The Art of Island Hopping

The water

If ever I felt I needed to disappear or escape from the burdens of daily life forever, I would disappear on the island of Koh Chang. You could all find me wrapped in a sarong swinging in a hammock on Lonely Beach, bad cold beer in one hand and a book in the other. It’s everything you think a beach in Thailand should be. Rustic but not without a measure of comfort (like western toilets). All the little bars and restaurants are open air and made from different kinds of indigenous wood. Lonely Beach is not as lonely as it was when given this nickname. The strip of road is littered with quant bungalows and restaurants. Hidden along dirt roads are the newer bars that play the typical bad American rap music but are made from bamboo and banana leaves with tables and pillows on the ground for their patrons.

The road of Lonely Beach

“Last time I was here,” my French friend in the bungalow next to me said, “there was nothing here. This was the only place to stay and, obviously, they’ve done some work in the last six years.”

I’m not sure how much work they could have done in the last six years. The bungalow I shared with Jenny was nothing more than a wooden room on stilts with a bed that left a narrow path to the crammed bathroom. It was home to over a billion ants but they seemed content to stay everywhere except the bed. But I didn’t mind them. In fact, I didn’t mind much of anything. I didn’t mind that there is only one road along this island that is the definition of precarious so it takes you a million years to get anywhere. I didn’t care that there is a deafening cicada in the jungle forest that sounds like a distorted microphone on crack going all day long. I didn’t care that the drinks were too expensive and I couldn’t taste the booze. Unlike other places I've been to in Thailand this place doesn’t ooze any type of emotion. There is no wave of ineffable awe as you kayak out to the surrounding islands and look at the lush veggies contrasted against the blue skies. There is no general vibe amongst different groups of people because all kinds of different people populate and mingle on this section of the island. There is just peace. It wraps around you like a blanket fresh from the drier and makes it feel as though the island has been waiting for you all your life. I felt no guilt at my laziness. I spent most of the weekend in a bathing suit and sarong with nappy beach hair and sand on my skin.

Okay, I’ll (try to) stop gushing. In reality, I didn’t spend nearly enough time on Koh Chang as I should have. While even plagued by a whisper in my ear that constantly hissed "lay back in the sand, Bradley. Relax longer, Bradley. Come swim in the clear water, Bradley" I was able to squeeze in a hike through the jungle to waterfalls, kayak trip out into the immaculate water to the smaller, uninhabited islands off the coast and sat on the beach till the wee morning hours. 

Jungle trails

Jungle hiking is much different from hiking in the mountains. While moments on the mountains can be quite and peaceful the jungle is loud and dark. Very dark. It’s so dense it looks pitch black. And that cicada really does roar and roar all day long making it impossible to carry a conversation with Jenny while we hiked. The trails are cracked with roots and fallen trees, which I found confusing since the universal sign in America that the trail is closed is a fallen tree over the trail. The heat on the trails can be a real killer but the pools collecting the waterfall are refreshing.

Our last night on the island I sat with H, S and Jenny at a beach bar. They had fire dancers going on the beach and bad techno music playing for our dancing pleasure. Sometime around 2 am the clouds parted to reveal a glittering map of constellations I’m not familiar with and an almost upside-down half moon. I’ve never heard anyone exclaim how beautiful a southern night sky is. I always hear about places like Canada or Alaska that boast the most starlit skies. When shining down on crystal water and glittering white beaches, I’m sure the stars of Thailand could give Canada a fair fight.