The Elephant Island - Upwards we go

Three days after our arrival, we finally managed to escape the hustle and bustle of Bangkok and landed on the island of Koh Chang after a few hours bus ride along the Thai coast. This paradisaical island, which translates to Elephant Island, was on our direct path to the Cambodian border. Shortly after arriving, we decided not to squeeze ourselves into a crowded tuk-tuk with the other travelers who had arrived, but instead chose to ride a scooter.

Our destination was the beach section known as Lonely Beach, which is often visited by backpackers. The way there took us through tropical rainforest and over mountains whose slopes were comparable to the mountain stages of the Tour de France. No easy task for our vehicle, which had to transport not only the two of us, but also all of our luggage, and struggled to go faster than walking speed on some of the steep climbs.

Upon finally arriving at Lonely Beach, we immediately started exploring the island after settling into our hostel room. However, we skipped the waterfall that we had originally planned to visit after finding out that tourists had to pay ten times what locals paid for access. But who needs to pay to see a waterfall when you're on an island surrounded by plenty of water? Certainly not us! The river that followed the waterfall provided plenty of opportunities for cooling off, and no one tried to take money out of our pockets. After taking a short break there, we also took a plunge into the sea before the rainy season showed its unpleasant side and forced us to head back.

Until then, it had already been a long day and we were more than happy to go to bed early.

The next day, we went to the other side of the island, passing packs of wild monkeys who preferred to hang out on power lines rather than in the treetops and didn't let themselves be deterred by the lids of trash cans in their quest for a fast meal. The name Elephant Island was not completely undeserved for this place. In the many stables we saw along the way, however, the elephants led a rather sad existence, chained up and only offering variety for tourists who paid for a ride on them.

Since we had rented a second scooter for this second day, we were finally able to go faster and conquer the mountains with more ease than the day before. A few hours later, we didn't want to let the rain defeat us again and headed to a beach bar in the evening, which was located not far from our hostel. Since we also wanted to do some sports, we started off with a few games of billiards before delivering a crushing defeat to some Danish exchange students in beer pong. Right on time for when we were about to leave for the next bar, the weather turned against us and sent another storm to the island. However, the savvy backpacker of today always has their rain jacket ready during the monsoon season, so the rain didn't slow us down this time. Besides, it's customary here to go out and party in swim trunks and flip-flops, so we were able to enjoy the evening without any problems.

As a result, the next day started later for us and was filled with significantly fewer activities. But it was necessary to dedicate this day to regeneration, as we were supposed to be picked up by a bus the next morning that would take us to Cambodia.

So the three days on Koh Chang passed by quickly, and after the hardships we had faced in Bangkok, it was the right decision to make this stopover and get to know a less touristy part of Thailand.

However, it must be said that our overall impression of Thailand is not the best, at least with regard to the regions we have been to so far. The north and the south of the country are also on our itinerary for later in the trip. Unfortunately, everything is geared towards mass tourism now, and every Thai person wants to get their piece of the pie. You're constantly bombarded with offers for taxi rides, massages, and all kinds of gimmicks at exorbitant prices. Even travel agencies and bus drivers no longer miss an opportunity to rip off Western travelers. Sometimes, they don't even take you to the agreed destination/hotel, but instead leave you at the bus station in the city to extort extra money for the rest of the journey. You really don't have to fly halfway around the world for that. But hopefully our first full day in Cambodia tomorrow will leave us with a better impression of Southeast Asia.