KOH CHANG!!!

We were sitting out side of Sarita hotel waiting for our mini-bus. As much as we hate saying we live on Sarita Soi because people mistake us as tourist, it did come in handy in this instance. We grabbed some snacks at the Family Mart and found a bench to sit on.

Emily made it. She was alone.

Turns out the Chinese girls weren't coming. I don't know what exactly happened...

We sat there waiting. It's a little un-nerving waiting for something to show up knowing the owner stayed up 3 extra hours waiting on your fellow co-workers who ended up not doing business with her. Plus we pre-paid in full. It was getting close to 8:00 a.m. We were told it would pick us up between 7:30 - 8:00 a.m. No one wanted to call the tour agency.

Luckily, we saw a minibus come to a halt right in front of the Sarita. YAY. We loaded up our gear and climbed in the van. There was a family of 6 Russians in the van already. We didn't pick up anyone else on the way down to Koh Chang.

The ride went by quick. Brian and I sat in the back of the bus. It was the only two seats next to each other and it had room for Brian to stretch his legs. The only downside to sitting back there was the lack of shocks on the van. It was a very bumpy ride. Trying to sleep quickly became impossible. It was nice escaping the city and entering the country. We went through a couple bigger towns, but the scenery was mostly overgrown grass with sporadic houses.

On our way!

I finally got to see rubber trees. Toward the end of our ride, there were acres of rubber trees in perfect lines. Some had the little buckets actively catching their sap. I wish we could have stopped to take pictures and have a closer look. I also saw what looked like huge aloe plants in tree form. On the ends of the plant were plastic bags tied around the 'leaves.' I suspected it was to protect the fruit, and I was right. Turns out they are dragon fruit trees.

I just want to reiterate how glad I am that we didn't try to navigate ourselves. When the bus driver finally turned into the pier, there was no way we would have known that was the pier. There was no huge sign. The only clue was the line of cars out the gate waiting to get on the ferry. We waited for a travel agent to open his shop at the pier and get our actual roundtrip tickets to board the ferry.

Ferry

There is no strategic plan to boarding the ferry. You just walk onto the ferry at the same time as cars are driving onto the platform. I was surprised to see so many people! I guess alot of folks had the same idea. Alot of the passengers were locals though. They obviously were taking advantage of the holiday.

Man on a mission

Ready to rock!

We headed upstairs to the passenger deck and found some seats. No sooner did we sit down, did the ferry take off. I must say the distance from the shore to the island isn't very far at all, but it's a slow boat. They have a good system running in my opinion. They have about 2-3 ferries running all the time so there is never a long wait if you miss the boat. If you did not have a package deal like us, a one way ticket on the ferry is about 80B. If you bring your car, I think it's free passage as long as you pay per passenger. Not a bad deal either way.

Looking out onto the other side we were a bit perturbed. The island was very mountainous. More than we expected. It was beautiful, but nothing like the small islands off of Pattaya. Koh Chang is the second largest island in Thailand. The first being Phuket.

Where the ferry's were docking looked a bit desolate. We though we would be greeted with something similar to beach road in Jomtien. We were hoping to rent a car or motorbike from the pier and drive down to Lonely Beach.

Once you get off the ferry, you are greeted with a sign that says, "Welcome to Koh Chang," and a bunch of baht buses. There is no town. There is no car rental shops. Nothing. You have to take a taxi. I would not advise walking... The only thing in walking distance is a temple.

We got on a baht bus. 50B to take us to the closest town of White Sand Beach. It was about a 20 minute ride. Nothing is very far on Koh Chang, but the amount of hills and turns make driving even slower. There were times where I thought we weren't going to make it up the hills the way the driver was shifting gears. I was seated up front with her. Brian and Emily were hanging off the back of the bus.

Hang on tight!!!

Driving to civilization! Views are amazing!!!

We jumped off at White Sands. We had no problem finding a place to rent cars or bikes. We walked along and inquired at a couple shops. The cheapest price for a car would be about 800B a day. The price for a motorbike for a day is about 200-300B a day. We decided to do motorbikes. Brian decided he wanted to try a manual motorbike and shoved me off on Emily. I felt loved.

