The Beach

When a couple of friends urged me to go to Thailand for the first time, one naturally told me to watch "The Beach" with Leonardo diCaprio which was filed on the gorgeous Thai island of Ko Phi Phi Lek (one of Emily's favorite islands). The movie came out in 2000 and opened the eyes of many my age to Thai beaches and the allure of backpacker travel.

When I did finally come to Thailand in late 2001 to become certified in a Teaching English as a Foreign Language program located in Ban Phe, Thailand (again encouraged by the same friend), I was excited the first weekend when the school chartered a wooden blue ferry boat to take us out to Ko Samet – the nearby island known for it's amazing squeaky white-as-rice sand. 

What none of us knew is that the boat wasn't going to pull up to the ferry pier, but instead went around the the T-shaped island to the beach furthest down its length – a beach that could be reached by foot or boat, and therefore a seldom used one. Our boat pulled up 100 yards off the shore and we were told to jump. As I looked out at the vacant, perfect white sand cove with its still, vibrant-blue water – I thought of the scene where Leonardo diCaprio and companions jump off a cliff into their perfect beach. So, I jumped along with my exhilarated new friends as we swam to shore in the bathwater warm water.

That was two weeks before my 24th birthday.

Over time I traveled to other Thai islands and beaches including Ko Chang where we just arrived. Ko Chang shares Ko Samet's beautiful white sand coves and sparkling blue water – only with lush green mountains and jungly hills. It also happens to be Thailand's second largest island – yet thanks to having most of it declared a national park, it has no airport and remains inconvenient enough that despite vast development since I was last here in 2002, Ko Chang retains its character.

One important theme of "The Beach" is that there's always a traveler looking for his or her unspoiled piece of paradise – that perfect beach or spot that only they have, which must remain a secret lest it be destroyed by the hordes of other paradise seekers.

Looking around Ko Chang, it's easy to see from its development how that drove its development over the past 15 years. When I first came, the road went no further south than midway down the length of the island. Now roads circumnavigate Ko Chang making cove after cove – each with a development or two – accessible. Without going completely overboard, every cove has been developed into someone's special piece of paradise – making it a little less paradise than it once was. 

Luckily, the legal protection of the center of the island has kept it from becoming Ko Samui – built-up beyond recognition. The monkeys continue to live in the forests and the piers still have sleepy fishing boats and villages.

My children came to Ko Chang today at ages 2 and 4. They have mostly learned about the beach behind Daniel Tiger's house on "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood", but nonetheless got their first taste of Thai beach paradise.

Unlike Leonardo diCaprio's character who took buses from Bangkok to Southern Thailand and then had to find someone to smuggle him out to a secret island by boat only to find himself chased and fired at by drug producers before falling down a cliff into his long-sought paradise – ours arrived in a private air-conditioned mini-bus via ferry after sleeping the night in a first-class sleeper car on the Special Express from Chaing Mai to Bangkok. It was a decidedly more legitimate and less death-defying set of circumstances. But it required no less patience and endurance nor yielded any less excitement than Leonardo's journey.

The overnight train – which Emily and I felt had the most potential to go wrong of anything in our trip went easily and well. The kids were excited to look out the window, eat dinner and go to bed. Ailyn slept through the night solid and Sennen slept for about 8.5 hours before waking up wanting to know what every sound, light and activity on the train was. I came down from my upper berth to lay down on his as he sat by the window staring out and answer his million questions.

Only Emily and Arielle slept lightly – a little worried about oversleeping and missing our station at which we arrived at 5:45 am. Luckily, we awoke in time and had the kids ready in the nick of time as we scurried off the train at the Don Muang station in the outer parts of Bangkok. There waiting for us was our mini-bus coordinator who helped us get our bags from the platform to the curb out front and called our van to come collect us all – three adults, two children and 11 items of luggage (including personal backpacks and stroller). 

Our estimated four-hour ride to the ferry dock in Trat took about 5 hours with a couple of stops for food and restroom as well as one time being pulled aside at a police checkpoint and being cited due to Arielle's lack of a seatbelt (which she couldn't make work). After 20 minutes of negotiation among our driver, coordinator and the police – we were presented with a written citation and asked for 200 Baht ($6.10) to make the problem go away. We paid and it did.

For much of the ride, long ride to Trat, the kids watched their favorite Daniel Tiger on my phone (a special treat we never allow at home) including the three-part "Tiger Family Trip" which Ailyn has been referencing our entire trip. With the Tiger Family's sage advice on how to handle long rides and enjoy new and different things fresh in their minds, the kids did very well over the long journey.

When we finally reached Trat and the ferry pier, we find ourselves and our mountain of baggage at the entrance of the ferry "terminal" which is really a collection of stands and shops next to a not-so-fancy pier. I went to buy our tickets, wondering how we were going to lug everything onto the boat when the ticket sales lady asked me who our five people included. When I answered three adults and two children, she asked the kids' ages. She then offered me a package of a private minibus which would collect our bags, take us on the ferry and then drive us the hour down the Ko Chang coastline to our townhouse for 1900 Baht ($57). I told her that we needed to stop by the supermarket on the way down – and asked if the driver could accommodate that. She said for an extra 200 Baht, it could be done. 

My 24 year-old self would have found this an abominable rip-off – the kind of thing that dumb Western tourists who didn't speak any Thai and didn't know the right prices paid because they were culturally
oblivious.

My 40 year-old self wanted to hug this ticket-sales woman and couldn't hand her the 2200 Baht fast enough. When she offered to have a minibus pick us up on the 2nd and take us back across to meet the other private minibus we have already booked to take us back to Bangkok that day – I again couldn't thank her enough and happily handed over my money.

While some of those other tourists my 24 year-old scorned were in fact, oblivious and dumb – it turns out I too was oblivious to the needs of someone with children in tow. Since our first trip to Greece with Sennen, we have increasingly come to solving problems with money. An extra $25 to have someone load and unload our bags, take us by the supermarket directly to our lodging in a private, air-conditioned van was a no-brainer. 

And fortunately for us, the end of the line was well worth the travel. Besides the beauty of Ko Chang, our Airbnb townhouse rental was even more gorgeous and spacious than it appeared online. With a view of gorgeous cove and within walking distance of a fishing/tourist village nearby – our new digs are stylish, comfortable and well appointed. We even have a washing machine and dishwasher – two not-so-common appliances. 

With our beach a short walk through the complex and a swimming pool along the beach, we appear set to enjoy our own beach paradise in a new way for us – the 39/40 year-olds with children way.