The beach by the slow boat pier

We’ve just uploaded a new album of photos from the island of Koh Mak in the Koh Chang Archipelago in the Gulf of Thailand. This island is smaller than Koh Chang with less tourists and activities but offered an excellent getaway from big island life, plenty of roads to explore by motorbike (or bicycle) and very nice beaches and seafood. Click here to view the photos!

We’ve added a new video of the friendly animals (pigs, cat, dogs) from the Coral Resort at Kaibe Beach in Koh Chang, Thailand. Everyone mostly gets along although I’m not sure there’s a lot of love there. But we loved these guys!

The Pool at the Coral Resort, Kaibe Beach

We stayed a total of seven nights on the island of Koh Chang and four of those were at a very nice resort, the Coral Resort, located at the northern end of Kaibe Beach. This is not a huge resort or even a fancy resort like the ones a bit further North at Klong Prao Beach. But this resort had what we needed and more.

We opted for a private cabin with air-conditioning which ran us 2,000 Thai Baht ($53) a night. Identical cabins with a sea view were 2,500 but from our cabin the sea was still visible between the neighboring “sea-view cabins”. Walking about 20 meters brought us to the edge of the sea for an unobstructed view.

The cabin was really very nice. For starters it was quite spacious and hexagonal in shape. the ceilings were very high and the structure was a combination of painted cement and wood which was attractive and clean looking. Each cabin had its own stairway and balcony that wrapped around a third of the cabin, facing in the direction of the sea. There were plenty of windows for fresh air but the AC was a nice defense against the mid-day heat and the mosquitoes at night. The bathroom was particularly nice with a large shower.

Probably the single most attractive part of the resort was the large swimming pool situated between the restaurant, the massage tables and the sea. The views from the pool looked out over the water and it was simply stunning. Most of the resorts on Koh Chang face west and so sunsets are incredible to watch from any part of this resort.

Massage was very nice and only 250 Baht for one hour. However, for an amazing massage or spa treatment we recommend Bodiwork Spa located on the main road.

Coral Resort doesn’t really have its own beach but you can walk just a bit to get to a strip of beach from the neighboring resort, still within sight of Coral. We’ve found the other resorts on Koh Chang (and on Koh Mak) to be very relaxed in terms of hanging out on their sands, even sitting in their beach chairs when we’re not staying at their resort. Nobody ever asks to see our room key, requests money or tells us to move on.

The restaurant was good but nothing special. The food was tasty but sometimes the portions were rather small. However, the pricing of the dishes was probably less than you would expect from a “resort” anyway. The room included a choice of breakfast and we opted for our daily fruit, yogurt and musli combo which was nice. The neighboring Nang Nual Resort to the South has an even better restaurant which serves an amazing crab with garlic and peppercorns and stays open into the night unlike the restaurant at Coral. The two resorts are under the same family ownership and are separated by a small foot bridge over a canal.

The staff was friendly and professional and this was a smaller relaxed type of place. Tipping is only necessary for housekeeping and possibly at the bar/restaurant since it’s not like there’s a concierge staff or porter carrying your luggage around.

The Coral Resort is only a short walk from the main coastal road and is therefore conveniently located near all of the restaurants, bars and ATMs, 7-Elevens, etc. It’s always nice to have a rented motorbike handy to visit other beaches but it’s well known that Koh Chang is full of steep inclines and winding roads which are only suitable for experienced drivers.

The most interesting part of Coral was the family of animals that also share the resort. All of the animals are domesticated but they add a nice friendly atmosphere and it’s interesting to see them all sort of inhabit the same piece of the island together. There are 2 small pigs (a small one and a tiny one), a cat and several dogs and they all wander around pretty freely or nap in the shade when they’re not busy playing with each other.

One other perk at the Coral Resort was the WIFI access that easily reached our cabin. Prepaid cards are sold at the reception for 100, 250 and 500 Baht for 60, 200 and 500 minutes of WIFI access.

We definitely recommend the Coral Resort for its spacious rooms, beautiful pool, friendly atmosphere and four-legged friends. The clientele is older than what you’d find at the backpacker scene at Lonely Beach and there were a few families with small children. But the resort is very quiet and is a real getaway yet still near enough to the action you might seek on the rest of the island.

Click here to view photos of the Coral Resort!

Pancake & Dewey

A few days ago, while riding around Koh Chang, Kevin and I stopped to ask for directions and discovered a charming little cafe called “Lanna’s Cafe”. It is located at the southern tip of Kai Be beach, right before the road becomes steep and winding leading to Lonely Beach. The place is run by a Thai-Japanese couple who offer organic Arabic coffee grown in the North of Thailand. All the coffees and teas served can be bought in beautifully designed packages. Due to some inexplicable health streak we’re on, we opted for organic tea instead of coffee and it was excellent!