Emily and I worked out a payment plan with the lady and dropped the 'ajarn' bomb. We were able to rent the motorbike for 4 days for 500B. SCORE! I should mention it is low season right now too and that really helps in the savings department. Brian had to foot the bill himself. Serves him right! He changed his mind too after test driving the manual and wanted to do an automatic... but he was too late. I already had gone in with Emily. He stuck to his manual which was 200B a day.

Look at the size of his bike... haha!

The only reason I was truly upset with Brian is because the perk of traveling with someone is splitting the cost. He could have saved much more money if he wasn't in 'Rome' all the time. I also knew the terrain was going to be very hilly and as much as I trust Emily as a driver, I would have preferred being with Brian. Obviously, my life was not taken into consideration when Brian threw me to the birds. But by the time we left, I think he finally understood my position :)

Thankfully we packed light... well at least the girls did... we were set :) We were told that it had been rainy in Koh Chang. This break in the weather started once we stepped off the ferry. Looking back, I am extremely happy about his detail. The drive to Lonely Beach was interesting. Our bike didn't let us down... it got us up the steep hills, but it was struggling. Brian's bike did make it up a bit easier because it was a manual and had more power. I would be lying if I didn't say I was scared. The hills and turns are a bit like a roller coaster ride set in a jungle.

We finally made it to Lonely beach. It is a very small town considering the ones we went through prior. It is 'lonely.' We checked in at a couple of places. They were almost completely booked up. All the ocean view huts on the beach, of course, where not available. Our idealistic vacation was slipping away. We went back to our first place we tried. It was called, "Paradise Cottages." Through my research it was my number one place to stay. All they had available was 200B huts in the back with no air-con which wasn't a huge deal. The layout of the place cannot be beat. They have a beautiful view of the ocean with hammock huts for everyone to use. If we couldn't have our hut on the beach might as well have the hammock huts!

Love at first site! First view of Paradise Cottage

Us on Koh Chang!

We took his last two huts. So far Koh Chang was being very good to us in terms of cost efficiency and luck. Lots of people we talked to had booked a couple weeks prior to arriving. Holidays are always a high travel period, we should have thought about that in retrospect. Oh, well... rack it up as another learning experience and be happy that it turned out good instead of bad :)

The beach front huts at Paradise Cottages... Not Ours :)

We settled into our huts. It was very simple lodging. A wooden hut with a lot of windows and an outside bathroom. Inside there was a bed with a mosquito net. We had a fan on the ceiling and a light. We didn't have outlets to plug anything in though. The bathroom outside had no roof and the shower was a pipe. Simplicity.

Our Hut

Brian's first successful use of the bathroom.

View from our hut.

Our open-air bathroom.

Our bed. Like you had any doubt Teddy didn't come :)

We reconvened at the hammock huts. We paid for our first night and were told we would just have a room charge for the duration of our stay. I ordered my first banana smoothie of many. Delicious.

Sitting in a hammock - On the beach - With a banana smoothie in hand - Perfect. This is why we teach. To travel. It's worth it :)

All in a row!

Brian's obvious drink of choice :)

We decided to take a drive and explore a bit more. We went back into town and dropped our bikes off at the islands make shift 7-11's. We walked down the two main soi's in town. We ate at a restaurant called Stonefree. AMAZING. They had an entire page of tofu items on the menu. It's just a great place with a good atmosphere and amazing food at very affordable prices. I wish we had something similar in Jomtien/Pattaya. Ironically, everything at home is 3x's the price on Koh Chang.

Outside of Stone Free

Kitchen

Bar

We drove down to the bottom of Koh Chang. There isn't a road that goes around the entire island. We came across a pier with shops similar to a floating market. It was nice. If you were going to go to another island, you would leave from this pier.

A restaurant on the pier.

We got back after the sun set. We didn't want to have to drive the roads at night - Ooops. A huge moth thingy flew right into Emily's face. Luckily we just screamed and didn't crash. The motorbike in front of us was concerned enough to pull over. We felt bad. He was by himself. There is no way I would drive these roads by myself in the dark. Scary!

Brian was back at the hotel already. He left the pier market earlier because he was tired. After more hammock time, I noticed people were walking around a path and disappearing. I told the others and we explored. Sure enough the walkway dumps you into another resort. You walk through Warapura and out into the soi where the Stonefree restaurant is located. PERFECT!

Follow this bridge around to Warapura.

