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The next morning (Saturday) we awoke to the sound of rain beating down on the roof of our bungalow, and pulling back the curtain revealed a dismal scene with low cloud covering the tops of the many hills in the distance, and water pouring off our car into a growing puddle on the sandy ground below.
However by the time we had washed and got ourselves ready for breakfast, the rain had virtually ceased, so we were able to make our way on foot (carefully) to our breakfast restaurant without getting really wet.
And by the time we had eaten another excellent meal, it was completely dry.
This was a blessing as our plan for this, our second full day on the Island, was to first visit a waterfall which my researches had said was well worth the climb.
The path to this was only a short distance from our resort, just up a side road as far as it would go, where we then had to leave our car and after paying an admission charge, this being as previously stated all part of a National Park (Thais 10 Baht, foreigners 200 Baht, ‘Thais pay tax, foreigners don’t’ said the attending warden by way of explanation (not entirely true, but not worth debating)), started along the well marked path to the foot of the waterfall.
The morning rain had made this path a little soggy and in places somewhat slippery but it was not an arduous trek, as witnessed by the considerable number of people of all ages (and footwear) we encountered en route, and we soon arrived at the foot of the fall.
 At this point, the path opened up into an oblong shaped valley with the fall at the far end, and below it a pool which my guide papers had said was suitable for swimming but which in fact looked somewhat dark and murky (perhaps because of the earlier rains washing mud into it).
Between us and this water was an area of large rocky hillocks, which looked a bit daunting to me, but which my friend soon scrambled over to reach the foot of the fall.
So, not to be outdone, and in aid of a better picture (who said ‘the best zoom lens is your feet’?), I followed suit, making my way very gingerly over the slippery (leastwise to my footwear) surfa ce until at some length I too stood almost beneath the falling water.
I must confess I have seen more spectacular waterfalls, and I have no doubt that this one would look better in the rainy season, but nevertheless it was still worth the climb, although we later declined to follow a much steeper looking path to the top of the fall, but instead retraced our way, firstly back down the slippery rocks (with me looking less fleet of foot and more flat of feet), and then back down the path to our waiting car.
Also waiting was of course the inevitable restaurant with a welcoming cool drink and plate of noodles.
For the remainder of that day, we decided to follow the road round the other side of the island as far as it would go.
However, once back past the ferry landing point, the road turned slightly inland and became very flat and surrounded by undergrowth, thus not affording much in the way of any view. It was also almost deserted both of vehicles and of surrounding buildings – in fact to put it bluntly, it was pretty boring.
Nevertheless, in the interest of completing our exploration of the island, we continued to follow it until again at the Southern end of the island it ran out.
However on this side, where it ran out was another small village built out over the water, not nearly as big as the one visited the previous day, but still worth a stop and some pictures – and also the ‘over the water’ restaurant seemed a good place to have lunch, which consisted for me anyway of a plate of very tasty giant prawns.
After that there was little to do but return back down the road, all the way round to our resort.
Although after the rains, the day had remained mostly overcast, the sun came out brie fly after our return, tempting us out to the beach for a last swim.
This time the change of weather had produced an almost flat calm sea and a long relaxing wallow soothed away any aches from our earlier exertions.
For our evening ‘fish’, say no more, we returned to the resort beach restaurant, and another excellent meal, although the novelty of the accompaniment had somewhat worn off, so after finishing eating and drinking, we retired to the resort common room to watch the telecast of the Premier league football matches for the rest of the evening.
Sunday morning once again dawned wet and this time the rain did not cease, so after washing, we packed up the car and after checking out, drove to the restaurant for our breakfast.
Our plan was to then head back to the ferry and thence make our way back to Pattaya, but when we arrived at the departure point, we found the ferry already fully loaded.
On enquiry we were told that the next one was not for another hour, but if we drove to the next landing a few miles up the road, there would be one in 15 minutes time.
So we did this, only to find that one full as well (note for future reference, a lot of people come to Koh Chang just for the weekend and most return on Sunday mornings, so allow time to get on board), so we returned to our original point and awaited the next ferry.
As it happened that filled up quite quickly, this time including ourselves, and as soon as it was full it departed, so the wait was not as bad as had been expected.
All this time the rain continued, as it did for the first part of the journey back to Pattaya, but as we left Trat province and headed towards the flatter ground the skies cleared and after an uneventful journey, this time taking the correct route, we arrived back in Pattaya in bright sunshine mid afternoon.
Koh Chang – a very different experience to the hustle and bustle of Pattaya, a real ‘get away from it all break’ and almost on our doorstep. Yes, compared to a few years ago, it probably is more commercialised, but then again where isn’t? And true we did see a lot of work going on, but it’s still got an awful long way to go before it becomes anything less than a relative haven of peace and tranquillity.
There is also a lot more to see and do that we didn’t have time for this trip, including visiting some of the other islands in the group, trekking in the interior, or exploring the surrounding waters. There is also an Elephant camp and a Monkey School.
We enjoyed our visit immensely and look forward to our next outing.
To view any of the above photos in full size, just click on it.
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