Ko Chang, Thailand 2

Lonely Beach

It was nearly 5pm when we got to lonely beach, having traveled since 8am. Without lunch and tired, we got the last room available at “Nature Beach Resort”. It was their cheapest bungalow – next to the parking lot.

Sera lost it when she saw the hut. I’ve been roughing it for a long time but knew this wouldn’t be an easy sell. The walls were crawling with ants, the bathroom was full of lizard shit. Everything was filthy. But it was Christmas Eve, there was just an hour of daylight left and we were lucky to get something. I’d been imagining worst-case scenarios like sleeping in hammocks at a bar on the strip. So we did ok.

Prices are inflated here on the island for Christmas. Everyone is paying different prices for everything. The guy next to you on the bus bought his ticket cheaper. The beer is his hand was cheaper than yours. The bungalow next to yours is cheaper. You really can’t let the prices kill your vacation. You could move on every day in search of the sweetest deal. Or you could just figure that you’ve done ok, you’re somewhere in the middle, and relax.

Just before reaching lonely beach, we passed through the closest thing to a town, called “Kai Bae”. They have a long strip of pubs, go-go bars, restaurants, live classic rock, two 7-11’s a pharmacy, money exchange, ATM’s, and markets. It’s a bit of a party scene, not on the beach. I figured we were better off where we were.

Lonely beach is a paradise. The lonely planet says it’s becoming “not-so-lonely beach”, referring to “the secret is out” phenomenon. It gets more and more crowded every year. But it’s still rustic, secluded and so far down the coast from the ferry to the mainland, that most people stop before reaching it.

In the cove, there are two large up-scale resorts – Siam Beach and Shumiyama, and two bungalow resorts for budget travelers like us. A bungalow is a plywood hut with a thatched roof on stilts. Ours is “Nature Beach” and the other is “Siam Huts”.

It’s an interesting combination. The resorts are a quiet, older crowd. They’re pretentious, but definitely on my list for when I strike it rich. The bungalow resorts are full-on beach party fever. But mellow - not spring break in Cancun. Thank god. They have kayak rentals, Thai massage, beach barbecues every night and booming sound systems with speakers stacked in the sand that pumped out dance music and reggae all night long – which I’m sure the guests in the upscale spot next door are also making notes about in their journals.