Ko Chang
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2005
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63
158
Trip End
Jul 21, 2007
Ko Chang,
Thailand
Monday, April 3, 2006
When we alighted at the border we both looked as if we had been dragged behind a tractor for 10 miles and got a long stare from the Thai customs blokes as they attempted to penetrate their vision through the layers of dust and grime in order to match our faces with the passport photos
fire stick geezers
. Our hopes of comfort came to fruition when we were eventually picked up by a fairly new minibus whose a/c was almost too cold. We were spirited swiftly South to the coast on the blessedly tarmacked motorways and in time for the last ferry across to Ko Chang.Our plan was to spend a week doing sweet FA, sunbathing, swimming and eating. Contrary to opinions expressed on the Thorn Tree website in answer to our query about where to stay, the place was georgeous and just what we needed after all the travel. We stayed on Lonely Beach and after a night in a rough bamboo hut decided to have a splurge and secured an a/c hut with a proper bed on the hillside at the north end of the beach overlooking the whole bay. The room was staffed with an extra large gecko called Gordon whose mission it was to take care of any rogue insects. He reassuringly but annoyingly exclaimed his characteristic rising crescendo of 'gecko, Gecko!, GECKO!!' around three times a night to indicate the location of his sentry point in the roof space.
To sum the week up is pretty straight forward. Scorching sun, some rain, brilliant seafood and meat bbq's and moderate amounts of beer..... and repeat. The beach was lush and we even had a lovely pool which overlooked the ocean and had cute stone elephants around it snorting fountains of water! We typically wandered home as the afternoon wore on and led on the sand watching the sun set with a doob in hand, marvelling at the vivid reds and purples reflected onto the clouds and ocean
Gordon Gekko
. What a beautiful place this was and just what the doctor ordered. We often ate at a cool place called the Treehouse which was a knocked together ramshackle wooden structure at the opposite end of the bay. It looked like lots of driftwood has been used to contruct the floor which hung over the sea on stilts. They have succeeded in creating a really bohemian atmosphere, colourful lampshades light up the different areas but it fully reminds one of the Swiss Family Robinson or something and the tuneage is spot on; not too imposing but gets the head nodding, ala Cafe del Mar and the ilk. The food is also very good, they have almost anything you could think of in their comprehensive 23 page menu.The only thing that created any ripples in the calm sea of our tranquility was the noise. Apart from Gordon, every night was party night at one of the beach bars and the bass thudded until 4am. No matter! Nothing was going to ruin our perfect last week!!
Kerry fulfilled one of her ambitions and bathed an elephant at one of the elephant camps on the island. After overcoming the objections of the staff (the bathing was part of a 3 hour program including riding which Kerry didn't want to do) we negotiated a deal. She was absolutely in her element, laughing with delight as she sat on his back and he knelt in the shallow water, scrubbing away with brush in hand. And when he rose up and made his way out of the stream she straddled the neck as the elephant soaked her repeatedly with his trunk before clinging on as he plodded the short distance back to the camp.
As we were about to settle down for our last 2 days by the pool, the friendly reception staff happened to tell us that Songkhran (Thai new year) was due to start on 13th April and as we wanted to send a parcel home we had to get the hell out of dodge. Off we went the following morning like lambs to the slaughter.
