Koh Chang Archipelago Islands

The first "set" of Thai islands the Prancers explored were the Koh Chang Archipelago islands amist the Gulf of Thailand. We boarded our ferry enroute to the popular large island of Koh Chang, after doing some research on where to find a somewhat still deserted beautiful beach there. But..... luckily we met Rhett! Rhett was a cool 20-something year old from Alaska doing some traveling himself and heading back to the island of Koh Wai for the second time in just a matter of months. After chatting with him during the 2.5 hour ferry ride, we changed our minds and hopped off on Koh Wai with him. Wow, what a great decision that was!

The magical island of Koh Wai was perfectly serene; just what the Prancers longed for after months of tiresome travel through SE Asia. Quiet, relaxed, and tropical, Koh Wai immediately revived us after days of feeling worn out and exhausted from the everyday life and decision making of the mainland. Koh Wai is very small, only a couple places to stay along the east coast beach and nothing planned to do. The days consisted of just what the doctor had ordered for the taxed traveling pair: REST, RELAXATION, AND MEDITATIVE ACTIVITY!!! We kicked up our aching feet at Koh Wai Paradise (the name says it all) and rented a small bungalow on stilts with nothing but a bed and mosquito net (all you need in the islands). The ocean was our daily bath (salty though) and we wore the same thing day in and day out: our suits!!! We woke up leisurely and fill our days of swimming in the turquoise crystal clear waters with white sand, walking to the other side of the island (notice the picture with a gigantic spider we almost walked face first into during the walk!), kayaking around the perimeter of the island with leisurely plunges into the romantic sparkling waters, snorkeling in amazing coral reef, doing yoga in the sand, playing cards, drinking coconuts, and eating wonderful local food morning, noon, and night. Our bodies and minds got quite rejuvenated, and unfortunately - we believe - we cut our glorious stay on the remote island a little too short, excited to move on and see what else the Gulf waters held for us...

***One more thing to note from the set of pictures we chose: Jill pulling down her pants and hanging out the window! Obviously, there are MANY MANY details we leave out of these journal posts, mainly for time sake. We wish all of you could experience (or at least view) the daily activities and situations we are confronted by and also what we create to do in our "spare time". But that isn't possible.... SO, just to let you in on one little funny tidbit, whenever we don't have a bathroom close by or in our room, Jill has decided to create quicker ways to let 'er drip in the middle of the night. On Koh Wai, Jill found the window to be quite convenient and handy on a nightly basis :) This is just one of the examples of how the bathroom situations in Asia can be quite funny.

We said our goodbyes to the locals and hopped onto our next ferry ride, directly to the major island of the archipelago: Koh Chang. Boy was that a downer!!! Immediately we were hit with "island" prices, TOURISTS galore, shop after shop of tours, cheap tailors, cheap goods, and just your typical everyday island affair.... quite a difference from our Koh Wai secluded haven. But, The Prancers make the best of everything.... we found a few things on the island to please us as we took in the scenery, laughed at western men playing golf ON the beach and carting around their thai hookers, and the Indian tailor dudes whom all use the same line to try to lure each and every walker-by into their "custom-made suit" shop.

The first day on Koh Chang we ported at a real fishing village set on a pier called Bang Bao. We found "Paradise" (the name worked for us on Koh Wai) a 4-room guesthouse right on the wooden pier and checked in amidst the blazing sun. WOW, it was a hot one that day! Our nitnoi ("little" in thai language) room barely had enough space to set our backpacks down and we could see the water in between the wood slates comprising the floor. We set out to eat lunch next door with fresh seafood galore being brought straight in from the ocean right before our eyes. Jill had fresh scallops that day and Tommy had a yummy coconut, banana milkshake, our best one yet in Asia! We walked up the pier, snapping pictures of local fish and crabs for sale and rented a motorbike to start exploring the scorching island. Quickly enough the Prancers found out WHY this island is known for it's dangerous roads and fatal accidents. Tommy is getting quite good at driving the non-auto motorbikes, but not until that day did we realize how hard it can be to climb a very steep hill with over 90-degree curves. We came to a complete stop on the first hill we attempted to climb out of the fishing village. As we revved up again, the front tire bucked up in mid-air. Jill leapt off the back of the bike as our water bottles plummeted into the air and Tom tried to calm the son of a gun bike which was out of control and going straight for Jill! Luckily as it turned on its side Tom gained control, still grasping the handle bars and brought it to a hault just before nicking Jill in the butt.......... The Prancers were very shook up and felt quite uneasy the rest of the day of exploration.

The next few nights we moved up the island and found a new place to stay with a beach to walk along, taking in a couple swims and an afternoon relaxing in the sand. We were getting quite bored of the scene and decided to shake a leg, leaving these islands, hoping to utilize the time later in the South Islands on the Andaman Sea... We ferried back to our port on the mainland and hopped onto a A/C bus bound for Bangkok........ Finally! The Prancers managed to make it almost 3 months in Asia without going to one of the world's largest cities. And then come the blurry days of a rushing city scene!!!!