Koh Chang

Aaaah, island paradise....Shannon, Lauren M., Jenn and I headed to Koh Chang for a quick weekend get-away. Friday December 5th was the King's Birthday which was a holiday here in Thailand!. Sweet, no work! So we decided to head to Koh Chang (the 2nd largest island in Thailand). We took an 11:30pm bus Thursday night from Bangkok to Trat (about a 4 hour trip) from there we hopped on a 6:30am ferry to the island. Enroute to the island we were able to see an absolutely stunning sunrise. Heaven I say.

Once off the boat we took a 'Sawngthaew' (pronounced song-tail). A Sawngthaew is a pick-up truck with two benches in the back where people ride. The ride is bumpy but fun and you have a great view of your surroundings. And what a view! The blue-green water and the forest from the top of the island was gorgeous. 75% of this island remains untouched rain forest, not only that but the island has some breathtaking waterfalls.
So we found a bungalow to stay at, grabbed a bite to eat and played cards (Euchre) for a bit (all this before noon). We then got ready for a day at the beach. While chilling at the beach we decided to go kayaking. We rented two kayaks (for a 100 baht an hour = equal to about $3 usd) and headed to a close by little undeveloped island. Later that day/night we saw the sunset over the water.

Aaah man, a glorious sunrise and beautiful sunset in the same day...wow! I am one lucky gal. After dinner, we all were pretty exhausted so we decided on massages near the beach and calling it a night. Damn near perfect day, if you ask me!
Saturday we headed to Koh Chang Marine National Park to hike up to the Klon Plu Waterfall.

Afterwards, we ventured to the beach for an afternoon/evening of relaxation.
Sunday morning we got up and seriously had about 5 minutes of water time as we needed to be on the noon ferry to catch our 2:20pm bus back to Bangkok. Boo, time to get back to reality. But that's okay as Wednesday is another holiday (Thai Constitutions Day) and we have the day off. And then, and then, and then....this coming weekend my momma comes to THAILAND!!! YAHOO!