Pie Ko Chang! (Go to “Elephant Island”!)

Zach, Rich and I just took six days off and headed down to Southeastern Thailand to Ko Chang, Thailand’s second-largest island. It took several methods of transportation and about twenty hours to get there but it was definitely worth it. One of the funniest parts of our journey was the night bus from Chum Phae (near Phu Khieo) to Bangkok. The “VIP” bus made the trip in seven hours or so . . . but this included a 2am stop for food! I didn’t make it off the bus at 2am on the way down, but I did explore my options on the way back. It seems that all of these buses brake for food like this, and you can get a variety of Thai dishes to go, ice cream, chips, baked goods, etc.

A decent part of our vacation was spent lounging on the beach. It was so nice to go someplace warm and tropical for a few days to rejuvenate, so we all enjoyed relaxing in the sand, swimming in the sea, and reading. We also made a point of eating really well. Several of you have asked about the food here, and I promise I will devote a future entry solely to this subject, but in brief, the food at the sanctuary can be pretty bland- a lot of rice, egg, and boiled cucumber. We always enjoy the opportunity to get good Thai curries, seafood, and Western food when we leave the sanctuary, and Ko Chang was good for all of these.

I enjoyed going to little backpacker restaurants overlooking the water, especially for breakfast before most of the rest of the island was awake (see photos in the next entry). Where we stayed on the island catered to the backpacker lifestyle and there were many people our age exploring Thailand this way. We even met some Americans who work in Chang Mai, the big city in Northwestern Thailand.

We didn’t spend all of our time vegging out in the sun, though. One of the first days on the island we rented motor scooters (not to be confused with the motorbikes we drive to work) and drove up to Klong Phu Falls. While there is a decent amount of development along the coast on the western side of the island, the interior is protected as a national park and has several waterfalls. Klong Phu is one of the largest, and swimming in the cool, clear water was a great way to get into vacation mode. We also took our bikes down to the southern tip of the island to Bang Bao, a fishing village. Many of the houses are built on stilts above the water, and there are great views of the smaller islands south of Ko Chang. There is even a lighthouse you can climb up into!

Another day, Rich and I went elephant trekking, which is about as amazing as it sounds. We had heard good things about the elephant camp in the north of the island, so we braved the songathew journey with the hills and switchbacks to go to Baan Kwan elephant camp. (“Songathew” refers to any vehicle having two rows of seating in the back; it can be a bus but in this case it was a pickup truck.) Rich and I boarded a large, 26-year old female elephant for a walk through some orchards and forest. Our elephant enjoyed taking dust baths and then a wet bath when we crossed a stream! We were really, really high up above the ground and the ride rocked us from side to side. Rich and I each got a chance to “drive” by sitting on our elephant’s neck. The mahout (elephant keeper) and the elephant have a great relationship- the elephants respond to verbal cues so our mahout would literally walk in front of the elephant when one of us was driving and say “maa, maa, maa” which means “come” in Thai. There were only four elephants on our tour and it was a nice, quiet way to see a different type of Thai forest. After our ride, we fed our elephants green bananas by hand and then took a few down to the river for a swim. Only one other person besides Rich and I got into the water with the elephants. We got to scrub them down and as I was on the back of one the mahout gave the elephant the command to spray me with her trunk-twice! Then they said, “let’s go” and I drove the elephant back to camp in my bathing suit. Rich has got lots of pictures- I’ll post them as soon as I can!

The last day we were in Ko Chang we went snorkeling. We had heard rumors about “shipwreck snorkeling” and that is pretty much what it looked like. There is a marine reserve around Ko Chang that has some level of national park protection, but most of the snorkel boats go to the same few islands in the same order, so it can be very crowded in the water. When you couple that with the fact that most of the Thais snorkel in t-shirts and shorts, wear life jackets, and don’t move far from the boat, to anyone driving by it does look like everyone has just abandoned a sinking ship! Rich, Zach and I were able to swim around the islands to get away from most of the people, so it wasn’t too bad. There aren’t too many large fish, but I did see several species of parrotfish, an angelfish, Christmas tree worms in all sorts of colors, brightly-colored clams, houndsfish, and a huge sea cucumber. The coral isn’t particularly colorful but it was in a lot better shape than I had originally anticipated. I also took out a kayak at one of the islands and paddled around to see some pineapples, crabs, and birds.

Too soon it was time for the journey home. The transportation went as follows: songathew truck to the north of Ko Chang, ferry to Trat, minibus to bus station, VIP bus to Ekkamai in Bangkok, skytrain across town, taxi to Mo Chit, VIP bus to Chum Phae, songathew bus to Lui Lai, Macaque mobile to Tung Ka Mang. It’s been a long day and the work hasn’t even started yet!