The Beach

On the 28th we set off for 2 nights of sun, spa treatments, and relaxation on Koh Chang. Koh Chang is on the eastern side of Thailand, about an hour flight from Bangkok, and quite close to Cambodia. Koh Chang means ‘elephant island’ and the island is classified as one big national park area. It was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. As we approached the island on the ferry (after our flight to Trat), I was spellbound by the blue skies and sparkling blue water. I had never seen water that clean and blue. I loved Koh Chang immediately.

Our hotel (AANA resort & spa) was fabulous. It was brand new, and although some parts were not finished, and we had to walk past a small building site area every day, the setting and ambience of the hotel was perfect. With a stunning backdrop of thick forest and mountains, the hotel was by the side of a river. Whenever you wanted to go to the beach and sea, you simply went to the side of the river, and one of the hotel guys took you in a little rickety boat on a 10 minute journey down the river to the hotel’s private beach. Get that…private beach! Nice! Comfy sun-loungers, no crowds, beautiful sea, soft sand, and a little beach café just round the corner that sold amazing pineapple juice. Heaven!

We had only just checked in, and within 10 minutes, Ellen and I had sussed out the spa, and booked ourselves in for treatments later that afternoon. We chilled out in our beautiful room until is was time for the spa. The bedroom was lovely…chunky pale wood furniture, white linens, rustic floors, the essential mozzy net, and a fabulous sink! That sounds stupid I know, but I love the kind of sinks that are like a bowl, sat on top of the surface top (hard to explain!)…it makes me feel dead luxurious! Heehee! That afternoon I had a wonderful jasmine rice body scrub, followed by an aromatherapy acupressure massage. It was great! After the spa, we headed to the beach for an hour or 2, and then enjoyed a nice meal in the restaurant in the evening. The 2 nights we were there, we intended to go the White Sands area of the island, where there were shops, bars and restaurants. But we both just felt so chilled out and relaxed after time at the beach and spa that each evening we ended up staying at the hotel restaurant!! We couldn’t be bothered to face the crowds, noise, and heat at White Sands. But, hey, we were only there for a short time, and I wanted to stay as relaxed and cool as possible for all of that time!

On the 2nd day, we went over the beach straight after breakfast, and stayed until it was time for the spa again in the afternoon. I intended to just read and sleep on the beach…but I was just too excited by how beautiful everything looked, that I couldn’t sit still! The 8 year old in me woke up, and I started collecting pretty shells from around the beach!! I used to love doing that when I was little. I remember trying to bring a big bag of shells back from Bournemouth one year, and then I didn’t want to carry it because it was too heavy. Something like that anyway! This time, however, I restricted myself to only the prettiest of shells, and popped them in a little ziplock bag. Don’t know what I’m going to do with them yet…but something! So I spent my time listening to my ipod (Ricky Gervais podcast on a Thai beach…weird!), collecting shells, and wandering around the beach marvelling at how turquoise and warm the water was, and how clean and soft the sand felt. Back at the spa in the afternoon, Ellen and I had a 3 hour spa package ; oriental floral bath, aromatherapy massage, marine mud body wrap, and fresh cucumber facial. Bliss bliss bliss!

We spent the final morning at the beach, Ellen had a manicure, and then it was time to leave. We were both really sad to leave Koh Chang, and if we hadn’t already planned flights, etc etc, we probably would’ve tried to stay longer. I felt so relaxed and clean, and wasn’t looking forward to going back to the heat and smog of Bangkok. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Bangkok.....I just felt that going back there after Koh Chang was going to undo all the good work that the spa staff had done for me!!! After a windy drive around the island, complete with stunning views, we boarded the ferry and set off back to Trat where we would catch our tiny plane back to Bangkok. I would love to go to Koh Chang again someday, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone wanting to visit an island that is still relatively unspoilt in most areas. It was 3 days of beauty, pampering, luxury, gorgeous beaches, and quiet time in the sun…perfect!