I usually arrive at Suvarnabhumi, where at taxi to downtown runs 300 Bt. These guys wanted 900 Bt (!!!), so I took the city bus, about one hour, around the same time, for 50 Bt. Along the way, I caught a glimpse of a fairly famous building that is shaped like an elephant. The only decent shot I got was this head-on one. The gold dots are the tusks.
I stayed on Khaosan Rd, bushy-tailed young backpacker heaven, world-weary expat hell. I stayed just off the road where it was very quiet, a place called Yes Khaosan (single room, 600 Bt), which I can recommend--beware, the mattresses are thin. Here are some pics to provide a flavor of the road--it's the same as it has always been, only the prices have increased. In 2011, a Singha beer averaged 40 Bt, now it's 90 Bt.
That last is a portrait of the new king, which has replaced the old king in adorning every self-respecting Thai business.
On the third day, I took a white van from hotel in Bangkok to hotel on Koh Chang (Elephant Island). It left at 10 AM and arrived at the ferry landing at 4:30. I got to Happy Huts on the very south tip of Koh Chang at 7:15. The cost was 1000 Bt. Curiously, the same trip in reverse a week later was 600 Bt. (100 Bt is around USD 3.) Klong Kloi beach is a kind of community of a couple dozen bungalow properties and restaurants that share a fine stretch of SSW-facing beach. You will be greeted by this sign:
Family Huts is a new property that is well-managed by Ying, and is very solidly built. However, a second window is sorely lacking to allow good cross-ventilation--this is something I've noticed throughout SE Asia: older is better, as long as the bathroom is fully functional. In the past, I've stayed at Porn's Bungalows at Kaibae, but I'm glad I got to explore Klong Kloi.
So, the steel is made in Vietnam. Interesting, but what am I to make of this information?
As I mentioned, the beach is quite nice, and not very busy, especially considering this is high season. The weather wasn't great at first, as the remnants of the southern typhoon reached us. Not in the form of rain, but high waves. Look at this, from Saturday:
Here's what it looked like once the sea calmed:
A really great beach. There are loads of chill places, but my favorite soon became Chan Siam Bar. That's Chan in the last one.
I have taken and posted hundreds and hundreds of food shots on this blog, and more than a hundred, I estimate, of Thai food. So, I'll just choose two pics of Western food that were simply stellar! The first is an "infused" (meaning marinated, spiced beef) cheeseburger for 235 Bt (about USD 7) at The Journey, run by a young Brit from Stoke who really knows his way around a grill. His possibly tops mine, but partly due to an amazing bun he has made at a bakery on White sands.
The second is obviously a pizza, pepperoni mushroom for 250 Bt from a place--sorry, I can't remember the name--right by Family Huts. Four kinds of mushroom and some legit mozzo. Honestly, I cannot remember a better pizza in my life!
There ya go! Twenty-one pictures documenting twelve days in … if not paradise, a warm, sunny beach on the Gulf of Siam, a definite contrast from an icy Seoul, temperature of -16 C on the morning I left Incheon.
