Monkeys and Monsoons
Trip Start
Jan 02, 2011
1
32
58
Trip End
Ongoing
Koh Chang, Phangnga, Thailand
Saturday, March 26, 2011
At the port we meet a man who tells us about his guest house on the island. We are unsure and feel slightly pressured to check it out. It appears to be quite far away from everything else but we instantly love it. Mr.Ton has a lovely family and guest house. Every detail of this place was produced thoughtfully and we soon realise we may have the best place on the island. As it is our 5 year anniversary we decide to splash out for a couple of nights in a 400 baht bungalow isolated in the jungle with amazing views and a big terrace. We go for a coffee at reception and spot two dolphins close by. 30 minutes later a hornbill was grooming itself in a tree two metres from us. Such a strange, prehistoric looking animal. We have a hornet trying to make a nest in our hut that we dispose of before walking for an hour through the jungle and across the beach to the only shop on the island. There are no roads on Koh Chang, just a few scattered guest houses and a small village in the centre of the island. Now it is raining very heavy and we get soaked. We eat at a little Italian restaurant, which was very nice but a little pricey.
We relax back at ours with a bottle of Sangsom where we are joined by a German couple, Dirk and Nanshid. There is only 3 hours of electricity so we go to bed when it goes out at 10pm.
27/3/11
Today was a really special day. Celebrating our 5 year anniversary, we eat a great breakfast of omelette, homemade fresh bread with pineapple jam and fresh coffee. At last we feel relaxed from ur epic journey. We went for a walk later around the headland over the rocks to try and spot more dolphins but only see lots of Eagles and Andaman Kites. We bought another bottle of Sangsom and ate at our guest house, Crocodile Rock. We ate a delicious red curry and Mr.Ton and his wife surprised us with a fresh pineapple juice in a decorated pineapple as an anniversary present. We have another drink with the Germans before relaxing on our terrace with music and candlelight.
28/3/11
Had another lovely breakfast and we were joined by Dirk and Nanshid. Mr. Ton has told us that the monsoon is coming today so they have cancelled all boats running between the island and mainland. We aren't too othered as we weren't intending on leaving for another couple of days. The weather is still pretty miserable as it starts to rain and it doesn't stop for days! We spot a few wild monkeys swinging in the trees from our bungalow terrace.
Over the next couple of days we can do nothing but swing in our hammock, read all day and feast on Mrs. Tons tasty cooking, whilst watching the monsoon hammer down. Mr.Ton tells us the full extent of the rains damage in southern Thailand. Floods and mudslides have wiped out villages and killed over 15 people. We start to realise that our 60 day visa run to Vientiane may have been for nothing.
31/3/11
After 5 days of non stop rain, it has eased and we take the opportunity to catch the boat and leave for the mainland. Once there we check the internet to make a decision on our next move. We hear that our next destination, Krabi, is one of the worst hit areas so there is nowhere for us to go except back to Bangkok. Roll on another 11 hour journey. We are not alone and the Germans lead us to a Very nice area of Bangkok, which feels more like a village in the city. As there are limited rooms we check into different places. Our room is full of cockroaches and mosquitos, so we get our money back and check in at Bella Bella Guest House.
We have a drink at Cafe Lampu, the only bar in the neighbourhood, and then walk around the Khao San area. Although we are disappointed not to be on the islands, we look forward to spending more time exploring Bangkok.
Total
26/3/11 £45 Including £11.50 Bus to Ranong and Boat to Koh Chang
27/3/11 £31
28/3/11 £20
29/3/11 £18.50
30/3/11 £19
31/3/11 £38 Including £13 Bus to Bangkok
