Island in the Sun

"We have to go back Kate! We have to go baaaaaack! "- Jack Shephard, Lost

With another four-day weekend on the calendar, the time was ripe for some traveling. Some friends and I decided to hit up the island of Koh Chang. The trip began with a light 5-hour bus ride to the coastal town of Trat. After a quick ferry across the pond, we rented motorbikes and began the trek to find a guesthouse.

I think this might be the most beautiful place I've been to in Thailand. It's the third largest island in the country and has everyone from partying backpackers to families on vacations. The west side of the island is the more touristy area with many hotels, bars, and restaurants that hug the beach. Since this is the low season for tourism in Thailand (it's always hot and rainy) the island was fairly empty. This made the island much quieter and way more relaxing. That being said, there were these signs plastered everywhere on the island that said, "Taste of International Nightlife." Next to the catchphrase was a picture of a white guy in a straw hat dancing with an Asian woman. Exactly what international nightlife tastes like.

We found a guesthouse to stay at that was right on the beach. It was 200 baht a night but we had three people in the room, so it only came out to 200 baht per person for the whole stay. That's $ 6.22 for three nights- probably the best bargain I've had in Thailand. To be fair the room was not the most luxurious (mosquito netting did not quite fit the bed, one electric outlet, some plaster fell off the wall when I yanked a towel away), but it had a roof and that's always enough.

We spent the next day exploring the beaches and town. Check it out.

Restaurant with glass tables over the ocean eyyyyyyy

Theses little dudes were all about splash fights

The last day we biked along the east part of the island. This has a very different feel as there are very few accessible beaches, or hotels. Its rolling mountains and forests are very similar to northern Thailand. This drive was absolutely stunning and I nearly forgot how cramped my butt was on the motorbike.

Just a straight-up giant hole in the road. I've given up asking questions in Thailand.

We eventually got all the way to the bottom of the island- but the road didn't connect all the way around! Why ??? Why ??? Our guess was that there was too steep a mountain to connect the road- look how close it is! Again, I've given up on the questions.

The drive back was so beautiful anyway that it really wasn't a big deal. We were all pretty bummed we had to go home at the end. There was such a relaxing and exciting feel to the island that a couple more days would have been perfect. But as Biggie Smalls once said, "Mo money, mo problems." Ferry- Song-Taew Ride- bus ride- train- taxi- back home. A hot shower never felt so good.

With midterms over I'm down to my final stretch in Thailand! I've booked four flights till I'm home: Bangkok to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City to Bali, Bali to Bangkok, and Bangkok to Chicago. Looking forward to a few weeks of budgeting, travel planning, and eating as much Thai food as I can.

Mark