Whereas the Thais have a fairly cavalier attitude towards such things as litter and planning regulations etc, they do seem to be obsessively keen that we don’t feed the monkeys. There are signs everywhere but in any case, the monkeys seem very capable of feeding themselves. The one that has taken up residence near my room came back to finish off the pineapple
and later this morning I just couldn’t get my camera out in time to witness a singularly aggressive monkey attack a lady’s plastic shopping bag, ripping it so the contents went all over the road. Mr Monkey then ran off with a mega sized bag of crisps in his mouth. All done in the space of about 5 seconds!
I am staying in a small hotel with only around 20 rooms. It’s built in Balinese style using lots of wood
much of which was, according to the owner, Mr Harley Davidson, brought over from Bali, together with a lot of the furniture. It’s in a beautiful spot close to the water’s edge,
backing on to a hillside full of lovely tropical trees and plants.
Halfway up the hill, there is another small pool
complete with waterfall. I have, however, yet to see anyone using it!
At one time there was a restaurant on a kind of jetty over the sea but the authorities said this was not allowed and came and pulled it down. Now only the foundations are visible at low tide.
Considering what abominations have been built and still exist on the other side of the bay, this is yet another example of the planning double standards!
If you’re not into scuba diving then the major attractions on Koh Chang really are just a few waterfalls (which, in the dry season are really not much to look at), the views both at sunset
and during the day which are pretty spectacular
(but why a postbox shaped like a space rocket has been placed at this viewpoint is anyone’s guess)
and of course, the beaches.
This one, sadly, is infested with sea urchins which the locals have the daily job of trying to scoop out.
And that’s about it really. All very lovely but not much more to explore for Phileas. As I mentioned before, I did think of stopping off at another island on my way to meet up with Ollie but all the places I have researched seem to be similar in exploring activities to Koh Chang. I could, of course, drop by Pattaya on my way but as I have no tattoos, I think I would feel really out of place! So, I plan to have one more day here and then we’ll see.
Richard
STOP PRESS!
I have just become a grandfather again. Elodie Fairhurst arrived this morning much to the delight of her mother and father, Jon and Fiona and, of course, her sister, Mia. Congratulations!
thelasthurrahsite 