At 7 in the morning we walked with our now slightly lighter rucksacks to the travel shop where we had bought our ticket to Koh Chang. We were told the bus would pick us up from here but after waiting for about 15 minutes in the heat a guy told us to follow him..... this meant another 15 minute walk picking up various travellers from their hotels or travel shops where they had booked their tickets so by the time we finally boarded the bus we were exhausted! It took about 4 hours to get the the ferry port at Trat to catch the boat over to Koh Chang which took about another hour. The "taxis" in Koh Chang are more like pick ups and you sit on the back and pay to get to your location. It took about 30 minutes to reach our bungalow accommodation at Kai Bae beach. At only 10gpb per bungalow per night we were pleased with the beautiful rainforest gardens surrounding our bungalow at the top of the hill with a sea view. Bearing in mind our surroundings we decided to put the mosquito net up for the first time. Paradise Bungalows is run by 3 ladyboys that provided constant entertainment for us. After our long journey of almost 10 hours in total we went for a much needed walk along the beach and stopped for a beer in a treehouse bar on the beach front. The bar is built on multiple levels in a tree right on the sea, totally surreal and absolutely breathtaking views across the ocean to five smaller islands in the near distance. Pure paradise. Couldn't think of a better place to spend the next 7 days. The following morning we woke up to sounds of the jungle, like something out of Jurassic Park. That's when we heard the elephants. They are staying right next door to us and from our balcony we watch them being fed and washed every morning and evening, unreal. On our walk to the beach we bump into a smaller enclosure where there are 2 beautiful baby elephants and the keeper asks if we would like to feed them for 40p. Matt was expecting to be handed some bananas but we were given 2 bottles of milk. Spent 20 minutes playing with them and stroking them before carrying on down to the beach. The best experience so far - see pics! The next day we decided to hire a moped for 3gbp for the day. We wanted to drive around the entire island but failed to notice on the map that the road stops south of us so we had to come back on ourselves. We stopped off at the largest waterfall on the island and had a swim, the current was very strong so they have safety ropes and security guards. We were just packing up when there was a scream from the roped walkway, a girl had slipped under with an inflatable duck around her waist and she was being carried down the waterfall at some speed. She was saved by her father and all okay. We also bumped into 2 english guys with matching moustaches that Darren Wallis (Matt's friend) would be proud of. They had been on the same bus as us from Bangkok to the island. On the way back Gem was looking out for monkeys all the way but to no avail, even where there were signs warning not to feed them. In the afternoon it started to rain and the roads became quite dangerous so we returned the bike and were coaxed into to a bar called "Backstage Bar" by the live guitar playing we could hear from the street. The music was being played by the owner, a Dutch guy called Mouse. He went to school in England for some time so spoke fluent English. A Thai guy then came in and set up on stage and we listened to him playing classics like R Kelly's famous number, "I Believe I Can Fry" (not a spelling mistake). This kept us entertained for hours and Matt joined in on stage singing Endless Love (Diana's part) - hilarious! We had only stopped off for one but 5 hours later we left somewhat inebriated and Matt was very disappointed to have missed the Champions League final on waking the next morning! Kick off was at 1.45am, there's no way we would have made that! The next day we decided to take a taxi to White Sands beach which is the largest beach on the island. We spent our night eating and drinking in Kai Bae and watching the local life going on around us. We spent a day at Lonely Beach where Matt's brother stayed when he was travelling, definitely more geared up towards travellers but very quiet at this time of the year, as is all the island as it is their low season. It was nicer than White Beach as it was less commercial and everything was much cheaper. We left Lonely beach about 4pm where Matt (chief animal spotter) spied about 25 monkeys on the electrical lines on the opposite side of the road. We bought a beer and sat watching them for about an hour, took loads of photos and laughed a lot at their antics including their lovemaking, priceless! We decided to have a quiet night and go back to Mouse's bar for a couple of drinks before bed. Instead of the usual Thai guy playing Mouse was playing himself with a friend and it was unbelievable, the guy can play electric guitar like nothing either of us have seen live before. Needless to say we were going to be here all night again, helped by a Russian couple who insisted we share their endless supply of Thai Rum all night, ouch! Our last day on the island we spent chilling on the beach and in the sea before a quiet meal and early night ready for our 6.45am pick up to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia. To sum up Koh Chang it was paradise, the people were amazing and could never do enough for us. The wildlife spotting was endless and everything was giant - huge millipedes, crabs and crickets. We leave here feeling totally refreshed with some great memories.