Koh Chang

Ahhh...it's the island life for me.

You're a bear. Bears don't live on islands.

Yes, we do!

No, you don't, Captain.

I happen to know there are quite a few bears living on islands.

Where?

Alaska!

And do you know of any bears living on tropical islands?

Well...ummm...

I didn't think so.

But that doesn't mean there aren't! We'll just have to visit a lot of tropical islands to see!

If it means proving you wrong, Captain, I am all for loads of tropical island vacations.

 Anyway, as I was saying, I really love the island of Koh Chang. It is small, mountainous, and has beaches and waterfalls!

It is an island with a lot to offer.

This island is reachable by ferry from the mainland, and it is on the eastern side of Thailand, near Cambodia. Once there ferry arrives, you can hop on a songtaew to your hotel unless you paid for transport with your ferry ticket. The songtaew's leave when full (100 baht per person) or when those onboard agree to pay the full fare and leave without waiting for another ferry to arrive. The main road ALMOST circles the island.

 Almost?

At the southern tip of the island, the road ends without connecting to the other side. There is a mangrove forest there. Because of the mountains, there are no cross roads connecting the two sides.

While on Koh Chang, Captain and Kellie Bear and I hung out on several beaches, including the well-known White Sand Beach. We also hired a driver to take us to the two National Parks to see the waterfalls and to the mangrove forest walk.

 

Along the way, our driver stopped beside a durian grove. 

Oh, no. Not the durian!

It is one of the most popular fruits in Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia.

But the smell!

I know. Even bears have reservations about eating anything that smells THAT bad! However, you are supposed to eat it with your mouth closed and rumor has it that it tastes really sweet.

That rumor will not be tested by me!

Me, neither!

We also were fortunate to see some unique things along the road until we got to Mu Koh Chang.

(Mu is the Thai word for park)

 

It was only a short hike back to this water fall. At the base of it is a small pool where many residents of Koh Chang like to take a swim!

It was a hot day, but we decided not to get our paws wet. Our next stop was the mangrove forest.

If you go on the raised walkway through the forest, you will see they build the path around trees so occasionally  you will need to duck! At the end of the walkway is a bay. We were there at low tide and saw people gathering crabs and clams from the mud. 

We chose not to get our paws muddy, too. It was past most people's knees in places! 

The next stop was Khlong Phlu Waterfall. This one was a bit of a hike with some hills!

  

The waterfall was really tall compared to the Thom Ma Yom fall. Because this is the dry season, it was narrow. During the rainy season, it's much bigger in size.

The view at the southern most tip on the west side was amazing! Here is a fishing village, Bang Bao. Dive boats, snorkeling trips, and fishing boats leave from this pier. It's more of a tourist village now, since many fishing families now sell souvenirs, t-shirts, and stuff like that.

Just like anywhere in Thailand, it's always nice and refreshing to have a coconut drink at the end of a very long and hot day!