At the moment, we’re in a van headed towards the Bangkok airport. We expected to be in this van 2 hours ago, but whatever the hotels tell you, there is a dearth of taxis in the morning on Koh Chang. We were packed and standing by the road at 6:00 AM waiting to get the fabled hourly taxi which never came. Apparently no one takes hitch-hikers either. In fact, my observation about Koh Chang travel is that either you rent a scooter, or you specifically arrange travel with a hotel or tourist agency. In our case, we eventually flagged down a taxi heading the wrong way and agreed to his exorbitant price. You should have seen his face when he realized we were serious. As we started off, we ordered the driver to stop and pick up a few other stranded travelers. You’d think these taxi drivers intentionally don’t want to pick people up.
So we missed the 6:30 ferry. And the 7:15 ferry. And the 8:00 ferry. We’re now hoping to have just enough time to roll out of the van and dive onto the plane as it takes off.
These last minute inconveniences aside, the trip this last week has been awesome. Jenny claims it’s one of her best vacations ever. Mission accomplished.
If you’d like to try something similar, here’s our itinerary along with prices (in Baht) for 3 adults and 1 child:
- 2 nights at the Wendy Guest House in Bangkok (2 rooms): 3800
- Bus to/from Ayutthaya: 300
- Bus to Koh Chang: 750
- Taxi to/from ferry to lonely beach: 1500
- 4 nights in 2 bungalows at the Treehouse: 1800
- Private van from Koh Chang ferry to Bangkok Airport: 4000
- Elephant Trek (2 adults): 1000
- All day snorkeling: 1600
- Average Meal in Bangkok/Ayutthaya: 300
- Average Meal in Koh Chang: 250
Including gifts and food and other miscellaneous expenses, we spent about 25,000 baht for the week, or about $800 USD (flights not included). We could have saved a lot by not taking the private van back to Bangkok, but we didn’t want to leave Koh Chang Friday evening and our flight was too early to be able to take a normal bus back. So, there’s some advice: plan a late flight back or plan on staying closer to Bangkok on your last night. Koh Chang was definitely a cheaper place to be than Bangkok, but that’s only if you can resist the urge to ride elephants and go diving. Plus, we had 3 adults which meant extra rooms and food.
All in all, Thailand turned out to be a great destination. We got by with knowing next to no Thai and with only a few pre-made plans. We were able to see the modern capital city, ancient ruins, and beautiful beaches in one week without wearing ourselves thin. The country has more to offer than we could take-in in such little time, so perhaps we’ll find ourselves here again someday.
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