It had started to rain and I had my poncho ready. If only I knew this was the precursor to our entire vacation.

We checked out a couple bars. There was suppose to be free BBQ and parties happening. Lonely beach is known for its nightlife and is frequented by younger people and backpackers. We ended up at one place called Ting Tongs. We had received a flyer earlier on our exploration. 2 for 1 buckets and live music. Though I'm not a heavy drinker, the two people with me are huge fans. I had a glass of wine.

Enjoying the buckets!!!

The rain really started to come. The streets turned into rivers. We met a traveller from Norway. He was very exciting... NOT. To Brian he is Chandler. To Emily he is Sieta. To me he is Nextel. Needless to say his name is hard to pronounce. We tried hard to avoid running into him the next couple days.

I was very happy by my preparedness. I had my poncho. My purse had a poncho and all the contents in my purse had their own plastic encasing. I like to think all my Alaskan camping taught me well. In Brian's words, I was Grandma. I don't care... I wasn't wet :)

We hung out on the hammocks that night and fell asleep outside. The rain had subsided and I was getting cold. I got up and got the hut key from Brian. I wanted to be warm! It was good timing because it really started to downpour after that.

Brian came in a little later wet :)

The rain didn't let up till 8:00 a.m.... if you can really call it letting up. I had to pee since 3:00 a.m. I took opportunity to go. I found my glasses, turned on the light, and opened the door to our bathroom. I stepped down with my right foot and took the next step.

I don't remember anything but the sound of wood breaking. My left leg was dangling in the floor. I think I might have screamed. I don't remember. I twisted myself around so I could see Brian and kept yelling, "Help." I would like you to note that Brian had 2 or 3 buckets less than 8 hours ago. Ask him what happened and he is thrilled at the speediness of his reaction. From my viewpoint in the wood, he glared at me through the mosquito net for a minute. Then he made it over to me and stared at me for another minute. I broke his bewilderment by telling him to grab my arms and pull me up!!!

Just imagine me in this. Brian's first thought... "Where's your leg?!?!?!

I'm surprised I didn't pee myself because I really had to go. I changed my pajama pants that were soaked and dirty. The fatness of my thighs stopped me from going all the way down. It hurt immediately. I skipped over the hold and finally make it to the toilet. Ah, the cost of relief.

2 large bruises around the left thigh.

I should have photographed the continuing color scheme I experienced along with the concerned stares of strangers :)

Emily was amused by the story when we made it to our usual meeting spot at the hammocks. She didn't hear me scream. The bruises were starting to fill in nicely though. The above photo's don't do it justice. It was a pretty gnarly looking thing.

View from the hammock in the A.M. - Low Tide.

We went back to Stonefree for breakfast. Once you find the amazingness, you really can't pull yourself away to try anything else. Every breakfast thing on the menu was 10B ala cart. Pancakes were 50B and I highly recommend them. You can also order non-breakfast items at 9 in the morning like Emily who is a fan of curry or noodles :)

Actual pancakes. Add your own bananas :)

It started to rain again after breakfast. We had decided to go for a hike to a waterfall. We knew with all the rain that it would be amazing. Thankfully, it wasn't a downpour just a steady rain falling at the moment. We found the road to the waterfall easily. We were hit by an entrance fee of 200B per person. If we would have had teacher ID cards we could have gotten in for 40B. Burn.

Brian and the waterfall sign

Pretty Flower

The walk to the waterfall was beautiful. It is not a nicely paved path... no no... it was more like a washed out suggested path. You don't have to be completely fit to make it to the waterfall... it's not like its an enduring hike... I made it with my bummed bruised leg... but it would be a good idea not to be accident prone. At times you are stepping through waterfalls gushing down with a rope to hang on to and up rocks. I think that if this were in America it would have been closed due to the weather. However, Thailand would never take that experience away from anyone still willing to go to the waterfall :)

Wading through water

Just the path :)

We made it!

It was a gusher! The waterfall was pretty. I guess when it's not so heavy, you can swim at the base of the falls. Today, they had a section set up a littler lower in the river for people to swim in. We were wet already. We didn't need to play in a river to get soaked. We passed on the opportunity.

Swimming in the river

We headed back to our hammocks, got a snack, and headed out to dinner.

