Ko Chang

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The north of Thailand is blanketed in a smoky haze, so we have changed our original plans and headed for an island getaway in the south. We had the pick of the islands but decided to go for Ko Chang for its proximity to Bangkok and due to it having some good beachfront accomodation.

After a short hop from Bangkok we landed near to our proposed hotel after dark. It wasn't a good start as we were dropped off 600 metres away from our hotel and had to walk down the really steep road to the resort with all our bags, arriving as sweaty messes at reception. However, things soon improved as we settled into our air-con cabin near the end of the beach.

An island of beautiful beaches and unspoilt rainforest

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We are staying at the White Sands Beach resort which is right at the north end of the busiest beach on the island. This gives us the best of both worlds - we can go into the resort if we want bars and restaurants or we can stay in our resort for a bit of peace and tranquility.

Our first day was spent on the beach, reading and having a nice swim in the sea. I indulged myself further by buying a hammock which was then strung up across the porch of our cabin. Then, with a beer in hand we could sit and watch the sun go down - it doesn't get much better than this.

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This island is also great for snorkelling. We went on a full day trip to some of the small islands to the south of Koh Chang. There were some coral atolls where you could swim all the way around an island. The water was crystal clear and there were lots of fish and attractive soft corals.

We also took the opportunity to visit the Ban Kwan Chang elephant camp. Having had a go once in Laos, we decided to spend some more time with the elephants. We went on an hour's trek, then we could feed the elephants and finally we got to go and bathe them. So there we were, scrambling on top of these elephants, giving them a good scrub and getting a shower from their trunks in the process. It was a really good trip and a great way to finish our visit to Koh Chang.