Beach hopping on Koh Chang

From Battambang in Cambodia, we want to travel to the island of Koh Chang in Thailand within a day. Most travelers cross the border in the north, at Poipet, but we want to try to get to Thailand directly via Pailin without the detour. And this is what our travel day looks like:

1. Take a taxi from Battambang to Pailin, directly to the border crossing.

2. Go to the Cambodian immigration office to get the exit stamp.

3. Go to the Thai immigration office to get the entry stamp.

4. Exchange money.

5. Take a minivan to Chantaburi.

6. Take a minivan to Trat.

7. Take a taxi from Trat to the ferry. That was at least our plan, but sometimes bus drivers and transport companies make the plans for you without telling you. So we are thrown out in the middle of the road to get into a car with an open cargo area that is supposed to take us directly to the ferry. Well, we change to the completely overloaded car and squeeze ourselves and our backpacks between the other tourists.

8. Take the ferry to Koh Chang.

9. Take a shared taxi to the hotel.

Done! We reach our accommodation in the afternoon and are happy that the relaxed part of the day is about to begin. Well, too soon to be happy. In the truest sense of the word, we arrived one day early. This happens to us for the first time in the almost 7 months we have been traveling. But we are lucky because there is another accommodation right next door that rents out bungalows. So:

10. Look for and move to the accommodation.

But now we are here, we have settled down and can finally relax. Our bungalow is even very nice and also cheaper than the already booked accommodation. Well, hopefully it's just as nice.

The next morning we move next door, our room is also totally okay, and finally start the beach vacation. Because on Koh Chang there is a wide selection of beaches to spend a relaxed day. Today we start with one of the biggest beaches, White Sands Beach. It lives up to its name and is located in a very beautiful bay that offers a view of the densely forested green hills and, of course, the clear, turquoise blue sea. We find a shady spot and get ready for our first day at the beach. Dreamy.

In the evening, there is a small street food market in White Sands, which is also the name of the village here on the beach, where there are many delicacies. Here we try potato skewers, savory spring rolls, mussels, grilled corn on the cob, Thai pancakes, fried rice noodles, and sweet mangoes. Delicious!

In the following days, we spend time at Lonely Beach, Chai Chet Beach, and our favorite beach, White Sands Beach. Along the way, we encounter monkeys that have come out of the dense jungle to take a shortcut over the power lines on the main road and see what the people are up to here.

We enjoy the sweet idleness one last time, soak up the sun, read for hours on the beach, and let ourselves float in the turquoise seawater. Our last joint destination, Bangkok, is now approaching. Then our paths will separate for now, as Sebastian returns to Germany while Lisa will work as a volunteer in an Elephant & Wildlife Sanctuary near Petchaburi for two more weeks.