I am so happy that I made last minute plans to spend my long Father's Day weekend on the island of Koh Chang. The traveling to and from the island was a bit much for the short time we were there, but in the end we we had an amazing time and it was all worth the trouble. A large group of teachers from our school had been talking about going for a few weeks, but when no plans were being made Christina and I decided to go ahead a book for ourselves. We got a round trip bus/ferry ticket for only about $20. The overnight bus to Trat was probably the most uncomfortable ride I've ever taken, and I took many an overnight bus during my travels last year, but it only took 4 hours, so can't complain too much about it. The bus back was actually worse because it was in the middle of the day and took over 6 hours. The transfers to and from the ferry were easy to follow and were only 60/70 baht on land and only 150 baht each way on the island. Not so bad considering the ride was about an hour long. The songtheaw (Covered pickup-truck taxi) was a fun ride on the island. It felt a little like a really long roller coaster twisting around and around the roads wrapping the mountains of the island, crawling slowly up hills wondering if the engine is gonna make it, and then racing down the other other side. All the while we are squeezed on the benches in the back holding on the the metal bars for dear life. It was also pouring rain when we arrived, but even through the torrents we could see the quaint towns, and cottage resorts, and already feel the laid back vibe of the island.
The taxi was nice enough to bring us directly to our resort so we didn't have to walk from town in the rain. We arrived super early in the morning but the couple who owned Cliff Cottages were immediately accommodating. They promised us the first tent that opened up after check out and invited us to have breakfast and relax in the hammocks overlooking the gorgeous little cove and the sea beyond. The tent we were finally placed in sat on the edge of the cliff sideand had a truly spectacular view. It came equipped with a mattress, electric enough for a couple of lights and a fan, and a cooler filled with ice and some comp bottles of water. Unlike some of the other tents, ours even had our own personal hammocks out front. It could not be more perfect.
Once we were rested on day 1 we took up the offer of free kayaks from the resort and went on a 2.5 hour ride along the coast. Sufficiently tired, and also because I was fighting a cold (my 2nd one in about a month- kids are gross), I went to bed around 7PM and slept for about 12 hours. By the morning I was actually feeling much better, so Christina and I went to talk to the owner of the resort and dive shop, Sean, to see if we could sign up to do some diving. I had been filling Christina's head with diving stories for the past few days so she was eager to do a discovery dive. Even though it was only an hour before the boat left Sean worked some magic and got Christina set up with a DSD experience and me with 2 fun dives. The dives were incredible, as I knew they would be. The first was a wreck dive, and we got to actually swim through the ship, which is always cool. The second dive was at a reef, which was also beautiful. The visibility was great, and even through we didn't see anything spectacular or big like a shark or turtle, just being below the water again was magical. I was actually a little disappointed that we didn't see a whale shark because apparently the day before the divers came across one at one of the locations. Oh well. My divemaster, Ben was great and really patient. Because I was still getting over my cold my sinuses were giving me trouble on the way down, and even under the water I was constantly having to equalize and was getting headaches. I was trying to take it as easy as possible, but the others in our group were pretty eager and were all over the place. Ben did a great job though wrangling us underwater and still showing us everything the locations had to offer.
It was another early night for the weary and sickly travelers, but we didn't care because the weekend was turning out just beautiful and completely relaxing. We were sad to leave the next morning, but both vow that we will make it back to the island at some point. Christina did really well in her discovery dive and may go back to get certified. I am also throwing Koh Chang into the ring as a place I may return to get my dive masters. I was talking to Sean and he said he may have an opportunity for me to work at the resort while I am getting my certification with them. Either way, if I go back I would definitely stay at Cliff Cottages again, and I found Sean's diving company, Scuba Dogs, to be fun, safe and professional and would be happy to dive with them again and possibly even get my certification with them. So, we'll see!
The taxi was nice enough to bring us directly to our resort so we didn't have to walk from town in the rain. We arrived super early in the morning but the couple who owned Cliff Cottages were immediately accommodating. They promised us the first tent that opened up after check out and invited us to have breakfast and relax in the hammocks overlooking the gorgeous little cove and the sea beyond. The tent we were finally placed in sat on the edge of the cliff sideand had a truly spectacular view. It came equipped with a mattress, electric enough for a couple of lights and a fan, and a cooler filled with ice and some comp bottles of water. Unlike some of the other tents, ours even had our own personal hammocks out front. It could not be more perfect.
Once we were rested on day 1 we took up the offer of free kayaks from the resort and went on a 2.5 hour ride along the coast. Sufficiently tired, and also because I was fighting a cold (my 2nd one in about a month- kids are gross), I went to bed around 7PM and slept for about 12 hours. By the morning I was actually feeling much better, so Christina and I went to talk to the owner of the resort and dive shop, Sean, to see if we could sign up to do some diving. I had been filling Christina's head with diving stories for the past few days so she was eager to do a discovery dive. Even though it was only an hour before the boat left Sean worked some magic and got Christina set up with a DSD experience and me with 2 fun dives. The dives were incredible, as I knew they would be. The first was a wreck dive, and we got to actually swim through the ship, which is always cool. The second dive was at a reef, which was also beautiful. The visibility was great, and even through we didn't see anything spectacular or big like a shark or turtle, just being below the water again was magical. I was actually a little disappointed that we didn't see a whale shark because apparently the day before the divers came across one at one of the locations. Oh well. My divemaster, Ben was great and really patient. Because I was still getting over my cold my sinuses were giving me trouble on the way down, and even under the water I was constantly having to equalize and was getting headaches. I was trying to take it as easy as possible, but the others in our group were pretty eager and were all over the place. Ben did a great job though wrangling us underwater and still showing us everything the locations had to offer.
It was another early night for the weary and sickly travelers, but we didn't care because the weekend was turning out just beautiful and completely relaxing. We were sad to leave the next morning, but both vow that we will make it back to the island at some point. Christina did really well in her discovery dive and may go back to get certified. I am also throwing Koh Chang into the ring as a place I may return to get my dive masters. I was talking to Sean and he said he may have an opportunity for me to work at the resort while I am getting my certification with them. Either way, if I go back I would definitely stay at Cliff Cottages again, and I found Sean's diving company, Scuba Dogs, to be fun, safe and professional and would be happy to dive with them again and possibly even get my certification with them. So, we'll see!
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Goofing off in the Japanese Mall in Bangkok before our overnight bus trip.
Hello Kitty vomited all over the bus.
This happened the moment we got there.
Our glamping tent at Cliff Cottages
The view from our tent
The other view
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