I am still catching up on my photos and blog, I think after this one I will be caught up to present day.

Jim is still recovering from being sick, and is resting through lunch. After I get offline, I'll probably go down to the pool and have some lunch. There is only so much poolside lounging one can do before it's too much sun! And we still have 7 days in the southern beaches, so we'll have to be careful not to overdo it.

Here we are in Koh Chang, a lovely place to visit. We originally decided to come here because of 2 things: 1) I heard of a neat boat trip to Cambodia from here. What we found out was that it's 2 days, 1 night, and we don't want to do that since we only have a few days in Koh Chang. So that's out. 2) Jim thought this is where I could ride my elephant on the beach. No such luck. It seems elephants are only in the jungle. So we've already done that twice, and I don't need to do it again anytime soon. It was fun the first 2 times if you get my drift.

But, we are glad we came to Koh Chang. It's a beautiful place, as you'll see from the photos. Jim wanted to cancel the rest of our travel and just stay here, but I told him we should go because we'll see some more beautiful beaches!

2/19 Chiang Mai To Koh Chang

Flew back from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Since all flights from Bangkok to Trat were booked, Jim arranged a driver to meet us in Bangkok to take us on a 5 hour ride to Koh Chang. So we basically were in the van for a good 4 hours, then 30 minute waiting for the ferry to take us across to Koh Chang. We stopped for lunch after hour 2, at a rest stop along the freeway. I think I was again homesick for regular food, and didn't want to eat anything from the Thai buffet. So I had some Soy Milk (this saved me on several occasions...not that I'm not one for exploring and trying new foods, but I have heard of people on travel who get sick and I didn't want to be one of them. At least in the US, we have our system of ABC for restaurants that is very helpful to know the cleanliness, and I am not sure of how it is here...I'd rather starve than chance!)

Once we got to the ferry, we were amazed at the beautiful blue water. We boarded the van on the ferry along with other vans, cars, and trucks. There were snacks and drinks available for purchase, but I was still okay after my Soy Milk. Jim had a beer and said he feels like he is now starting his vacation.

View of Koh Chang from Ferry Boat

Once off the ferry, it was just about a 20 minute drive to our hotel at the Amari Emerald Cove Resort. Oh my gosh, they greeted us right away and took our bags. We were going to go to the counter to register, but they told us to sit and sip our cool tea and refresh with cool cloths while they got us checked in. They showed us to our room, which was amazing. Very comfortable and contemporary, with a great view of pool and ocean.

The first thing we did was to put on our swim suits and go out by the beach. The hotel is right on the beach, with lounge chairs on the sand. Jim wanted beach view rather than pool view, so we did that. We had refreshing drinks, and sat staring at the amazing view and beautiful water. We took a walk along the beach towards White Sand Beach, and passed many Thai massage places, restaurants, bars, etc. that are right on the beach with no walls. Just chairs and table on the sand!

It's a Good Life Koh Chang at Amari Emerald Cove Resort. I am thinking how grateful I am for http://www.buffiniandcompany.com/ and my coach, Roibin who work so hard helping me grow my business to allow us time and baht to afford such a nice trip. There will be more in the future, so Roibin, we've got work to do when I get back! (Please just let me recover from my jetlag first!)

Back to the hotel, we were ready for our complimentary dinner and had our choice between the Thai or Italian hotel restaurant. We opted for Thai, since we are here after all! The food and service were delicious.

Delicious Dinner at Just Thai Hotel Restaurant

One thing we notice is that English is not as prevalent here as we noticed in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The staff speak enough to do their jobs, but not on a very fluent level. So we feel a bit stifled at times. There are many tourists here, mostly from Germany, UK, & Japan.

2/20--Spa day and Break from the Sun

Well, not much on the list to do today. We'd like to do a one day snorkel tour, but for today we'd just like to relax and enjoy the hotel amenities and nearby shops and restaurants. Not quite ready to leave the palace!

Since I wanted a break from the sun, I decided to get a massage treatment at the spa. We went in to inquire and we were told to sit and sip some cool tea and have a cool towel. There are no lines here, just sit and relax while they bring us stuff. I can get used to this!! Just selecting spa treatment was an experience in itself. We sat in the cushy chairs by the pool and sat with the long list of menu choices.

Hotel Spa Cool Towel and Cool Tea

I decided to go for the Floral Spa treatment, which is 4.5 hours of indulgence and pampering. It included a honey scrub, aloe wrap, floral soak in a nice big Jacuzzi tub with ocean view, and 90 minute massage. It was about 6,000 baht, which is about $200 USD...one would pay about that for a basic 90 minute massage at Burke Williams, so this was a good deal for half a day! Once I selected my treatment, the lady brought me a tray of oils and incense to see which once I preferred. They all smelled good, it was hard to decide.

Floral Soak at Hotel Spa

About 2 hours into the treatment, I was missing Jim and wished I was out in the sun with him. Only so much relaxing you can do in 4.5 hours! I was starting to daydream and make plans for my next Client Party (as I was wrapped up in my Aloe Wrap repairing my sunburn from the Chiang Mai pool day)! I think I will call it Taste of Thailand, and invite my favorite clients and friends to attend. I think I have it all planned out, from the invitation with a Thai orchid for each guest, to the Pad Thai, and the 15 minute Thai massages for guests. He he. Is that what relaxing so much does?

