Middle Man: Episode V

Dec. 20

We'd heard stories from other expats about taking road trips with a driver along; today we would try it for ourselves.  Tim had a dentist appointment in the morning, returning a little before noon.  Our driver stopped home to pick up his wife, then came back for us.  We had arranged a room for Mick and his wife as a sort of New Years gift.  His wife was more than happy to take a day or two off work to join us.  The six of us piled into our little Ford Everest and headed southeast to the ferry that would take us to the island of Koh Chang.

We drove to Laem Thammachat in the Trat district, which is the easternmost point of Thailand on the gulf. It took a little over three hours, although Google Maps said it would take nearly five (including the ferry).  Mick's poor wife was relegated to the third row seat since she fit back there the easiest, and three of us sat shoulder to shoulder in the middle seat.  We stopped at 7-11 along the way and stocked up on snacks.  Ted and V were adventurous in their purchases, buying Yoyos and Pocky and dried seaweed crisps.  We all enjoyed sampling.

Unlike the ferry to Koh Samet, this was a roll-on, roll-off car ferry, and we waited no more than ten minutes at the dock before following the line of cars onto the boat.  We went up the stairs to the passenger area, and enjoyed the view as we took the 25-minute cruise across to the island.  

Once on the island, it was another thirty-plus minutes to get to our hotel.  The roads are very steep and winding, and we passed through two or three little towns before reaching our destination.  Koh Chang is big and hilly - Rural Rd. circles the perimeter of the island, with Mu Koh Chang National Park in the center.  Our hotel was about halfway down the side of the island that faces away from the mainland.  We spotted the sign as we drove past, and pulled in a lookout spot just beyond the entrance to turn around, stopping to admire the view.

"T" is for "Trat," and Tim!

Sea View Resort and Spa is perched on a cliff in a beautiful, tropical island setting.  We were greeted at the front desk with small glasses of butterfly tea, and after checking in, we were taken by golf cart up to our rooms, which were in a building near the top of the resort.  Thankfully, a funicular was available for very slow but comfortable trips up and down the side of the hill, with stops at four different levels.  We all checked out our rooms, where Ted and V. were shocked to discover a bathroom with a glass wall into the sleeping area; they were relieved to discover the sliding door that would provide privacy!

We met for dinner at Sunset Beach, the restaurant at the bottom of the hill.  It was an authentic Thai meal, with different kinds of whole steamed fish and rice and spring rolls - some interesting new flavors.  We enjoyed a quiet walk on the beach after dinner, and I was awestruck by the magnificent halo around the nearly-full moon.

The remains of the meal

the halo was too big to fit in the camera lens

Dec. 21 - this morning we walked to the building just above ours, the Lighthouse, for a lovely breakfast buffet.  We enjoyed the view of the three smaller islands just off the coast.  Tim ran into one of his co-workers there, who happened to be entertaining some visiting family members as well.

After breakfast, we climbed the circular stairs all the way up to the top of the lighthouse, and tried to ignore the vertigo as we gazed out at the spectacular view.

Then we headed back down to our rooms, and packed up for a trip to Khlong Phlu Waterfall.  It was a short drive back the way we first came in.  We bought our entry tickets; as usual, tickets for the Thais were much cheaper than tickets for foreigners.  A nice hike along a well-mark path that followed the bank of a small river soon brought us to the lovely waterfall.  Several people were already there swimming in the swimming hole just below the falls.  We wore our suits under our clothes, and quickly shed our clothes to enjoy a cool swim with the fishes.

The fish in this natural pool seemed used to the human element.  Some of the tiny foot-nibblers gave free spa treatments; the same service you might pay for in the city, having little fish eat away the dead skin from your feet.  Those big fish tanks always seemed a bit too unsanitary to me, but I enjoyed the natural setting here.  I never felt a nibble, but Ted's friend, V, said he had several.

Several brilliantly-colored butterflies flitted around the boulders that surrounded the pool.  Their colors were so vivid and varied - this video doesn't do it justice.  It was like we were in an animated Disney movie.

Butterflies at Khlong Phlu waterfall


Everyone slowly drifted back to our packs, and we put our clothes on over our wet suits to make the trek back to the car.  We drove into one of the towns looking for a place to eat, and when we saw "Thor's Palace," we knew we had to look no further.  This "palace" was really more of a beach bungalow, with the beach just feet away from us.  It was a relaxing and peaceful spot, and we enjoyed a six-way game of Chinese checkers after our meal.

We stopped for provisions on the way back to the hotel, then settled in for the evening.  Ted and V rented a kayak and rowed out to the closest little island, while I stayed back at the beach for a swim.  The water stayed shallow and sandy a long way out, and it was cool to be able to walk so far away from the beach in the warm water.  Ted and V. circled the island and made it back as the sun was setting.

requisite feet shot

Later, an intense backgammon competition rounded out the evening.  We discovered that our driver was quite a skilled player, so he and Tim went head-to-head in the best of five, then seven, then nine. We saw another side of our driver with his constant trash-talking - hilarious!

We headed up to the Lighthouse for a late dinner, this time opting for a more western fare of hamburgers and sandwiches.

Dec. 22

When we arrived at the hotel, we were warned to keep our deck doors locked when we left our rooms; apparently the monkeys know how to open them!  We were disappointed to not see a single monkey - that is, until today.  After breakfast at the Lighthouse, Ted and V. went to check out the gym, and the rest of us went down for one more visit to the beach.  Riding the funicular down, we spotted several macaques hanging out on the roof of one of the funicular stops.  Ted and V. saw several outside the window of the gym as well.

Christmastime on Koh Chang

We all met up at the upper pool to squeeze in some last-minute fun before our departure.  This pool was actually two levels, and had a water slide going from the upper to the lower pool.  It brought out the kid in all of us as we slid down again and again, even though the slide wasn't very fast until the very end.  Soon, some actual kids showed up and we cleared out so they could have some fun.

After swimming, we packed up the car and headed back to the ferry, stopping in one of the small towns for some last-minute souvenir shopping.  The wait for the ferry was a bit longer this time, but we finally made our way on board and once again crossed the water to the mainland.

We dropped Mick's wife off first, then stopped at Fraser's for dinner.  This restaurant has a gimmick called "Beat the Ribbit Ruler."  It's a yardstick of sorts posted on the wall; if your bill reaches a certain length on the Ribbit Ruler, you get a percentage off your bill.  The longer the bill, the greater the percentage off; Ted and V. did their best to earn us a discount.  Each table had its own TV, and we were able to watch some NFL action.



Great little trip, and great to be back.