Thread: To Koh Chang and Beyond

Originally Posted by Mendip

All this means that the daughter id basically flying he nest in a few weeks at the tender age of 14. I'm certainly not ready for this (in a number of ways) yet it has to be. I'm away from home a lot anyway, and I've noticed that I'm increasingly becoming an outsider.

you seem to be missing the point here

Originally Posted by Mendip

So I want to make the most of this time while she still likes me!

She just won't show it as much.

Cool, another travel thread. Green owed.

Originally Posted by Molle

If you have some space left in the car then bring with you more Male juice.

Err...what?

Interested to hear your reports. I used to travel to Koh Chang often decades ago as it was so off the beaten path back then. Last time I was there however it seems the Russians had invaded and I could see it changing.

^ I haven't been to Koh Chang for around a decade and realising that has made me think how fast the time is flying.

Fingers crossed, but if it ain't the Russians then it'll be the Chinese. I'm hoping that most don't make it east of Pattaya.

Originally Posted by cyrille

Err...what?

I'm sure that Molle meant 'Malee' juice, otherwise that was a bit weird.

But I think that five cartons will be enough to get us started.


It's looking like a 7 hour drive tomorrow so I'm hoping for an early start...

Safe travels.

Give the yadong a swerve tonight and have a safe journey tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Mendip

The daughter finished school a couple of weeks ago, the same fancy Korat international school that she's attended for a decade since 2015.

This is a particularly big deal for our family, mainly me, since at the end of August she'll start boarding at a school in Pak Chong. At a 1hr 40m drive away it's too far for a daily commute, and with my offshore work rotations I can't guarantee being available to pick her up for weekends... so full boarding it is.

Did you not think of/ have the wife break down and order moving close to the daughter's new school, where you'd also be close to 2 airports for your offshore work, the beaches, expat life and your passport runs?

I'd feel a huge void in my life without my daughter knitting everything together with the wife here even though I'm close to my other 3 kids, 2 grandaughters, and drinking companion dad.

I've worried about your sanity for a while now but surely you are gonna end up like the birdman of Alcatraz with those 5 hour school runs removed from your routine and I can't imagine your meal times without that second plate of grey food and peas on the table and what are you gonna blow your nose with?

But seriously, what kind.of mother wouldn't want to be with her daughter for her last week before she flies the coop?

Although I guess Its only 1 hour 45 minutes away and Jess could get a minivan back at weekends?

Anyway, hope you both have a wonderful holiday

Don't forget the scrabble0. If it was me i'd probably have an overnighter in Chan and then get the early ferry.

And snorkel and goggles

Originally Posted by Reg Dingle

But seriously, what kind.of mother wouldn't want to be with her daughter for her last week before she flies the coop?

Thai women are wired differently.

And suntan lotion

"Sunscreen factor max for sea refections , else you may ressemble the raw prawn or shrivelled sausage" Dormy Staniels the mushroom measurer

^ No need for all that nonsense, lazada yourself up a Burkini

Originally Posted by david44

"Sunscreen factor max for sea refections , else you may ressemble the raw prawn or shrivelled sausage" Dormy Staniels the mushroom measurer

My son was very red after our snorkelling trip. Aussie bathers and broad rimmed hats and that sun block the cricketers use - all basic essentials. The people who lead these trips ought to have an information handout and the stuff to sell at the pier. It's simply about making sure that your customers have a good experience and recommend it to others. (Thai tourism doesn't do this stuff well, IMHO) It all sounds so blindingly obvious - when you already know. Talking of blindingly, some good sunglasses too.

Waiting on some sundowner pictures from Team Mendip.

It's a bloody long precarious drive.

^ It was a long day yesterday mate.

The trip button on the vigo doesn't seem to work any more so I took a pic before we left as I'm curious to how many km I end up driving over the next couple of weeks. This mileage (kilometerage) would worry me on many other vehicles but not with the Hilux.



It was a fine and sunny Korat morning when we stopped for fuel and snacks just down in the road, before we left on the journey proper at around 7am.



But the weather soon changed. Even with the wipers on full-speed it was a struggle in places.



The 304 through Khao Yai used to be an awful road... constantly clogged up by HGVs and as Joe says, perilous indeed with bad smashes commonplace.

The road has been extensively improved and widened over the past two decades and now is generally two lanes in each direction. Beforehand it used to be one lane in each direction, with a third central lane that was basically a free-for-all for traffic heading in both directions attempting to get past the slow-moving HGVs. High speed head-ons have claimed a lot of lives on this road.

The improvements are ongoing...



The wildlife tunnels at the eastern edge of Khao Yai.



Anyway, by the time we eventually reached Trat around six hours after setting off, the roads were at least dry.



Thank fukk for Google Maps, it takes all the guesswork out of driving. It would have saved a load of arguments in the past when the wife used to sit in the passenger seat... 'navigating' while holding the map upside-down.



And finally, after spending a very reasonable 280 Baht for the ferry ticket, we waited on the quayside.



We were at the front of the queue... well one of the queues. There were several other queues already formed by the time I parked up.



There appeared to be two ferries going back and forth. The one to the left in my picture remained moored up. The first ferry arrived, loaded up and departed. At one point it looked as though we would embark, but the guy picked out a small hatchback behind us (in my queue) to use what must have been the very last small space on the ferry. We had to wait.

And then the second ferry came into view.



And the advantage of being first in the queue...



... we were first to embark and took number one spot on the ferry, right in the bows!



A lot of people kept their engines running for the aircon during the crossing, but I don't know... with only that flimsy chain between us and Davy Jones, I was happier to turn off the engine, just in case.

Koh Chang... and there's the other ferry just setting off, heading back to the mainland.



There she goes.



Anyway, once this nimble chap had removed the 'safety chain', we were out of there. Only beaten onto Koh Chang by two motorbikes.



An hour's drive to the south of the island and that was it... picked up a quick takeaway for an easy dinner cos I was knackered. I'm sure there'll be plenty of chance for seafood during the week.



It's a nice spot, and I'll be casting a line off the end of that pier in the morning.

Originally Posted by Shutree

Waiting on some sundowner pictures from Team Mendip.

There ya go Shutree... although not much sun to go down.



Roll on the morning... freshly caught pink snapper for dinner tomorrow!

Originally Posted by malmomike77

Don't forget the scrabble0.

Already packed!

Originally Posted by malmomike77

And snorkel and goggles

Tick!

Originally Posted by Topper

And suntan lotion

I'm not one for sitting on beaches... but found an old bottle of Factor 10 in the bathroom so stuck it in the wash bag, just in case.

Originally Posted by Mendip

The wildlife tunnels at the eastern edge of Khao Yai.



.

I bet that didn't cost £100M like the bat tunnel on the HS2 farce, even with 80% of the cost disappearing in brown envelopes

Originally Posted by Mendip

It's a nice spot, and I'll be casting a line off the end of that pier in the morning.



.

is that Bang Boa Pier off to the right, its been a long time and if it is i'm sure it had more buildings on it

Lovely pad and view

I bet there's some mighty fine fishing off that pier.

Originally Posted by malmomike77

is that Bang Boa Pier off to the right, its been a long time and if it is i'm sure it had more buildings on it

It is. I don't know what it was like before but when I was there it felt built up and enclosed all the way along. I think it is just the perspective.