Ko Chang!

FINALLY.. what many of you have been waiting for.. I've had a few friends ask me why I haven't updated in a while.. I'm just thrilled that you, my friends and family, are still reading and interested in what the heck I'm doing here!  So here’s the dealio on my adventure to another beautiful island!

Last weekend was another three day weekend and I crossed off another island on my list of many places to go! Ko Chang is Thailand’s third largest island and is five hours out of Bangkok and near the Cambodia border.  It has eight different villages and the girls and I had plans to stay at “Lonely Beach”, a beach popular for backpackers to stay at.  

After the six hour bus ride from Khon Kaen to Bangkok, I met the girls at a restaurant called “Cabagges and Condoms” and needless to say, its known for its food as well as the decorative arrangement of their platters, condoms.  Unfortunately, I arrived just as the girls were finishing dinner so I grabbed Subway (which I was SO excited for) on our way to bus number 2.  At 5am, we arrived at the boat port and waited in the dark for an hour to take the 20 minute ferry ride to the island.  After the quick ferry ride as the sun was coming up, we arrived on the island and we were greeted by a huge sign in the mountain reading “Welcome to Ko Chang.”  The girls and I needed to take a 45 minute songtell ride to Lonely Beach and we were a little shocked to find it was a ghost town.  Yes, it was 7am so people were probably still sleeping but most of the small shops which were mostly tattoo shops, were closed and we didn’t see anyone out for breakfast yet.  We were unable to check into our bungalows yet so the girls and I left our bags at the front desk and hit the beach to take a snooze, we were all exhausted from the lack of sleep on the overnight bus.  Unfortunately, this was when my trip took a turn.. maybe more like a tumble. When I left Khon Kaen the day before, my right eye was a little red but I didn’t think much of it.  Of course by the time I had arrived to the island, it had gotten 100 times worse, to the point that it was producing so much gunk that I couldn’t see well (Sorry, not a pretty picture).  Within three hours of arriving at the island, my body goes even more haywire and busts out with a fever blister/cold sore on my face.  I used to get cold sores a lot growing up and occasionally in college and when I was packing for the weekend, I remember thinking that I wouldn’t need the medicine I brought from the US and tossed it back into the drawer.. wrong! So I basically spent Friday wondering around the beach red/gunky eyed and in pain from my fever blister.  That night, I tried to make the best of it and the girls and I were looking for something fun to do.  It hadn’t even crossed our minds that it was a Buddist holiday, so not only do Thai people not drink of these holidays but they also close the shops, bars, clubs, restaurants, everything early.  Luckily, we found one bar with a live band that played western music later into the night and we ended up having a great time.

The next morning, my eye infection had spread to my other eye and my cold sore had gotten worse so I immediately decided to go to the international clinic on the island (the pharmacy near my hostel was closed for the weekend).  I spent the long songtell ride very frustrated that I wasn’t feeling the best for this amazing weekend the girls and I have been planning for weeks. I didn’t feel like being in the sun or going in the water and was upset that I feel like I have been sick for a month straight with a cough/nose thing.  The clinic was actually very beautiful and everyone there spoke perfect English.  The doctor sent me home with four different medications, drops for my eyes, antibiotics and cream for my sore, and allergy medicine.. He basically came to the conclusion that he thinks I’m allergic to Thailand and that I have an eye infection and because my immune system was already down, it was a perfect time for a cold sore to make an appearance.  I left the clinic even more P.O.ed than I was when I arrived.. the bill was triple the amount it would have been in Khon Kaen and I couldn’t imagine staying in Thailand if I were to stay sick for the next eight months. I was a bit grouchy but went back to meet the girls.  I spent the rest of the day lounging in the hammock at our bungalow (Jenna and I were roomies), drinking banana smoothies, and enjoying the beautiful beach.

Sunday was time to trek back to Khon Kaen.  I missed the ferry at 7:40, so I missed my first bus and was a tad stressed.  Luckily, they just threw me on the next one and I made it to Bangkok with just enough time to hit up Subway again and get to the other bus station, ten minutes to spare! I plopped myself down in my bus seat for the final leg of the race, enjoyed my ham and cheese sandwich with lettuce, green peppers, and southwest sauce, then slept for the rest of the ride.

Ko Chang is truly a beautiful island and much less touristy then Ko Phi Phi and even Ko Samet.  Even though I was feeling pretty crappy and discouraged, I tried to enjoy the island as much as I could, which wasn’t hard to do.. it was sunny, warm, and beautiful! Plus, I was there with amazing girls who I can always have a great time with.  I also bought to tye-dye beach cover ups so I left Ko Chang with something more than an eye infection and cold sore. And I tried a new food.. Tofu! Trying a new food is HUGE for me, I don’t often do it but Chelsea (a girl I met at orientation who came to Ko Chang) gave me a nibble off her dinner plate one night.  I liked it so much that I ordered Sweet and Sour Veggies and Tofu for myself the last night!  I think I’ll try to figure out how to cook it on my hot plate.  Being sick on the island definitely wasn’t ideal but I guess that’s all part of the adventure of traveling, expect the unexpected!  Plus, I’m building up my immune system.. If my body can survive Thailand, home and other traveling will be a piece of cake!

Dinner with the girls

The cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. Mama Cat adopted baby monkey into the family!