Koh Chang

Over 16 months ago I touched down in Asia for the first time in my life. Less than 20 hours later I was on the second biggest island off the coast of Thailand, a nature reserve and tropical paradise called Koh Chang. I spent four days there with my sister who was recovering from a nasty case of Typphus while I was recovering from a 12-hour time difference spell of jetlag. We spent four days being rocked to sleep by the waves outside our bungalow, lying on the beach and enjoying the fresh and juicy food that the Treehouse had to offer.

Last week Mike and I returned to the same island, the same Treehouse, the same stretch of white, Lonely beach. It was a hell-ish day consisting of seven different modes of transport that began in Battambang, Cambodia and ended in Koh Chang. The four days spent on the beach more than made up for the trip... Mornings spent lounging in the restaurant/deck watching waves splash up against the rocky shore and munching on a unique concoction of muesli. Days spent ploughing our way through novels at an alarming rate, splashing in the crystal-blue waters of Lonely Beach and sucking down fresh Watermelon shakes, a blend of nothing but ice and watermelon. Afternoons spent braving the ice-cold bucket showers and leaving feeling more refreshed than we knew was possible. Evenings spent competing at Scrabble, downing buckets... BUCKETS of cheap vodka with a medley of juices that left us silly and giddy. Nights spent listening to the thump of music continuing through the early morning while the crescendo of waves pulsed away merely meters from our front door.

It was paradise, inexpicable paradise but after four days of doing nothing in beautiful surroundings we decided it was enough and headed up to crazy, throbbing, sprawling Bangkok where we are right now running errands and getting ready for our trip to the North.