We couldn't leave Thailand without checking out one of the islands. Well it just wouldn't be right would it? We decided to opt for Ko Chang as it was just a hop away from our next stop, Cambodia, and we could take a bus all the way from Bangkok.....so that helped to swing it.

As you look a the map of Thailand we are down the peninsula on the right, at the very bottom of Thailand. The island is less well known than those on the "left leg" - Phuket, Ko Samui etc making it less busy and less developed, which is what we like. There are also fewer areas which target the visitors who just want to drink buckets of booze all night, and sleep all day. Much to John's annoyance I booked us in here instead (Tee hee)

Five hours after leaving Bangkok we were on the rusty ferry sailing across to a large green island shrouded in mist. There are still a few wild elephants here, but thankfully the island is quite big, and the chances of having our hut stampeded are small. The centre of the island is mountainous and covered with lush green vegetation which stretches down to the coastline in many places. The drive from the ferry port took us around some tight hairpin bends as the road undulated around the island. Periodically we would come across wooden framed shops lining the road, selling a range of goods from fruit, and vegetables to refilled bottles of gasoline. In some areas properties showed a more permanent face with breeze block construction dominating. There were however no high rise buildings and even the higher end resorts seemed to blend in, along the one road.

We'd opted to stay at the bottom end of the island. Mainly because this was less developed and the base for the various diving/ snorkelling/ island hopping trips. We'd secured our own little chalet, complete with its own Geckos, Gerald, George, and little Gilly, who were very effective at keeping down numbers of stray bugs. We had our own hammocks outside for daytime naps, fridge, kettle, TV and a large bucket for the Dhobi wallah (John) . What more could anyone want?

Much of nearby Ban Bao village is built on stilts in the sea, connected by a wooden pier to take visitors out to the boats. The pier is flanked with shops selling a range of clothing, souvenirs and food. By late afternoon as the fishing boats return their catch to shore the various restaurants display an array of fish and shellfish for the evenings menu.

Before we came away we harboured ambitions to do a number of things on the trip. One of these was to snorkel, and learn to dive. On day one, after an evening reading reviews and comments about the various diving operators we headed off to book our snorkelling trip.

The day turned out to be a great introduction to the deep. We decided to go with a company called Scuba Dawgs, as they only take small numbers of people. We joined our party of six, and hiked down the jetty to find our boat. After an initial briefing we were off, bouncing over the water. As we approached Ko Yak Yai we eagerly tried on our flippers, and masks for the first time, ensuring they fitted perfectly before entering the water. Having natural buoyancy assets floating comes naturally to me so I was soon off like a piece of flotsam (or is it jetsam?) face down towards the small island. The first snorkel site was quite choppy, and we bobbed about on top of the water being tossed about like bottles, as we looked down at the fish swimming effortlessly below. The second and third sites Ko Rang south, and Ko Yak Lek were in much calmer waters which teemed with fish, sea urchins and coral. I even found myself saying "wow" without moving the mouthpiece. That was a skill I didn't know I had !
We both returned to the shore feeling exhilarated, and tired....even Gerald and George's chirping didn't keep us awake that night.

After four days of island life, and with all the dirty clothes restored to a more hygienic state thanks to the diligent dhobi wallah, it was time to move on towards our next destination ...Cambodia.