First of all, we can't believe it's been over a month since we've updated the blog... sorry for delay. The past month has been busy with travels and very little school (no complaints here). In the beginning of July we had almost a full week off of school so we decided to head to Koh Chang "Elephant Island" in the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia.
Unfortunately, it took a while to get there, but the long travels were a distant memory once we stepped foot on the amazing island. High peaks covered in tropical greens greeted us upon arrival and the white sand beaches dotted with restaurants were just steps away from our hotel. Luckily, tourism has had an effect on the island and Western/European restaurants were more common than we see in our area of Thailand. Mexican food, margaritas, and traditional Italian pizza were our escapes. Yet we did not pass up the opportunity to have fresh seafood and Thai dishes with fresh cashews.
The highlight of our time on Koh Chang was the opportunity to go elephant trekking in the hills. Our two-hour + journey began with our arrival at the traditional elephant village tucked away in the hills, drenched in a pouring rain. As we watched the elephants be "saddled" up for the day, our anticipation grew. Our ride was incredible as we journeyed into the rain forest, over streams and through a river.
The guide who rode on the head of the elephant jumped off and took some great photos of us on the elephant (see below). Although our elephant was a younger and smaller one of the group, it still put us about 10 feet in the air. At one point, I had the opportunity to ride on the head of the elephant as we neared back to camp and "Queen Amye" had the throne to herself. It was a struggle to balance on the head, and with nothing to hold on to, I had to straddle the elephant's head with my knees.
Once back to camp, we learned it was time for some of the elephants to bathe and we walked down to the river and watched as two large elephants walked right in and only their heads and backs were visible. Although we didn't have our swimsuits, we decided to jump in just for the chance to swim with elephants. We climbed on the back of one, scrubbing and splashing with water to help bathe. As I climbed off the elephant's back, he was instructed to climb out of the river and head back to camp--with Amye on the back of it's head, no harness or way to hold on!! Amye rode the elephant back up the trail and into the camp where the elephant knelt down on all fours for her to jump off (still a good distance down to the ground).
Koh Chang also provided days of relaxation on the beach, hiking to a waterfall and beautiful sunsets. After Koh Chang, we headed to Koh Samet, another island in the Gulf of Thailand. It was not on our itinerary for the week, but a long story short, we had a few days to kill and spent 2 days, 1 night on the beautiful peaceful island.
Koh Samet is a beautiful island which is also a National Park and it is not as developed as Koh Chang. The main road through the island is dirt and mud and filled with pot holes. The beaches are a pristine white poder-like sand and the water a beautiful blue green color. It's definately a hard place to leave.
We spent the night in a bungalow cabin (which is typical of the island) and were only about a 2 minute walk from the shore. The island has many coves, bays, rock formations and stretches of beaches which come alive at night with restaurants, bars, fire dancers and people out walking the shore at night. Although a great tourist spot, the number of people on the island is minimal and at times one feels like they have the beach to themselves.
With it's relaxing environment and warm waters, your sense of time on the island is distorted and a day can seem like three. Definately a place we'll go back to!
Koh Chang photos:
Koh Samet:
Going up the Mid-Levels Escalators
Hong Kong at night from Victoria Peak
At night from Kowloon
The City Park
Brother and Sister
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