(Otherwise known as a trip to Ko Chang, Thailand.)

Hello to everyone who say I only write " Nothing new here, talk to you later, Dave", or (awgas),

This is a short account of a recent trip Kong and I took to a resort island off the west coast, of the most southern part of Thailands eastern seaboard. 22Apr02, I booked a packaged tour for 4 days and 3 nights with a travel agent leaving at 8:00am, Tuesday the 23^rd.

23Apr02, 8:00am: The mini van (10 passengers) arrives on time and Kong and I are the only two passengers. It is about a four hour drive to Ko Chang. Ten minutes into the ride I realize that I violated a basic travel rule. I forgot to bring along the toilet paper.

Half way there we have a twenty minute pit stop at a place called Ko Samat, (another resort destination), to pick up 5 more passengers. The twenty minute break was good as Kong had something to eat and we looked around a little. At first I thought our new passengers were going to be 6 drunk German guys. However we got two Scandinavian couples and some other guy. We left Ko Samet about 10:25. The new passengers (back-packers) cranked up the boom-box and the driver stopped and said to them it was "OK" if they kept it "not so loud". Which they did. The rest of the ride was pleasant.

We arrived at the ferry pier at Ko Chang about 12:30pm and the van left. Boat departure was scheduled for 1:00. At 12:50, we were informed that we were at the wrong pier. We then took a taxi. (A taxi of the type, ½ ton, short bed, pick-up truck with seats and a roof for baggage) to a pier about a half mile away. The ferry boat was a 50-60 foot long fishing boat. It got underway at 1:15pm, and on it were about 75 people, mostly Thai’s (no chickens, pigs, goats etc…). The 25 minute ride took 45 minutes, which was OK with me.

At the Ko Chang ferry landing there were many taxis waiting to take people to different places. Each taxi would wait until it had at least 15 passengers and gear onboard before it left. The taxi ride was something else. Very hilly with many switch-back turns to get over the mountain. At one point I thought we would have to get off the taxi so it would make it over the top of the mountain.

We checked in at the Paloma Resort at 3:00. About 4:00, after settling in, I discovered I lost my glasses. Kong went up to the road a couple of hundred yards from the room and found them. I dropped them while unloading our gear.

Was disappointed at first, that while our bungalow was only 50 feet from the ocean there were only rocks instead of beach. We walked about a quarter mile to the nearest nice, sandy beach just for a look around and had lunch at one of the many places on the beach.

5:30, went back to the room. Originally it would have been a nice size bungalow, but it was divided into two. So our neighbors were quite close. The room was sparse, but did have a comfortable bed, a small wardrobe and a fan. We sat on the porch for a couple of hours and battled the dreaded "twilight" mesquito’s (the dengue fever kind). There wasn’t a mesquito problem during the day, at night or in the room. I also had plenty of bug spray. "Don’t leave home without it".

About 7:00, we went for a walk on the only road. There is no public transportation to speak of. There is no town to speak of. But several roadside stands, curio shops, restaurants, a couple of Pubs etc… Not much night life. 8:00, went back to the resort restaurant for dinner, which was very good. Scheduled a boat trip for Wednesday morning. 9:00, sat by the sea shore for an hour then called it a day.

Wednesday, the 24^th: Up at 7:00am, breakfast at 8:00. The 9:00 taxi to the pier showed up at 9:30. Eight of us got to the pier soaking wet. It rained so hard the boat wouldn’t go out. I have seen some rain before, but this was 2^nd to none. On the way back to the resort, Kong and I got off half way back. She did some roadside shopping and I got a hair cut (scissors only, complete with all the hair pulling etc...45 minutes) Kong ate again. We got back to the room about 1:00pm and the day was beautiful. We went to the beach, swam, snacked, swam some more and Kong ate again. About 7:00, dressed for dinner, (T-shirt, Joe Camel Shorts and Flip-Flops). We found a Pizza Palace and it turned out it was the best pizza I have had in Thailand. Got back to the room about 9:30 and sat by the sea side for awhile just looking at the stars and fishing boats. 10:30, called it a day.

Thursday, the 25^th: Again up at 7:00am, breakfast at 8:00. The 9:00 taxi for the boat trip showed up at 9:30. The same eight of us were there. The boat sailed at 10:10 for what I thought was only a 3 hour ride around the island ($6.00/person, minimum 4 people). I didn’t learn until later that it was a snorkeling trip, 6 hours ($15.00)/ person, minimum 8 people) and the other people needed Kong and I to make the minimum. They paid the difference just so the boat would go.

Memo to myself, "don’t try to teach someone (Kong) how to snorkel for the first time in deep water". The first place we stopped was OK, but several other boats showed up. We got underway for another spot and was alone for the rest of the day. A crab boat came alongside and everyone bought fresh crabs. Our boat Captain cooked about 10 pounds of crab and we all had a feast. For the next 4 hours we swam, snorkeled and ate. By then Kong was an expert snorkel-er and I couldn’t get her out of the water. We got back to the room about 4:30pm.

I have a little side story to put in this letter, but I don’t know where to fit it in, so I’ll do it here. At breakfast it was getting quite hot (no fans or a/c). Kong went into the bushes and picked a big leaf that worked excellent for a fan. During the taxi ride and on the boat, and every time there wasn’t a breeze, she would fan me. Also while the others (European ???) struggled cracking there crab, Kong, who can clean a crab with the best, was hand feeding me the best parts of the crab and fanning me. I just don’t know why those thin skinned jerks got pissed-off. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?

Anyway back to the trip. We got back to the room about 4:30 and took a short rest. 6-6:30, I tried to get some sunset pictures, none turned out. We took another short walk and ended up at the resort restaurant for dinner and the food was very good. About 8:30, we sat at the sea side again and watched a terrific lightning storm for a couple of hours. At 10:30 we called it a day.

Friday the 26^th: Up at 7:00am again, went to breakfast at 8:00. At 9:00 we checked out and ordered a taxi ($10.00)to take us to the ferry pier. The girl at the desk in no uncertain terms, didn’t suggest, but almost demanded that we wait for her taxi ($0.75). I said "OK". I wanted to catch the 11:00 ferry because we had reservations for a 12:00pm mini-van back to Pattaya. The ferry left on time for the 25 minute ride but didn’t get to the to the other side until 12:10pm. Then another taxi ride to the van pick up point, so we missed our scheduled ride. The 1:00 van was over booked so we missed that one also. At 1:30 a van with two seats came by and we took that one. The van took 2 side trips to drop off what I’m sure was the drivers friends or relatives. Halfway back to Pattaya, Kong had the driver stop at a roadside fruit & vegetable place and that took another 20 minutes. About 3:30 the driver got lost taking a shortcut. I know this because I got lost there myself on the motorbike. We got back to Jomtien at 6:00. Kong went to bed, I went to the KR Bar.

All in all it was a good trip. Am looking forward to doing it again, probably in July, 2043.

Regards to All,

Dave

Ps. And that Mr. Davies is why I’m one day late paying the rent.