Monday, December 20

I woke up feeling pretty damn lucky to be in Koh Chang. It is so calm and quiet here, and the air is so clean, and I can sleep in a cool room without having to worry about mosquitos and, while I love Bangkok, none of those things are true about my life in that city.

White Sand Beach

I ordered pancakes for breakfast, and got a big stack of fluffy pancakes, along with whipped cream, butter, jam, honey, and maple syrup.

They also gave me fresh fruit, pineapple juice, hot tea with milk and the bread basket (which I couldn’t take on). It was extravagant and lovely, though I always feel a little guilty over what I can’t finish.

A little after breakfast, I set out for what turned out to be a long, intense walk. The backstory? It was only after I arrived in Koh Chang, when I was flipping through the resort’s materials, that I realized you can sign up for a jungle trek here. A guide takes small groups up the mountains—on the hike, they explain all about the local flora and fauna, provide a packed lunch, and take you to a waterfall for a swim before heading back down the mountain.

But I hadn’t packed for a trek—namely, I’d only brought sandals, and the few things I read about jungle trekking on Koh Chang stressed the importance of wearing closed-toes shoes, since the hike will take you over the slippery rocks surrounding a waterfall, and trekking through, um, leech-infested waters.

So I was a little on-the-fence about the whole trekking thing, but then when I walked to the nearby little town on Sunday, it was so cool and fresh and easy to walk that I felt like I could’ve walked for miles. It occurred to me—instead of taking a taxi to the nearest actual town (White Sand Beach) on Monday, as I’d planned, why not walk? My phone said it would only take an hour and fifteen minutes—I’d walked plenty longer than that at one time. And I’d walk through the national park—who needs a trekking guide?

It was maybe not a great plan, though. I left around 10am, and the day was already hotter than Sunday—by the time I reached the base of the national park, I’d drunk all my water. And the initial ascent into the park was very steep—even though I was walking on the left side of the road (with traffic approaching behind me), I wasn’t worried about vehicles hitting me because they were chugging so slowly up the hill.

I stopped when I reached a plateau, and put a mint in my mouth. I felt a wave of nausea and suddenly regretted the pancake breakfast—it seemed like I might actually throw up on the side of the road. But the nausea subsided and I kept going.

Looking back at where I came (that tiny strip of water!) from the first summit

It was a difficult hike, though. The road through the park was shady, thankfully, but it was a long uphill climb. Eventually, after a curve in the road, it began to decline—which was right around where I saw this sign:

I felt a little nervous—only a fool doesn’t feel a little nervous around monkeys. But soon the trees opened up to this lovely view:

When I did eventually see a group of monkeys, they were pretty disinterested in me, and I snuck a photo of one absorbed by a juice box.

And I saw this strange insect—there’s nothing to provide scale in this photo, but it was longer than the palm of my hand—maybe five inches.

The walk down the other side of the mountain was nerve-wracking for its own reasons—at times the shoulder on the side of the road was pretty narrow and I had to be quite aware of approaching traffic. At one point, a car pulled over on the road in front of me. As I walked past, the driver (Russian, maybe?) called, Hey Lady! Where you going? Come in! and pointed to his passenger seat. I politely declined and kept walking.

Eventually, the trees opened up again and, to my relief, I could see White Sand Beach below.

When I finally reached the town, I was greeted by a 7-Eleven. In Thailand, you can (almost) always count on that.

The beach access path was right next to the 7-Eleven, so I sat on the sand for a while, sipping at my water and resting my aching legs.

Then I walked through town, which wasn’t much—just one road with shops and hotels and restaurants lining both sides.

The main drag

A cute hotel in town

Since food didn’t sound very appetizing yet, I stopped for a lovely full-body massage, and then sat at a restaurant right on the beach and ordered a mango shake.

I also got…can you believe it? A BLT!

I was planning on having some kind of spicy seafood dish when I got to White Sand Beach but, the way my stomach was feeling, spicy seafood was the last thing I wanted. The BLT was not great though. After lunch, I took a taxi home and, even from a car, was kind of amazed at the steepness of some sections of the road.

I’m glad I checked out White Sand Beach, but it only made me happier I chose to stay at Little Sunshine. It is just so much more quiet and peaceful than White Sand Beach, which had lots of Russian and American tourists wandering around, and a lot more businesses crammed onto the beach. And I am also glad to get to swim in our calm clear bay, not the more tumultuous ocean.

I wasn’t feeling great when I got home—I was still slightly nauseous and I was achy all over, especially my lower back. I knew it was probably because of all the walking (and the kayaking!), but the nausea made me nervous—it felt like it could be the start of a stomach bug. With an upcoming all-day trip to Bangkok (and a vaccine appointment I don’t want to miss), I really don’t want to get sick right now.

But I took a swim in the infinity pool, and then took my goggles with me into the bay. The tide was out and even after quite a bit of a walk, I was only in three feet of water. But when I dipped my head into the water, I could see schools of tiny fish swimming under me, and little hermit carbs crawling across the ocean floor. I swam easily through the calm water, watching the ocean life just beneath me. It was pretty magical, and cured the remnants of my nausea.

In the evening, I walked down the path toward the pier.