Oh... and on the way home got into our first motorbike accident. We were going up a hill and ran into Brian. No one got hurt. He got stuck behind a truck and accidentally shifted into neutral and started rolling backward. Luckily, because Emily and I were climbing the hill the actual impact wasn't very fast. I did learn that I could indeed jump off the back of a motorbike! Especially, when someone I loved is threatened... I don't remember jumping off the bike... I was just standing next to it pulling it backwards in an attempt to keep it away from hitting Brian... just a little bit of a nudge... but then our motorbike started rolling back. Motorbikes are not light :) I gave Emily a shove and I walked the rest of the way up the hill then got on.

Ordering the snack. Thank goodness they came to our hut... I was not excited about walking through the rain!!! Oh, and that's not a pool in front of us... that's a walkway that filled with rain each day. Fun.

We decided to get massages before dinner, but they were booked for the next hour. We ate at Stonefree and waited. After another delicious meal, we tried our luck again with the massage parlor but we were still too late. We played Jenga in Stonefree while we waited again. Finally, we got in at the outdoor massage place across the street.

All their contraptions to drain water. So innovative :)

I got a back and neck massage. I didn't want a full Thai massage because of the bum leg. However, every massage you get in Thailand no matter the specifics will include your entire body at some point in the time frame. Brian and Emily both got Thai massages. I have to say that was probably the most painful massage to date. Usually you feel better after a massage. I felt like an old woman moaning and groaning afterwards.

The Massage Place

It was raining again so we popped back into Stonefree and played more games. We met some other backpackers and joined them in a game of Jenga. They were very passionate Jenga players. Apparently, a trait they picked up in Chiang Mai.  Seems like alot of the backpackers just hung around in bars and played games or read. True it was raining alot, but I would still want to get out and explore or do some activities that the island had to offer even if they did cost a bit of money. To each their own, I guess.

Photos don't do justice to the amount of rain falling.

Rapids!!!

We didn't stay out too late because we were hoping to go diving/snorkeling in the morning. We were suppose to leave at 7:30 a.m. I woke up at 3:00 a.m. and had to pee. By now I had learned to strip down into nothing, then go outside and pee. While you use the toilet, you have the benefit of a nice rain shower. You just have to dry off with your towel and get dressed again but at least it saves your clothes from getting even more soaked. Anyway, I mention my bathroom break yet again not because I fell through another floor board... no no... but because I got up and tried to turn on the light switch. It was dead. I stumbled around in the pitch black and found my flashlight (another tool I do not leave home without... thank you Alaska). The fan was off too. The electricity had gone out.

Bruises coming in nicely before bedtime. 

Brian called the dive shop at 6:30 a.m. to check on the status of the boat trip. Turns out the storm had knocked down quite a few trees and they were blocking the way to the pier. No Dice. We tried to call Emily and text her to let her know, but I guess the phone reception was knocked out too. She showed up at our door at 7:30 a.m. ready to go. I could barely move, so its probably a good thing we didn't end up going. A couple hours later we finally rolled out and made it to the hammocks. Emily had been at the hammocks since knocking on our door. We ate breakfast (at Stonefree of course!), and hatched the new plan of attack. They didn't have power either, but luckily most places in Thailand use gas stoves.

I had been wanting to go elephant trekking from the get go. Brian had no interest and Emily wanted to save it til her trip to Chiang Mai in October. Koh Chang means elephant. We are suppose to go see elephants on an island named Elephant Island!!! I tried to make some phone calls but the power was still out and it was hard to get through to any companies on the phone. I finally reached someone.

I had looked into the four different elephant trekking options on the island. I found one that had been highly recommended time and time again. Baan Kwan Chang is known for treating their elephants nicely and having tons of land for the elephants to freely roam. They don't chain them up and make them stay in one spot. They were also awarded an ECO award and are part of the Asian Elephant Foundation.

When we first inquired about the elephants, we were told Baan Kwan didn't pick up Lonely Beach guests because it was too far away. We would have to drive all the way if we wanted to go. Normally, this wouldn't be too much of a big deal but the conditions were not in our favor. I called anyway. They were willing to drop the price from 900B to 700B for the 2 hour trekking activity. I told them where we were located... they agreed to pick us up and drop us off if we agreed to the regular price of 900B. SCORE!!!! 

