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Koh Chang

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May 4th 5th and 6th 2000

Wow, what a place! The journey was a pain in the bum but I enjoyed my stay here. I had been dying to go after Luc went and told me about it, so I feel like I've scratched that particular "itch". Will I go back there? I don't know yet. If you take away the waterfalls and greenery it is much the same as islands that are easier to get to. Plus the trek through the jungle wouldn't be appreciated by my kids, I think and the malaria issue is one I have to consider with them in mind. All the same it was a fantastic two days.

	Here's an outside view of my beach bungalow. The beach was a short walk away. When the taxi dropped me off he had taken me to Lagoon Resort. I was booked into Lagoona Resort. A further 8 km down the road so I hired a moped for the weekend. I put more than 130km on it in two days.
	This a view through my front door. That thing hanging from the ceiling was my mosquito net. A neccesity in Koh Chang as it is malarial (If there is such a word) The road around the island is not complete yet, "Maybe next year" a local told me. I went as far as I could on what passed as a road. It was more like a lunar landscape, making it a bit scary.
	Another view of my bed. The rooms were all very new but the resort itself was not finished and a long way from all the best restaraunts and bars on White Sand Beach. So my moped got some heavy use.
	On my first afternoon I went for a little ride just to see what was there. I found this small bungalow place and stopped for a sleep on the beach in the sun. It was late afternoon so I knew I couldn't get too burnt. The bungalows were basic. Matresses on the floor, shared toilet block, no electricity or running water. But the prices reflected that, 150 baht per night (£2.50, $4.00, 15zl, etc) Compared to my 1000 baht per night luxury.
	This is the beach at Lagoona Resort. The resort was built in a lagoon (surprise surprise) and a small inlet filled up when the tide came in. Some of the bungalows were on stilts over the water. But when the tide was out they were on stilts over mud flats.
	This is the pool at the bottom of the Khlong Phu Waterfalls. It was 15 minute ride from my bungalow and then, normally, a 15 minute walk through to jungle to get to this spot. I followed a group of locals assuming they knew the way. They didn't and we ended up hiking up a huge hill in the jungle for 20 minutes when if we had walked straight on for a further 100 meteres we would have been at the bottom of the waterfalls. My legs still haven't recovered.
	This is the view looking up the waterfall. There are three sets of waterfalls on the island but this is the easiest one to reach (If you don't take any unneccesary detours)
	Here I am taking a cooling dip in the pool at the bottom of the waterfalls. One of the locals, who I had followed up the hill, took this and a few other pictures for me. There were a lot of locals visiting Koh Chang with it being a holiday weekend. A much higher ratio compared to Koh Samet which was 90% round eyes like me.
	That tired looking figure sitting on the rock by the waters edge is me. It was hard work swimming in the pool as the water was flowing fast. Some people were climbing up the rock face and doing fancy dives into the water (See first pic). I had trouble just climbing out of the water as the rocks were very slippery with lichen or moss. I slid back about 5 times before I managed to haul myself out of the water.
	If you look closely you will see me in my faded red shorts standing on a rock in the middle of the picture. After I got back to my moped I bought some barbecued chicken and shared it with the dogs that were sitting under my table.
	My final picture at the waterfalls was an attempt at a close up of the top of the falls.
	This is White Sand Beach where I went both evenings I was on Koh Chang. It stretches for miles and there are loads of small bungalow operations set in the treeline. On Friday night I was eating on the sand outisde a small bar talking to other tourists and watching a fire juggling display. You sit on small rugs that are laid out on the sand, they give you a few cushions as well to get comfortable. Unfortunately I got too comfortable and fell asleep. The barman woke me up at 2:00am as he collected the last of the glasses off the tables. The beach was deserted I was the last tourist on it. Then I had a 25 minute moped ride back to my bungalow.
	I found this empty beach on Friday afternoon. I had bought a second hand book from the local supermarket, "The World According To Garp" by John Irving. I sat down here and read and read. I've nearly finished it, I can't put it down. Highly recommended.