Lunch on the beach at Koh Chang - it doesn't get any better

Thailand is obsessed with elephants.  They have been revered in Thailand for centuries, kings have ridden them into battle, people keep them as pets, they are the ever-lasting symbol of Thailand.  And as it happens, one of our favourite places to visit on long weekends is Koh Chang, or Elephant Island.  So when Julie’s youngest sister and her husband were in the neighbourhood we all agreed to spend a few days on this great island.  And no surprise – we rode elephants.

Julie enjoying the view as we cross on the ferry to Koh Chang

But I digress.  Andrew had the good fortune through his job in Sydney to score a contract training job at an industrial site in Rayong, down on the coast south-east of Bangkok.  And this was the perfect excuse for Jacinta to visit us in Bangkok and the four of us to tootle down to Koh Chang for a weekend of sand, sun and swim plus a fair amount of exploration, great food, beautiful scenery and yes, elephants. 

From one of the scenic lookouts on our drive around Koh Chang

Koh Chang is a big island and we used the drive-on drive-off ferry to get our mighty Toyota across the water and amongst the action.  The island is a story of two halves with the western seaboard sporting beautiful beaches, a wide range of resorts, numerous villages and many activities to distract the visitors.  The eastern seaboard is the protected landward side with mainly rocky shorelines, mangroves, very few villages and almost no people.

We spent most of our time exploring the island, which is almost entirely a national park, and used every spare moment to catch up on each other’s lives, share news of friends and family, gossip, exaggerate and laugh.  As is often the case when travelling in Thailand, mealtimes were some of the highlights of each day with vast arrays of exceptional food and extra drinks in beautiful tropical settings.  There were ice creams before lunch, sunset drinks on the beach and huge servings of whole fish, curries and spicy soups for dinner.  As you do.

Fresh chilies cut up and ready for action!

On Sunday we drove down to Bang Bao, the small fishing village on the southern tip of the island, and walked out on the pier through all the shops suspended over the water.  Having distributed quite a few of our Baht amongst most of the shop keepers we found a quiet place up the coast for lunch and then drove to the northern tip for our anticipated appointment with the island’s namesake.

My what a long trunk you have

Julie and I have ridden elephants many times and we never tire of it.  For Andrew and Jacinta this was a unique experience and together we traipsed through the jungle in the safe hands of our mahouts.  The elephants are spookily big but plod along at a slow friendly pace, stopping occasionally to snack on green bits of jungle which are within their trunk’s reach.  All good fun.

Andrew and Jacinta forging through the darkest jungle

But despite the good time on Koh Chang at some stage you have to hit the ferry and return to reality.  Easier said than done at the end of a long weekend and we spent more than enough time waiting our turn before finally making the trip back across to the mainland.  But it’s all part of the Thailand travelling experience and as the locals say, mai pen rai. 

Julie making friends with a spectacular naga at a nearby temple

Koh Chang is a great place to visit but the highlight of the weekend for Julie and I was to spend four days with good friends who also happen to be close family.  Having visitors come to Thailand makes up some of our fondest memories and gives us a great chance to reconnect with everyone back home.  And amongst this great reunion if we also get to explore a beautiful island and ride big animals as well, all the better.

Every good holiday has to come to an end

Survival tactics at our island bungalows