Hammocks, Brits and Flies

Wednesday we awoke to rain.  It rained all morning.  We had pancakes at Paradise cottages hoping the rain would let up, but it didn't.  We asked about how to get a taxi to Kai Bae beach (our next destination) and they offered to have someone drive us up to the taxi stand.  So we took turns riding on the back of a motorbike in the rain.  It was awesome.

Once we got to Kai Bae beach we walked a ways on the beach to find Porn's Bungalows (suggested by our friend Kim).  We checked in for the rest of our trip on the island.  Lunch was at Kai Bae Marina (not an actual marina and not by the water), but nothing terribly interesting.  For the rest of the day we alternated between hanging out on the beach in the hot hot sun and resting at our cottage in the shade with a hammock.  We were literally the only people on the beach.

Dinner again was nothing fantastic, just nourishment.  But we decided to spring for dessert, an amazing baked banana covered in coconut syrup with sesame seeds on top.  It was incredible (if certain textures weird you out, you may not enjoy the banana).

The view from our bungalow

Thursday morning we hung out at the beach some more.  For lunch we found this great restaurant called Morgan. The restaurant is owned by a guy from Essex, Britain, named Richard.  We chatted with him for a bit and it was so lovely to talk with someone who spoke fluent english.  Lunch was excellent and consisted of vegetables I could actually identify.

We ended up back here for dinner as well (after a few more hours down at the beach) and since we were the only customers we chatted with Richard the entire time about island life, traveling and just Thailand in general. He's been living on Koh Chang for six years and loves it.

For dessert we walked up the road and stopped at a stall where a guy was making dessert "pancakes."  We bought a banana chocolate stuffed "pancake" which was actually more of a crepe.  It was delicious!  Although it was disconcerting that he had to flick a dead fly off of our pancake before drizzling it in chocolate syrup, but that is something you just have to get used to here.

In the morning we caught a songthaew to the ferry to a really crappy bus to Bangkok.  But it was a fantastic beach trip.

Beach trip!

Tuesday morning we caught a bus to Koh Chang.  It's an island on the eastern border of Thailand, close to Cambodia.  It took us 5 hours to get to the ferry, then another 30 minutes on the ferry to the island, and then another 30 minute songthaew ride over the mountainous and windy roads to lonely beach.  We were told to stay at Paradise cottages for a night, so we checked in and immediately ordered lunch (it was about 3pm and we hadn't eaten all day).

For 400baht we got 2 twin sized beds pushed together, a fan, and a fully functional bathroom.  The beach was a 10 minute walk down the rocky coast.  Since this is low season, there were very few people on the beach but the water was warm.

For dinner we ate at Paradise cottages again and had good curry and pasta.  We each got a fruit shake as well.  We hung out in the hammocks right at waters edge reading our books (Andy read the Lonely Planet Cambodia guide and I read Running with Scissors, which I had borrowed from Kim).  It was really relaxing.