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.
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Wat Pho Reclining Buddha

We’ve just uploaded some photos from our day in Bangkok including many photos from a short cruise up the Chao Phraya River the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. Click here to view the photos!

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. Continue Reading »

A tragic fire and stampede has resulted in nearly 60 deaths in an upscale nightclub in Bangkok. Read the full story on CNN and the NY Times.

This is the first time that Tamar will be working in Asia since she’ll be consulting at a mobile content company in HCMC for a month. But what other NEW things will we attempt to experience on our upcoming trip in 2009?

First of all, we’re planning on spending a good deal of time in Thailand. A couple days after I arrive in HCMC we’ll take off for some island fun.

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Koh Chang

This archipelago is situated far from the famous islands like Koh Pi Pi and Koh Phangan and the full-moon parties. However, everything I’ve heard about Koh Chang sounds just as good if not better than most of the other more popular islands of Thailand. From beaches to hiking, motorbiking (although reportedly risky for beginners) to hanging out with elephants, this island getaway sounds like the perfect break from the fast paced life in New York City. In addition to the main island of Koh Chang there are several smaller nearby islands to explore and we plan on doing some island hopping just like we did last year in Si Phan Don, Laos.
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photo credit: JasonDGreat

Thailand has a new prime minister and the country looks to be bouncing back from its relatively brief period of instability caused by mass protests and the blockage of Thai airports. The airports have reopened and things are returning to normal. We’re following the news closely as we prepare for our upcoming trip. Even if nobody closes down the islands and beaches we still may need to enter the country by plane so we’re hoping that there will be no further disruptions to the Thai way of life as well as our upcoming visit. Read more about the current situation here: Thai PM vows to restore stability – CNN.com.

Three weeks minus one day to go, almost in Hanoi already! This time we are going to start our 5 week journey exactly where I last finished-Hanoi, Vietnam. In Sep 2001, after 6 wonderful weeks of traveling through Thailand and Vietnam, I left Hanoi to go back home to Tel Aviv as school was about to start. Little did I know that within a week all universities around the country will be on strike and I will be sitting at home wishing I could roam the streets of Hanoi.
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