For dinner, we asked one of the staff where is a good place to eat. She recommended a place call Chalay at Bang Boa Village, a local fishing village. We took a cab (truck) to the village, about a 20 minute ride in the dark. I was wishing it was daylight out, I'm sure the views would be beautiful. But we wanted to eat at a local favorite and recommendation.

We got out of the cab, and walked along the pier with many shops open for tourists. Smelled kind of fishy for me, but we came to eat at Chalay, so that is what we'll do! After looking at the menu, I was in the mood for something familiar. So I ordered rice with chicken to start, and then we order calamari and some crab. Well, they forgot the rice with chicken, so I was limited to the calamari (a bit too fishy tasting for me, but then again, that's me! I love seafood that doesn't taste too fishy!). I wasn't going to try the crab, since my idea of crab is King Crab Legs from Outback, not the little ones that you see crawling on the rocks. Jim said it was pretty good. Looks like a lot of work and not enough crab meat to me.

Once we cabbed back to the hotel, we decided to book our snorkeling trip. That would be on a boat with 15 stops, Thai buffet, and snacks on the boat. Sounds like fun, and a great way to see the surrounding areas.

2/21

Today we are just hanging out by the pool with nothing on our list. Lounge around the pool (umbrella open!), Jim ordered some fantastic Bloody Mary's, and we just sat and drank by the pool overlooking the beach. This is the life!

Delicious Bloody Marys by the Pool

For lunch, we walked to a nearby beach restaurant where Jim said he had a hamburger whilst I was at the spa. He said they were good burgers and I'd like it. So we did that for a late lunch. We sat and stared at the sea whilst we ate our burgers. They were very good, but the French fries were even better!! Yum! Then I had a Banana Shake to top it off.

View from Beach Pub Near Hotel Where We Ate Hamburgers

We walked back to our lounging chairs by the pool, took a swim, and relaxed a bit more. Then we went to the room and relaxed. Then we went out to book or snorkel trip at the hotel tour office.

We were going to look into what hotel we're going to stay at next, either in Krabi, Koh Lanta, or Trang. We heard the latter 2 are pretty secluded, and I think 8 days there would get boring. As we were online, I looked at Jim and he didn't look so good.

An Adventure In Itself: Buying Cough Medicine in a Thai Market When No One Speaks English!

Jim said he had a headache, and he was coughing a lot. He went back to the room to rest. When I got back to the room, he was coughing a lot, so I went on an adventure in itself to buy some cough medicine. He said he wasn't hungry, that I should order room service (he must be sick if he's telling me to order room service!!) So I ordered a small pizza from room service and headed to the local market for cough medicine. Nothing was in English at this store, and I had a hard time finding cough syrup. There were a lot of people in the tiny store, and I didn't have time to wait in line, ask the lady which one to buy, etc. since the pizza would be delivered within 20 minutes. I didn't want them to go in and disturb Jim. So I left the store, ran back to the room to wait for room service to show up, then back to the store.

Once I got back to the store, I asked the lady which one for cough and she pulled one out that wasn't in English. I asked her if it was for daytime or nighttime, and she said "Anytime." By this time, there was line forming. I didn't even know how much this cost, and I didn't know if I had enough baht. I told her I'd like some cough drops too, so she pulled some out of a glass case. I don't think she had patience with me. I told her I would like to pay with credit card, and she asked me how many baht I had. I told her 200. Turns out, I bought the cough syrup, cough drops, and a some type of card worth 200 baht!

I went straight to the front office staff at the hotel, and asked them what the directions are on the cough syrup and to verify that was the right stuff. They said, "Yes, take one spoonful every 4-6 hours, and it's for anytime." I don't think they have the daytime nighttime cough medicine concept here. I also asked them what I just bought for 200 baht, and they said it's a calling card. They understood the error, and wrote a note in Thai explaining what it was, so that the lady at the market would refund my 200 baht. I felt like a kid going to school with a note from my Mom as I walked back to the market, but hey, you get over these things when you don't want to buy something you didn't need! It's all part of the experience. One can imagine what travelers to US go through, where maybe they might not get any help! Thank goodness it worked, but it was another trip across the street to return the card, while my pizza was still waiting for me and Jim was still coughing!

Finally, got back to the room where Jim was dressed and going to come look for me because it was taking a while. Once he saw me, he got back in bed, took the cough medicine, and had a piece of pizza. He said he'd feel better tomorrow for the snorkel trip. I told him I found out they won't refund the money, but if he doesn't feel good, he shouldn't worry about it.

It was a long night, and Jim didn't sleep too well because his head was hurting. Poor guy, but at least the coughing got better.

Enough of that, I'll post the rest of our photos from Koh Chang. We ended up not snorkeling, but it's okay...still enjoying it here!

More Beautiful Koh Chang Photos

Jim Wants to Live Here

Koh Chang Swing on Beach

Sitting Around at a Beach Bar Having a Bite at Sunset

View of Sunset from Koh Chang Amari Emeral Cove Resort Hotel, just outside of our room.

This is the Life in Koh Chang! Walking on the Beach at Sunset

Walking Along Koh Chang at Sunset...I think we've got some good photos for home decor!

Well, that's about it for now! I can't say what the next post will be, so I'll be just as surprised as you! Stay tuned as we head further South!