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Thai islands 1 - Koh MakJan 25, 2009
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Cocktails on Koh Mak
Baz gets into the swing of things
Koh Mak BBQ
WARNING: This post contains text and pictures of an explicity idyllic nature!
Yes, we apologise wholeheartedly to those of you freezing and windswept back in the UK. There's not much we can say to alleviate the misery of the cold, dark and gloom of a January day in Britain. As the old cliche goes - we wish you were here, and I expect you do, too. Fortunately for our friends Liz and Baz, they were able to swap Ilkley Moor for Laos and Thailand and, as they only had three weeks, Alan and I decided to give them a rest from 'Backpacker travelling', and show them some of the delights of a Thai Island.
We travelled overland from Laos to Ubon Ratchathani, arriving in Bangkok at the unearthly time of 5.30am, having endured our first 'VIP bus'. Actually, it was surprisingly good, even allowing for the accompanying Karaoke which continued into the wee small hours - although none of us slept especially well despite the built-in lower back massaging cushion and nearly lie-back seats.
On arriving in Bangkok, we opted for a 'flashpacker' option and hired a cab to drive us the 5 hours down to Trat where we caught a ferry across to the island of Koh Chang. We spent one night here in the Orchid Resort before catching a further ferry to Koh Mak where we spent a wonderful week, the highlight of which was coming across the largest moth in the world - the Atlas Moth. The rest of the time was spent exploring remote dusty tracks through forests and dense coconut groves, leading to deserted beaches fringed with swaying palms. Apart from an unpleasant encounter with a steep gravel track, I think Liz and Barry enjoyed the scootering around and the nightly sunset cocktails, as well as a number of memorable seafood feasts comprising baracuda, king fish, squid, giant prawns, marlin etc. You can't have too much of a good thing - especially straight from the sea. We also had a fabulous day's snorkelling around some of the smaller outcrops where corel remains (although given the limited protection around these, we're not entirely sure for how long).