It was 11:00 a.m. and the rain had stopped. It was looking like a nice day. They didn't have any openings until 2:00 p.m. at the elephant camp. Of course, we stayed in our hammocks until we saw the driver pull up. Not 20 minutes before he showed up did the dark clouds and rain start to come again. We missed our perfect window opportunity!

I think we all concurred that having them pick us up and drive us there was the best thing in the world. The drive was long. We had to pretty much go all the way back to the main pier. It wasn't raining too bad, but the storm from last night left alot of damage in its wake. There were trees down all along the roads. Alot of the road was flooded. Power lines where laying in pools of water as crews were working to fix the power outage. As soon as we crossed over one of the major hills, it stopped raining.

My, "See aren't you glad we didn't drive face." :)

I haven't seen much written on this, but it seems to me that one side of the island gets more rain than the other. White Sand Beach still had electricity and had sun. Our side of the island remained overcast and rainy. Just an observation, but something to note for next time :)

While going over the hill, we spied some monkeys chillin' on the side of the road. All throughout the island, there are signs that say don't feed the monkeys. We looked in vain many a time and never spied any until today. There was a family of about 6 sitting on the guardrail. Very cute and very light in color surprisingly. I guess I expected dark monkeys... I dunno. Wish we could have stopped, but that would have been a disaster mid-hill :)

We picked up a couple more guests along the way too.  They made me appreciate the silence before their pick-up.

You can see some of the elephant camps along the road as you drive. They don't look very authentic and probably don't have as good of a reputation as this camp. We finally turned off the main road and headed deeper into the middle of the island. It is very lush and green with papaya fields and other fruit fields scattered about. At the end of the road is the camp. As soon as you drive up you are met with elephants on either side. Some are heading off with guests on their treks, while others are munching on the surrounding foliage.

We were greeted by a very nice younger Thai woman who spoke really good English. We paid our fee and were told to wait at the tables. We were given water and a pineapple snack :) It was delicious!!!

Mmm snacks.

After we were done, she told us to follow her. She said we were going to swim with the elephants first. If you do the 2 hour trek, you get this option. If you do the 1 hour trek, you do not but it is considerably cheaper. I wanted the full experience :) However, I thought it would be much different and at the end of the tour. But whatever, we did as we were told. Somehow Brian and Emily got stuck in the back. I was following the lady. It was a bit of a walk... not bad. I'm sure I could have slipped many a time if my eyes weren't glued to the ground. As we waited for the others, she delighted in showing the other guest a grass plant that closes when you touch it. We have them in Hawaii. I wasn't too amused as I was trying to figure out where Brian and Emily where. Then I understood. An elephant and his trainer where coming down the exact path we had just taken. Brian and Emily got stuck behind.

I wouldn't try to cut this thing off either!

The elephant and trainer continued down the road and we all followed together.

We cut through another path and headed toward the river. The elephant got in and so did one of the other ladies. She didn't miss a beat hopping in the water with the elephant. She was very excited! Another elephant come up the river from the right and joined us. We were told we could get in and swim with the elephants. I can't say I moved as fast as the other woman, but I got in! I was a little scared. I would be lying if I said I wasn't.

I knew what elephants were capable of... one got loose in Hawaii when I was a child, killed some people, and was finally shot down. Away from that depressing note, I took in the moment. Climbing up an elephant is no easy task. I probably mooned everyone there... I need a new bathing suit :) The elephant we played with in the river actually ended up being the elephant we rode during the trek... which actual ended up being a baby elephant or at least a very young elephant. His mother was the other one in the river and the one Emily rode.

Ahhhh! hahaha

Made it!

Don't fall... Don't fall... Don't fall :)

Brian didn't look too thrilled to get in the river. He didn't want to get on the elephant at all and when he did it was probably a 5 second span. Emily was going to pass on the opportunity too! She wasn't dressed for the occasion though... I gave her my board shorts and she got in right before they said it was time to go. I'm happy everyone got in. I don't think every trekking place in Thailand gives you this opportunity. Honestly, I thought we were just going to watch them play in the water or on the trek go through a river or something. We all had no idea it would be like this. It was a surprise ;)

I don't know what were doing !?!

Emily and Me!

