Dec 3 – 5 Koh Chang
So what are you going to
do when you traveled through South East Asia for two months and
return to Bangkok for a few days? That's right, you gonna escape to
an island the first chance you get.
It was a very spontaneous
decision. Mag, a fellow exchange student from China decided she
wanted to spend her birthday on a beach. And so the Koh Chang plan
was born. Since I still had evening classes on Friday we left early
Saturday morning from Ekkamai bus stop. Unfortunately there was no
7am direct bus to the Koh Chang ferry but hop on any bus to Trat and
then switch to a Pick-up Van there that brings you to the Ferry. No
problems. It's all timed right for the sun-hungry tourists. On Koh
Chang another Pick-up to Lonely Beach which is praised to have
fantastic beaches, nice restaurants and bars and low prices. Sounds
too good to be true? That's right as it was. The cheap accommodation
is all located in 'Lonely Village' which is about 15 minutes (maybe
less, you get lazy in the heat) walk from the beach. The cheap
bungalows are tiny, run down and smelly. The more expensive ones are
decent but still a while from the beach. So we went to check out the
beach. There were bungalows there too, not very inviting, and Hotels
all very pricy. We had practically decided we would just switch to
White Sand Beach as they are supposed to have better accommodation
(for a bit higher prices) there. We finally did decide to stay in a
bungalow up in the cliffs at the very end of Lonely Beach. It was
expensive and not too nice, so that goes to show you get what you pay
for and everything near the beach costs more. When did Thailand stop
to be cheap? I heard stories from friends that they used to pay 6€
a night for a beautiful beachfront bungalow. Now you won't get a nice
one for 30€. When did that happen?
Koh Chang itself is full
of Russians, Scandinavians and Germans. Many with Thai girls in their
arms. If you wouldn't know any better you'd say this island is the
capital of interracial 'couples'. Some couples look nice together
some just outright disgusting. If there are more than 150kg weight or
40 years age difference, it looks just weeeeeird. But why get hung up
on those details. There is a beach there to enjoy and some R&R to
be had. And tonight it's Mag's birthday dinner. Grilled seafood by
the beach it is. And since a birthday is nothing without a birthday
cake we search all Lonely Beach and Lonely Village for a piece of
cake just to discover, there isn't any. To celebrate Mag does get her
birthday cake in liquid form. Pina Colada flavor it is.
R&R also means that
we decided to just lay on the beach and do nothing instead of
stressing ourselves from one snorkeling trip to a waterfall to an
elephant ride, looks good on pictures but so does the beach. So the
next morning, after we missed the breakfast buffet as we overslept we
transfer over to White Sand Beach, find a tiny bungalow a few minutes
from the beach right away and have a Cowboy breakfast/brunch at an
Texan bar. And then it's beach time for long after the sun goes down,
including massage. Aaaaaaah!
White Sand Beach is
definitely more happening than Lonely Beach, more options to eat and
drink and just people watch as well. And as it is when you are having
fun, time flies way too fast.
The next day is another
full day at the beach when we have to leave late afternoon to get
back to Bangkok. The bus we planned today apparently doesn't exist –
I am sure it does but whatever let's just hop on the other one. But
the other one is full so instead of going straight to Bangkok we take
a few buses in between to creep closer and closer to our destination
and finally get there. Truth is, it is cheaper if you split up the
trip (by a few Baht) but you are loosing a hell of a lot of time. It
is the King's birthday today and in Bangkok there's a big parade
today. We are lucky enough to see a firework while waiting at one of
the bus stations. Aaaah Firework! Happy Birthday King!
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen