November 25, 2006 Ko Chang, Thailand

November 25, 2006
Ko Chang, Thailand

We woke up this morning at 8:00, got ready and headed to breakfast. We ate at the restaurant that is part of our congregation of huts. I had the best banana pancakes that I have ever had. Spizz said the same thing about his French toast.

At 8:45 a truck came to pick us up. We jumped in the back and made our way to an elephant trekking place. After paying 500 baht each we were taken to the elephant boarding area. We trekked through the jungle on the back of a large Asian elephant for the next hour. For most of the trip we were on a small bench strapped to the elephants back and our guide road on the elephant’s head. The elephant was super cool. He went wherever he wanted and was constantly eating. On the way back our guide dismounted and I moved from the bench to the elephant’s head.

I found it strange that on the way back our guide offered us jewelry made from the elephant’s tusks (ivory). While I don’t think the trekking company harms the elephants, something seems wrong about selling ivory…

Instead of returning to our bungalow we had the cab driver take us to Khlong Phlu waterfall. Since the waterfall is located within the Mu Ko Chang National Park, we had to pay an entry fee of 400 baht. The 500-meter hike to the falls was awesome. On the way we saw a very large and colorful spider and I caught a tiny lizard. Once we reached the waterfall I took some photos and then jumped in the water. Spizz continued to do some photography while I swam in several of the pools.


We returned to the ranger station at around 11:30 and decided that we should get more out of our national park fee. We hired a driver (800 baht for several hours) and had him take us to the west side of the island where we visited Than Mayom waterfall. The 40-minute ride was fun because we got to see new parts of the island.

Though the hike was shorter and not as exciting, the waterfall was just as cool. It is said that King Rama 5 visited these falls and carved his signature on the rocks but I did not see it. Instead, I did some swimming and had a fun time jumping off some of the rocks.

From the waterfall we had our driver take us back to the east side of the island. We decided to check out Khlong Phraw Beach. Once we got there we paid our driver and set out on our own. The beach was incredibly beautiful. We walked along the white sand beach for a few minutes before I decided I had to get in the water. For the first time this trip Spizz decided to join me!

Spizz was excited by the warm water and gorgeous scenery. After swimming around for a few minutes a German tourist ventured into the water with a Frisbee. The three of us threw the disc around for a while. I was surprised by how bad the German was at tossing a Frisbee!

We exited the water at about 16:00 and continued down the beach. We reached a lagoon and headed back. From there we decided it was time to return the bungalow. We walked along the road for almost 30 minutes before hailing a taxi.

When we got back to the encampment we ordered some dinner and watched the sunset. I thought about going for a swim but decided against it. Instead, we walked back to Lonely Beach in the dark to use the internet, ATM, and get some snacks. I also made a quick phone call to Jackie since she will be arriving in a few days!

We got back to camp at 19:00 and spent the rest of the evening relaxing. We sorted through some photos and watched a few episodes of entourage. Spizz fell asleep at 20:45 and I followed about 45 minutes later.