We were the last ones out of the water. Everyone left us. Luckily, we just followed our instincts and went back to the main hub. We loaded up on the elephants for our trekking portion. You climb up into a little wooden tower. The elephants are lead to the platform and you jump into your seats. Brian got on first... then me.

Grandma's water safe purse!

I'm not scared of heights, but it definitely took some adjusting to getting hit in the face by leaves all of a sudden. Luckily, it still wasn't raining... just a little overcast. The weather was cooperating with us for once!

I never really gave any thought to this other than I wanted to do it. In my mind ridding an elephant was going to be fine!!! And it was... but it was not anything like I imagined. It is a very bumpy ride. I like to bring in Emily's conclusion on the experience, "I was thinking about doing a 5 day elephant trekking thing in Chiang Mai...yeah... I'm set..."

Off on another adventure!

The actual path they took us on was beautiful. We crossed through many a river. The only part that actually scared me was the downhill portions. I can honestly say I held my breathe a couple of times and kept (in vain) trying to balance our weight. More than once the vision of being suffocated by an elephant crossed my mind or tumbling down the side of a cliff with an elephant landing on top of you.

Our guide jumped off the elephant and took pictures of Brian and me. It was a very nice gesture. We did tip our driver... we actually gave it to the elephant via it's trunk. It thought about eating it, but the trainer uttered some word and the elephant flipped it up to him. Very cool except my hands were covered in elephant nose goo.

I would caution anyone doing the same thing to be aware of the trees. You are at branch level. All my turning around to converse with Emily greeted my face with many a slap when I turned around.

We passed a couple rubber trees. They had plastic make shift bottle catchers in them. Obviously, it's not a legit rubber tree farm, but it was nice to see them up close... Thailand is know for their rubber trees after all.

After we disembarked our elephant, we met up with them at the feeding area. We got to feed them bananas. You could tell this was the highlight of their trip. Emily's elephant (Mama) kept eating the entire way. Our elephant tried a couple times, but listened to his trainer. Like my K-2 class, they are not full blown rebellious yet!

Snack time teacher!

Please no goo :)

Yum Yum Yum

Brave man :)

We got back in our taxi and headed home. It was sunny!!! We saw the sun!!! We crossed over one of the many hills on the way to Lonely beach and the mood quickly changed. It started to drizzle and the sky turned dark. This adds even more to my theory about the weather patterns on this island. Oh well, we had good weather for our elephant experience... we couldn't ask for anything more.

Our treat after feeding the elephants. They treat their guests so well !!!

Goodbye sunshine. Hello rainy side of the island.

The electricity was still out. It was an interesting mood in town. Everything seemed a little quieter. We ate dinner at our "hotel." It was a very romantic setting by french fry oil candle light. We racked up more on our room charge :)

We ventured out into the rain to see what the town was like with no electricity. Alot of places were closed. Stonefree was still open. We went over to Ting Tong. They promised live music, but spent most of the time trying to convince someone to play acoustic guitar and sing. It was all good... they still were able to make Brian's beloved french fries.

Brian's going away bucket

Other people party'n without electricity!

Of course, when we decided to leave it was a heavy downpour. We went back by Stonefree for some late night food, but they had closed early. Couldn't really blame them... We went back to our hammocks. The bar was raging with other farang people. We knew they were Americans because they had no accents. Sure enough, they were fellow teachers traveling on the long weekend. They were part of a placement program and met each other in their Bangkok orientation week. It was nice meeting teachers from other parts of Thailand and comparing stories.

"The raging," as teacher Emily would say didn't last too long for me. I went to bed. I am very passionate about sleeping :) The plan was to wake up fairly early and get to White Sand Beach to soak up some sun. In reality, we woke up late, ate our last breakfast at Stonefree, paid our hotel tab, drove all the way back to White Sands Beach, returned our bikes, and had to jump on the next baht bus to the ferry. It wasn't very sunny on the White Sand side anyway. We took advantage of the bus on it's way to the pier because apparently only 2 buses go the ferry. If we missed the ferry it wouldn't be a problem, but missing the van waiting on the otherside we didn't want to chance.

The van was waiting for us when we got there. So stress free it was wonderful. We loaded up and headed out. We passed out through the bumpiness periodically. The van dropped us right at our soi. Talk about convenience.

Koh Chang was a wonderful trip. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants an escape from highly trafficked islands in Thailand.