Koh Chang - a forgotten world

As written, we spontaneously decided to skip the beautiful alternative Pai and travel directly to the south. As our preferred destination, we set our sights on Koh Kood: an island in eastern Thailand near the border with Cambodia. Since we are in northern Thailand (Chiang Mai), we consider different options and then decide on the fastest one: by plane from Chiang Mai back to Bangkok and then a bus to Trat. That's the plan.

We book a flight for 72 euros per person and are already sitting in the airplane on Sunday morning at 7 o'clock. The security checks are a joke: you can bring your drinks and food into the cabin. Of course, the two foreigners threw away all their food in advance.

We land in Bangkok at around 8:20 am and read on 12goAsia about a bus at 10 from Mo Chit bus station to Trat. The same bus station where we took the bus to Sukothai. So, we take the Raillink to Phaya Thai (35 minutes) and then the Sky Train to Mo Chit (5 minutes). On the way, we want to buy the bus ticket. Shock! No more tickets available - not for the whole day. Completely demotivated, we still decide to go to the bus station and try our luck at the counter. So, we get off at Mo Chit Station and now have to wait for 15 minutes in the blazing sun for a local, dirty bus without air conditioning. You can choose between Line 3 and 77 here. We take Line 3 and ride for another 20 minutes, partly standing, partly sitting with our huge backpacks. When we arrive at Mo Chit Bus Terminal, we are soaking wet. We visit all the counters and then go to the hall to ask at another counter about a bus to Trat. The lady at the counter nods and says that there are 2 last available seats. We shout YES and put the money on the table. Departure in 15 minutes. We rush to the toilet and make a quick stop at the 7/11 to stock up on a small bag of chips and cola once again.
Shortly afterwards, we are on the bus. Snack boxes and water are distributed to us - we totally forgot about that. Hungry, we eat all our provisions and fall asleep.

When we wake up in between, we notice how the landscape has already changed enormously. Dense palm plantations for harvesting coconuts line up next to each other. We see countless stretches of jungle with shanties in between, where locals sleep, sometimes among piles of junk. I fall asleep again and later wake up when Edina tells me that she can't find a ferry to Koh Kood. We search the internet for ferries and accommodations and realize that we have to wait for our arrival in Trat before we can book. We make Plan A (Koh Kood), Plan B (Koh Chang), and Plan C (Laem Ngop - the port city near Trat).

When we arrive in Trat, it's almost 5 pm. The last ferry leaves at 5 pm. We buy a ticket and take a pick-up truck. We race over an asphalt road at lightning speed, passing through the jungle. When we reach the harbor, the Thais rush us to a ferry. We run. When we are on the ferry, we can hardly believe it. The water runs down under our thin shirts and Nike pants. We are soaking wet.

On deck, we get to watch the sunset over Koh Chang. We go online and quickly search for accommodation on Booking.com, as we want to check out the resort on site - we choose the Banpu Resort...we just want to shower and eat.

When we arrive at the Koh Chang pier, we get into the next pick-up taxi. We are taken directly to the resort and drive past the jungle. The island is covered with dense rainforest and I get the feeling of a forgotten world - with the open pick-up truck, the whole thing has a Jurassic Park flair.

When we arrive at the resort after a while, we are surprised by the ambiance. The entire resort consists of beautiful wooden bungalows set in a jungle with palm trees and exotic plants and flowers. Lanterns light the way in between. The entrance hall is pompous: under the high bamboo ceilings hang huge, colorful lampshades. Underneath are furniture and seating made of teakwood.

We pay 40 euros per night and breakfast is included.

In the rooms, we find neatly draped towels in the shape of an elephant. We are happy and go to take a shower. Afterwards, we head to the restaurant. I eat vegetarian papaya salad and Edina has red curry. The food is amazing!

We take a tired walk on the beach and later fall exhausted into bed.

The next day, we enjoy breakfast and walk straight to the sea. It's cloudy and starts to rain and thunder. We don't let that stop us and walk to the other end of the beach (about 25 minutes). The weather is better there and we go swimming. After a while, we've had enough: we go back and only now realize that we have sunburn. How is that possible? It was almost cloudy all day and we applied sunblock with SPF 30 about 5 times. We are in for a rough night. We go to the restaurant and shortly after that, the shivering starts. Edina goes to the 7/11 and gets yogurt and spreads it on my back.

The next day, my whole back is tense and painful. And there is a surprise waiting for us in the shower: a thin, black worm has found its way up through the drain.

My daily program takes place on our balcony with a sea view. I catch up on all the blog posts while Edina relaxes on the beach :)

We book a speedboat for Wednesday to Koh Kood (finally!) for 900 baht per person (about 23 euros) and look for the cheapest accommodation on Airbnb (84 euros per night = 42 euros per person) - the Ao Noi Resort.
Koh Kood is a hidden gem for wealthy people and the high society.

On Wednesday, we will be picked up at 11 am. It starts raining like during the monsoon on Koh Chang and we are glad to get away from here.

You will find out why we are rejoicing too early in the next blog post.