The cafe is a very cute spot for chillin’ in the afternoon. We stayed for drinks and a chat with Uta (one of the owners) about life in Koh Chang. Uta and her husband also have a cute kitty named Pancake (I suspect he got that nickname since his daily regiment consists of 22hrs laying flat on his belly, 2 hrs for eating). Pancake happens to look a lot like Dewey, the hero of a book I got as a gift from a friend for this trip. I just had to take a picture of the two of them!

A First Glimpse of Koh Chang

We’ve just posted new photos from Koh Chang Island and surrounding islands in this approx 50 island archipelago in the Eastern Gulf Coast of Thailand.

View Koh Chang Island photos.
View Island Hopping photos.

Hiking up the Mountain in Koh Chang

The only part of my body that doesn’t actually ache at the moment is my fingers which is why I am able to type this post. This morning Kevin and I got picked up at our resort and drove to the northern tip of the island for a full day of trekking in the jungle. We sat in a back of a pickup truck while the driver took us through steep mountain roads. As we were driving north, we had a chance to meet the other members of our small group (a French couple and a Scottish couple) and I noticed that all but me were wearing professional trekking shoes. Hmm. I definitely have a pair somewhere at home in New York where I will never ever need to use them.

Twenty minutes later, we were in the jungle, ready and excited to start the day. Our guide, Mr. Tan (who came highly recommended by my friend Keren), gave us each a walking stick, two bottles of water and a lunch box to take with us. At first, we walked through an orchid where Tan showed us different fruits (Banana, Rambutan, Eggplant, Durian, Lime) and spices (Chili, Basil, Lemongrass) grown locally while explaining how they are used in Thai cuisine.

That concluded the easy portion of the day and we quickly started climbing up the mountain.

Tan walked the six of us through thick vegetation, narrow trails and sometimes scary pathways. It definitely reminded me of my favorite show “Lost”, I was just hoping “The Others” were on a different island this week. We stopped every once in a while to see interesting trees and animals and admire the view from up high. It was gorgeous!

A 500m climb is definitely not part of my daily routine in New York, it was rough! We were both covered in sweat (and mosquitos) for most of the day. After four hours of hiking up the mountain, we reached the summit and stopped for a much needed break at a waterfall. Jumping into the cool water was exactly what we needed after exerting ourselves. We all had lunch by the waterfall and relaxed for a while.

The worst part about climbing up is definitely climbing down. This proved to be more challenging than I had expected since the strap on my new shoes broke within the first 30 seconds of our climb. I guess that’s what you get for 200 Baht. With torn sandals and achy legs, I started descending. After about an hour (kinda felt like 3), we were back in civilization and ready for a cold beer.

We figured we got a really good workout and can treat ourselves to a “naughty rotee” which is what we have nicknamed the super fattening banana rotee (banana crepe with condensed milk). It was a really fun day and I’m glad we got to see some of the beautiful mountainous terrain of Ko Chang.

Coral Resort, Koh Chang

Koh Chang has everything an island needs to have in order to qualify for paradise status: great beaches, beautiful scenery, excellent food and plenty of cats around. On our first day here, we took a little survey of the beach and pool situation, I am happy to report the water is warm and clear. Perfect. Tomorrow we hope to explore the waterfalls and do some hiking.

Barack Obama's Inauguration 2009

This is my first post that I am writing from Asia on this trip. Last night Tamar and I stayed up late, fully absorbed by the TV coverage of the inauguration of the first African-American president of the USA. These two firsts coincided to remind us of another, that of the very first time we traveled to Asia in September 2001.

Seven years ago we were on a beautiful island in Thailand, Koh Lanta. This predominantly Muslim inhabited island of fishing, beautiful beaches and scenic, green interior hills was our first experience with paradise in Asia. Having arrived directly from Israel, in the time of the second Intifada, we had traveled far to find peace and seclusion and managed to escape the demonstrations, bombs, killing and news coverage for a full week. But that escape ended on the night of September 11 (Thai time zone) when it was announced by one of the locals that “a plane hit a building in NY” and Tamar and I watched the twin towers fall on satellite TV, beamed live to the island. In the wake of those terrible events I remember feeling both proud and helpless at the same time. I felt helpless because I couldn’t have been farther from American life at that time. However, like other Americans, I felt proud of the way that citizens and heroes responded to crisis back home and proud of the American instinct to coalesce in search of unity despite inherent diversity.

So, now I’m writing from Koh Chang, another idyllic corner of the earth and after watching the day’s events on TV I’m again filled with pride even though I’m far from home. I’m proud of the American system of government and proud to have voted. I’m proud to be a member of a generation to witness such a major step forward for the country. The feeling of helplessness has now been replaced by an imperative of participation and a sense of empowerment. That only eight years ago I never expected to see America under the leadership and inspiration of a black president is reason enough to give me hope for the next eight years.

It is during President Obama’s first term in office that Tamar will be allowed to apply for US citizenship. She is patient and her patience is to be rewarded. I’m very proud that this is the America that she can now be a part of should she choose to accept, in the words of our president, “the price and promise of citizenship”. In the meantime, as we continue to travel together, we’re proud to see the rest of the world celebrating along with us and it’s so good to be on the road again!