Transitions

When I lived in Bangkok, Singapore, Hsinchu (Taiwan) and Taipei – the tropical sun beat against the concrete walls of the structures, making its energy known despite shades and air conditioning, forcing people to start their days. So it came to us this morning – the condo steadily warming until the fan was insufficient and only air conditioning would do. A quick look outside reminded us why – the large cove of our tropical island filled with boats and surrounded buy lush green hills. We are no longer in surprisingly arid Chiang Mai, but in full, humid tropical Ko Chang.

The beauty of the island and the refreshment of the beaches called. So after breakfast and a few new house glitches – like finding we had frying pans, but no spatulas; or the dishwasher overflowing with suds because what we thought was detergent was just dish soap – we proceeded to a nearby beach that Lonely Planet described in the most attractive of ways.

On the island, it's easy to forget that situating ones self in Thailand comes with a learning curve. The dishwasher situation should have been reminder enough – but we underprepared for going to what appeared to be a very close, easy access beach. After ten minutes of sweaty walking alongside the narrow, windy road filled with hairpin turns – Ailyn on my shoulders, Sennen gripping Arielle's hand tightly while occasionally freaking out from the proximity of passing motorcycles, cars and trucks – we arrived at what we thought might be the footpath down to our beach only to discover we had a long way to go because of a curve in the road that veered inland from the coast before returning to our beach.

We took the sensible approach and threw the freaked out boy on my shoulders while Emily carried Ailyn and returned to a nearby cafe overlooking a gorgeous vista to get cold drinks while waiting for a songthaew (covered pickup truck with benches) taxi to come along. We waited for more than 15 minutes while Sennen showered us with questions when we decided to try walking to the fishing village of Bang Bao where we had dinner last night. So of course just when we gave up, a songthaew finally came along and for 100 Baht ($3.06) whisked us off to Khlong Koi beach in what couldn't have been more than eight minutes. 

There we found a whitesand cove that looked exactly like so many Thai island beaches we've been to in our travels – a line of budget bungalow lodging establishments, each with a beachside restaurant and beach chairs and tables for rent for 20 Baht per chair per day. Beachside massage, fruit vendors and a convenient store or two littered the scene. Khlong Koi is the laid back Thai beach we sought.

But there were a few subtle difference that escaped the eye at first – namely some mild, but steady waves – very rare in the Gulf of Thailand. The water also was more green than blue – which led us to notice a line down the coast where the water changed color into the vibrant blue we were expecting and the sea floor was rocky with some sharp coral – leading us to want to explore a beach further down in the days to come.

That said, nothing stopped our enjoyment of the beach. The kids went in with water shoes, never feeling the coral and mostly clinging to us anyway. Ailyn in particular spent a lot of time attached to her BFF, Arielle. The mild waves probably added to Sennen's enjoyment as he liked bobbing up and down with them and laughed each time one passed. 

And after a couple of hours of swimming and sand play, we grabbed lunch at a typical Thai beach restaurant with the typical second-rate Thai fare and poorly done Western items at much-higher-than-mainland prices that one expects on a Thai island. But that's part of the experience. It's no longer the phenomenal, authentic and diverse market fare of Chiang Mai for no more than 500 Baht ($15.32) for a family of five, but 1300 Baht ($39.85 – still a deal by US standards) for an average one in an incredible venue.

By the time the slow Thai restaurant service was done, we were past due for naps – so back to the road to wait for the songtheaw taxi to get us to the complex where we rinsed off the kids at the outdoor shower by the beach and pool and then inside for nap. 

As is typical to the Thai island experience, we haven't done much today – but it feels like the day has been long and we're not even through it.

Our kids definitely feel that way. After a long travel experience yesterday and the night before, they were crankier and fussier than they have been at any other point in the trip – despite a good night's sleep. We saw the preview last night when they were both unusually antsy at dinner and when we told them that after dinner, we would take them back to our new vacation house to shower and sleep, Ailyn broke down crying with lower lip sticking out, "But I like my old vacation house (Chaing Mai), it makes me happy…. How will I be happy???" Hearts broke.

Emily aptly summed it up – Ailyn had undergone a big adaptation going to Chiang Mai and had felt settled into her new vacation house when we yanked it out from under her. It's perhaps the first real toll of our first time changing locations within one trip.

Today, however, no one seems to be sad about the new vacation house – which is pretty great – or the beautiful island on which it sits. We just have some fatigue to resolve, which is why we made no plans and decided to just make it a local beach – and maybe later – swimming pool day.