, which saved beach time, but wasn't easy to sleep on. Apparently the bus was faster than normal, because we got to the bus station closest to the island at 5 am instead of 6. After some waiting around (and dozing), we got a sorng-taew to the ferry, the hour-long ferry to the island, and a 45-minute sorng-taew to Nature Resort on Lonely Beach.

It was . . . beautiful. There's no other way to describe it. The water was clear and perfect, and when I went swimming in the morning once, I practically had the beach to myself--little fish swam around my legs, trying to decide if I might be something huge and tasty, but were shy enough not to give me the same kind of trouble as I got from the fish at Erawan Falls. I spent a lot of the week reading and drinking fruit smoothies in the shade. I didn't really feel any pressing need to go trekking or sightseeing or any of the normal island activities. It was a little too easy to just stay put. The accommodation was cheap, the staff were kind, air conditioning was rendered completely unnecessary by sea breezes, butterflies were everywhere around the bungalows, and the whole place was just . . . beautiful. Relaxing. A perfect, easy-going first week to my travels.

Here's the resort, looking back through the restaurant/bar area toward reception, and looking toward the beach:

(For those who are curious, the picture at the top of the post is a half-finished milkshake from a restaurant up the road. Huge, refreshing, and delicious!)

Tomorrow, I'm off to explore the North. And the Northeast. Travel itinerary is ranging from flexible to undecided at the moment, but it will be an adventure!