After a very good 11 hour flight from London Heathrow we arrived in a very hot and steamy Bangkok at about 4pm local time.
From here we took a taxi to Pattaya to meet with Dave Dobson, Francios Valentin and Pascal Rebuffel. Jetlagged and sweating like mad, I managed to get out for a few beers and spent the entire night being winked at by lady-boys. Having been to Pattaya before I knew what to expect but Pattaya is a place where NOTHING is impossible. Everything is open 24 hours a day. Imagine Las Vegas, smashed together with Blackpool, add a dash of Bangkok - and your still not there! Love you long time.
Day 2: Arriving in Koh Chang
Had a LOT of sleep on the first night and felt good. We gathered our things together and left an extremely hot Pattaya and headed down the coast of the Gulf of Thailand towards Rayong and Trat Province. Not much to see on the way, every now and again you drive through a small town, rubber plantations, dead dogs, temples and LOTS of Durian trucks. The drive to Trat took us about 6 hours as we took a wrong turn and had to take a very rural route to get to Trat. I would advise anyone to do this drive, some of the scenery is very nice.
We arrived in time to catch the last ferry from Laem Gnob to Koh Chang Island. We drove onto the boat, got out and stretched our legs and purchased some stale, but tasty biscuits! The sun was setting and the picture (above) was taken just as the ferry was leaving. The scenery is stunning. Deep reds and purples, broken up by dark green dense palm trees and crystal waters. We found a small beach hut in the Jungle (run by a ladyboy) which cost us approximately £5 for the night. We dropped off our things and went out for some food and a then onto The Jungle Queen bar - which is managed by my good friend David.
We had PLENTY of Jagermeister shots and cocktails and went for a dip in the sea! Much different to N orth Wales, it is more like getting into a bath, the water is lukewarm and the sand is soft. Very nice way to sober up! Barefooted, we walked back to our beach hut and I spent the next hour trying to catch a Lizard - Never going to happen.
Day 3: Finding a House in Kai Bae and visiting Ban Bang Bao
Checked out two hours late as we overslept (Jagermeister). Headed down to Bang Bao to visit a friend. There was no room for me in the pickup truck, so I rode on the rear of the car. Not entirely safe, but a very nice way to see the island!
Arrived at our new house - which is absolutely amazing for the price. Big double bedroom, tv, sofa, wok, bathroom etc etc. £80 for one month! We unpacked the stuff and chilled out with the Air con for the first time since arriving! Bliss in this heat. It doesnt really fall much below 28 degrees celcius during the night. It is nice to experience a different climate, It is coming towards the wet season, so no doubt they'll be some big storms. I think that will be the only thing able to silence the noise of Crickets and tropical birds!
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