Koh Chang - Love at Second Sight aka 'The Squids Have Seen Me'

(I can tell by the position of the sun.)

A glance at my calendar app tells me it is February 5, 2017.

And believe me - without this function I wouldn't have known.

Date? - no clue!

Day of the week? - who knows.

Time? - Doesn't matter.

I am hopelessly lost.

Between the Gulf of Thailand, colorful fish, scorching sun and relaxed people, I have lost all sense of time.

And it feels damn good.

(oh Xeni, I know what you'd say right now and my answer is: 'NEVERTHELESS!' 😘)

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I can't tell you exactly when we arrived on the island without 'researching' my own blog, nor how long we are staying.

All I know is that right now, I feel like I'm in an never-ending dream. (Yeah, I know, sounds like a passage from a cheap romance novel, but it's just so freaking awesome)

No, I haven't been drinking...

Haven't smoked any Thai grass... or consumed mushroom shakes.

This drug here is called AWARENESS! 😎

Yeah, okay. That's enough. ;)

So let's start with my experiences of the last few days:

As you can imagine, I will probably have difficulties ordering everything chronologically, so it might be a bit mixed up 'on paper'

On the other hand, you guys weren't there... So... What do you really know about my days... :D

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The day after our snorkeling trip, I got sick.

I mean really sick.

Almost dying and suffering a lot and stuff.

So I stayed at our resort the whole day while Lisa had a great time.

I felt completely abandoned and almost searched for a therapist for my depression.

Well. Okay. It wasn't that bad.

But almost. 😑

Day 2 on Koh Chang went by with the sun rising and setting without anything worth mentioning happening.

Ha.

That's not true.

I have to briefly mention this NOTHING.

You have to imagine...

Lisa gone.

Vivi all alone.

Totally sick.

Vivi takes out her phone.

Vivi wants to watch YouTube videos to pass the time.

She wants to chat to chase away the loneliness.

And suddenly the air conditioning stops... And the light.

And the charging bar of my phone (which is in the socket) stops moving.

2 minutes... 20...

...1 hour... 3...5...

Guys- power outage!

On the whole island.

No WiFi - (a disaster for me)

Basically a life without meaning.

It was completely dark for 6 or 7 hours.

No listening to music.

No chatting.

No cold cola. (no power - no fridge, you know what I mean!? )

Just me, myself and I. (and my miserable physical condition, in case that hasn't been mentioned yet) 😏

(I don't want to say I was bored, but now I can knit and crochete.)

Anyway, I was really happy when the light came back on.

{Oh well... It's always the 'little' things that count... ;) }

----------------------------------------------Snorkeling trip:

I'll keep it short. 

Perfect water. 

Perfect visibility. 

Perfect weather. 

(by the way, 'WE' are Johanna, Lena, Lisa & me.. We met the former two in the taxi on our way from Bangkok here... And the two ladies will probably be mentioned by name a lot more today...)

We drove to the end of the island.

We wanted to go to Long Beach.

It was a bit of a drive.... But... Like the Japanese say:

It's the journey that counts.

And that's really true.

The roads with the motorbike are really challenging, I can't repeat that often enough, but once you get the hang of it, it's just perfect. 😏

The landscape is a dream.

The water is turquoise.

Palm trees everywhere.

And finally away from our backpacker beach.

Finally peace.

No more loud Justin Bieber music.

No more crowded beach.

The traffic got less and less.

The roads less curvy and you could let the wind blow through your hair while going full speed!...

We had great food at a small resort, which was a bit overpriced, but made up for it with the location.

Guys- They had an OPEN AIR bathroom!!

They scored major points just for that.

Here, let me show you with pictures....

Trust me... Air fresheners are completely unnecessary here.

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The Long Beach we were so eager to go to wasn't as long as expected, but at least it was a bit less crowded than what we were used to around here.

We didn't have much time at the beach, as it was already 4 pm at that point. 

And since it gets pitch dark at 6 in Thailand, I am a mole at night and with Lisa (who is always my human backpack on the scooter) I have another life to protect, I always decide not to participate in the traffic here after dark! 

We actually arrived just in time for the sunset.

And oh boy... I rarely saw a more beautiful one!!

And since I have many siblings and I, like people who didn't grow up alone, like to share, I naturally share this sight with you:

(you're really lucky today)

Then night fell.

Then the next morning came.

Then the decision to do something without my handicapped friend.

1 day without Lisa.

So the old lady stayed in bed while I took the scooter and conquered the streets alone for the first time on this trip.

After some initial uncertainty, I just found it perfect.

Only half the weight.

And only responsible for my own life.

But I wasn't alone for long.

I met Johanna in a bar.

She was also riding a scooter.

Together we discovered the island from a completely different angle.

We stopped wherever we found it cool and tried to capture our impressions as best as we could in photos.

Yeah.

I won't talk much... You can see for yourself! :

So. Let me put it this way:

I was thrilled on the first day on the island. Without having really seen much.

The second day was only so-so.

Maybe it was because of my severe illness (*cough).

Maybe it was because of the crowded beach nearby and the fact that you have to drive far to experience a bit of seclusion...

In other words.

I was pretty turned off at times.

Koh Chang has fallen in my favor quite a bit during that time.

However, that has changed since our scooter trips.

I am in love.

Really.

I always thought you can only fall in love with shoes.

But I was wrong.

Koh Chang has everything you want.

Everything you need.

But you have to search for it.

You want to party? - Go to Koh Chang.

You want stunning landscapes. - Book a flight and come here.

You want jungle? - Go ahead!

You want empty beaches? - Take a scooter, drive around the island and keep your eyes open.

You can drink, chill, work or do nothing here.

You can go boating, snorkeling, eat delicious food and get annoyed by Chinese tourists (who are everywhere where Lisa and I are)

Somehow this is the Thailand I've read so much about, but never found.

It evokes a feeling that cannot be described.

I would have liked to know what it was like here 5 years ago.

Or 10.

Will I find out what it looks like here in a few years??

I answer that with a definite MAYBE.

And maybe, no, definitely, I am ending this entry now and sleep the sleep of the just, as the Japanese say.

(Or something like that.)