Jimmy and Lamia saw us off and we spent the day (not a night bus this time, but 8:00am to 7:00pm) getting to the town of Trat near the Cambodian boarder. We spent the night at a very simple but clean and safe hotel. In the morning we took a taxi to the ferry which took us to Ko Chang an island beach tourist spot. Thai islands are renowned for being beautiful so we had high expectations. Our first day did not live up to what we expected. We went to stay at a place recommended in the guide book. It was run down and a dead rat was by the front entrance to our bungalow. The ants moved it a few inches while we were there. The place was on a lagoon and was very swampy so the mosquitos were viscous. The bungalow was two story with the bathroom downstairs. The beach was a walk away and in front of the fancy resort next door. Dave and I left Anika at the computer in the office and went to find a better place to stay the next night. After a couple of stops we found something and booked it for the next night.
Once we got out of the Blue Lagoon (yep that was the name of the first place with the dead rat) and to KB Resort things started to turn around. Our new bungalow is between the beach and the pool. The place is well kept with gardeners working on it everyday which is kind of necessary in this tropical climate. Anika insisted on a do nothing the first day so we lounged around. We have done some exploring since but relaxing has become our new focus. I am sleeping better than I have in years.
We did hike to a rushing water fall the day after cracking thunder storms in the night. To give an example of how developed Thailand is in comparison to other developing countries we have been to let me describe the waterfall situation. It is in a national park so you pay an entrance fee (20b, less than a dollar for Thai's, 200b around 7$ for Foreigners) There is a visitors center that looks kept up with information in Thai and English. There is a well marked trail to the falls. In the morning the falls were closed because the water was so high and rough. By the time we got to them in the afternoon there were two park rangers at the falls making sure no one went to close. And they had rescue equipment. The water was still gushing and impressive. In our Latin American travels we have never seen anything this organized.
We took a kayak out on the ocean one day to a small island off the coast. Mostly we have been playing in the pool and in the ocean, which is the perfect temperature where you could stay in forever. Many days have been about eating, playing in the pool and ocean and reading or resting.
We went on another elephant experience this time a trek. We rode elephants through the forest, feed them and even bathed them in a stream. They like to be brushed on their big heads. On the trek we got to sit on the elephants head like a mahout. I am amazed by these creatures and how they communicate with their mahout. The jungle was beautiful. We saw rubber trees where they were extracting the rubber which I have never seen before. It looked kind of like collecting maple syrup. The other elephant experince we had was by accident. We got out of the ocean and looked down the beach. There were two baby elephants going into the ocean. We went over and watched them play in the water, rolling around and climbing on top of each other like little children. Then they decided they were done and got out. Their mahout ran after them yelling at them like two toddlers who weren't listening to him. Now that is something we would not see at home.
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| Lysa's big friend |
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| Giving the elephant a scrub |
We learned some interesting facts about this island. Until 1999 there was no
road and like parts of Mexico you had to go from village to village by boat. The west coast got a road in 1999 and that sped up development. Then after the tsunami hit Phuket in 2004 much of the tourism was moved here. There was a boom for a while until 2008 when the world economic crisis cut downtime number of tourists. But the development kept going. It reminds me of parts of Hawaii and Mexico where there is just one resort /hotel after another along the coast. The road around the island is very narrow and it must be crazy in the busy season. We can not help but compare it to other places we have been and to wonder about other islands here. It seems your choices here are very touristy and built up or very undeveloped with not much to do, no in between. Planned development is not happening.
We have been here about ten days. There has been a lot of rain the last few days so we are ready to go. Tomorrow we leave for Cambodia and Angkor Wat for a four day three night tour. Then its back to Bangkok and on to Bali.
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