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Ao Nang to Bangkok was an eventful journey to say the least. After four different bus trips and a 3hr stop due to one of the buses breaking down, we finally make it to Bangkok! The 16hr journey was the worst we have endured since starting our trip.
With a quick overnight stop on Khao San Road we are so glad to be there and meet up with Sam and Jen, who had a less eventful trip from Koh Tao.
Our tickets are booked and in the morning we are leaving for Koh Chang. We arrive at the island after the 7hr mini bus ride; I leave my bag with Jade and head off with Sam to find some cheap accommodation on white sand beach. The sun is stifling and the sea is the clearest I have yet to see on my travels. We reach the first guest house called "Pen's" (after a string of expensive looking hotel resorts), huts that are just 50m from the sea, tucked away in the dense forest. A guy shows us to our room; it is metal shell of a box room with a mattress on the floor… very basic. I quote myself saying that "this is quite possibly the worst place that we have stayed, but yet perfect all the same!" and there is just enough room to swing a cat in here too! Sam and Jen weren't as lucky finding a room (maybe due to Jen's obsession with having a swimming pool??) and so are staying in the town a 10 minute walk away from our guest house.
The next few days are spent on the beach, mostly managing to avoid the sporadic downpours. Sam and I are enjoying bat and ball competitions and using our snorkel's (unsuccessfully) whilst the girls lap up the rays on the stunning beach and floating around the calm waters on the lilos.
After the girls have had their sun fix we all rent out motorbikes for the day, I love these kinds of day as it is cheap and a real good way to see the islands. The roads could be likened to a roller coaster track; winding lots, ridiculously steep and with sheer drops on the other side. Jade who was on the back did not like this one bit and even more so when it started to rain. We stop off at a view point high on the coast, the weather has cleared and makes spectacular viewing across to the other Islands in the distance. Now heading to a small secluded beach below the view point, Sam and I went for a snorkel but did not see much at all. Next stop Bang Bao beach. Bang Bao is an Idyllic beach located on the southern tip of Koh Chang; Jade obviously loving the tanning time whilst Sam and I attempt to find some fish whilst snorkelling well no luck with the fish, but great snorkelling all the same. So with Jade satisfied with her sun worshipping session, I drop her back to meet Jen who had left us half way throughout the day when the short rain shower came!
So Sam and I travelled around to the other side of the Island which is luscious and green and not so many tourists; a far cry from the west coast of the Island. It seems that this where the locals reside, although there are a few small resorts dotted around. We reach the end of the road and it was a breath-taking view; an extraordinarily long pier lay in the centre of a gigantic lake and housed a lighthouse. With the huge mountainside behind us it was a picture perfect moment. Sam and I are so glad we ventured down just before the sun was setting on the other side of the island.
Jade is so excited about elephant trekking, and to be honest I am too. It is pouring with rain but even that isn't enough to dampen our spirits, our transport arrives to pick us up, Jen and Sam made it by the skin of their teeth! We arrive at the trekking centre and straight away notice these huge placid beasts; well it is hard not to notice them! Jade is beaming with excitement, pinching my hands with joy! We are watching the elephants being prepared with seats, whilst we chomp on pineapple. We are all called over and alight the elephant. This is a first for Jade and I and wow does it seem high!!! As the elephant gracefully trundles off, the mahout (the elephants leader) tells us all about Seenit our elephant for the day. Seenit: she is 34yrs old and the largest elephant at the trekking centre; she eats over 2000kg a day and costs on average £20 a day just to satisfy her hunger. We are very lucky to have such an informative mahout as some of the others do not seem as fun. Now making our way through the dense jungle, it is just fantastic, jade and I are so happy even with the torrential rain there was nothing that could stop our smiles. Seenit was amazing… posing for shots; lifting her trunk up and even squirting the elephant in front, whenever her mahout asked her to. She even allowed us to clamber around on her head and ride her, much to our delight. Jade jumped at the chance to have a go first and marvelled at the "freckly" and prickly skin. We wondered if their weird hairs ever need cutting. Note: remember to google this! Other than Seenit occasionally picking up mud and blowing it back all over herself (to satisfy an itch apparently) we were bounced along very gently and considerately for the rest of our trek. Unlike a few other elephants, may I add, who wanted to play and eat anything that she came into contact with…. The mahout laughed and said that they were baby elephants who liked to play… "Just like humans". So now after all the fun of riding this gentile creature, we get to feed her some bananas which she really enjoyed! Her trunk reaching out to grab the tasty morsels… elephants trunks are so strange winding round and grabbing the fruit and chucking it in their mouth! Following a quick refreshment, we followed two elephants to the river to wash them. The river is so cool and refreshing; I have forgotten my swimming shorts so I have to go in my boxer shorts! The two elephants are now getting scrubbed silly by us. This is such a tremendous experience for us both and we get on top of the elephant to pose for pictures. Such a fantastic day, Jade and I cannot believe the day we have had, and now we head back to spend Jen and Sam's last day in Koh Chang before they head back to Bangkok to fly home!
Now with Jen and Sam regrettably departed, we spend the day planning the next part of adventure Cambodia here we come!
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