How we Walked Through Paradise

Elephant Island is better known as Koh Chang and is one of Thailand's largest islands. It's one of the country's favorite "Gulf of Thailand" islands because of its convenience, variety of paradisal beaches, and endless activities. There's something for everyone on this impressive island. The seafood is fabulous and the waterfalls are simply breath-taking.

Koh Chang is the home of eight villages, the small Asian mongoose and the stump-tailed macaque. It houses a number of other animals, birds, and insects that are attractions in their own right. There are trekking trails through the mountains of the island with guides for the beauty of nature and a little bit of bird watching. The top bird on everyone's list for Koh Chang is the cunning sea eagle. Every early morning trekkers get to enjoy the flight of this magnificent bird as it hunts for its prey.

The island has seven main waterfalls with Khlong Plu Waterfalls being one of the main ones. It's located in the Mu Ko Chang National Park and is a tourist delight because of its clear waters and swim-able emerald pool. People are also intrigued by the fish of Khlong Plu that eat the dead skin off of your body and feet. At station 4 of the trek to the double waterfall, there's a Chinese softshell turtle that greets visitors every morning to afternoon.

Koh Chang is a well-known paradise that never disappoints its visitors with accommodations that range from natural bungalows to 5-star resort amenities. The West-side of the island is well developed with all of the commercial outlets you'd find in most city centers while the East-side of the island is a natural wonder. The East-side still has its natural ecosystem intact with fishing villages full of welcoming people that turned their homes into small businesses such as eateries. Koh Chang has it all and one of Thailand's most visited islands because of its convenience, variety of paradisal beaches, and endless activities.

A Journey Through Paradise

It was my eighth trip of the year to Koh Chang and I was accompanied by my lovely family, my business partner @justaskja in Jamori International, our childhood friend T, and the infamous DJ Pacman.

It was a trip for the ages and we were extra excited to stay at DJ Pacman friend's establishment called the Siam Royal View. Our villa was as luxurious as I had imagined from the pictures I've seen from some of TheDawn & Pacman's earlier trips. We made the last ferry over and assembled on the beach after unpacking in our deluxe villa.

The sunset was filled with dark rain clouds that created a magnificent feel of the evening. Lighting was racing across the sky giving off a powerful feeling for anyone willing to watch it strike. The Siam Royal Bay's beach is flat enough for visitors to walk out into the ocean for meters during dusk and we enjoyed the end of the afternoon with selfies and video clips.

The rush to the ferry made us pretty exhausted so we knew dinner and a few drinks at the Beach Bistro would refuel us. I started the night with a few rounds of the national drink of Brazil called the Caipirinha and it was as refreshing as it was tart. We started with the antipasto platter and it was quite tasty.

The parmesan cheese had the aromatic level that I enjoy and I savored each bite. It didn't have artichokes but instead had giant steamed scallops that were perfect considering we were at a beach bistro next to the sea.

When my main course came, I wasn't disappointed that ordered the creamy tomato linguine with chorizo. I completely loved it and am still thinking of the creamy tomato taste as I type this. The medium sized chunks of chorizo were the ideal addition to the perfected creamy tomato recipe of the bistro's 5-star chef. We shared a memorable order of Wagyu beef sushi that was slightly overcooked but the taste was amazing. We ended dinner early and retired for the night with filled appetites and full bellies.

Our journey began early afternoon after a grand breakfast on the beach. My American tuna melt was to prepare me for the adventures back to one of my favorite waterfalls named Khlong Plu Waterfalls. The trek was no problem and when we arrived, it was as beautiful as I remembered it. I wasted no time into swan diving off my favorite boulder to cool myself off from the day's heat.

After a few dives, I showed DJ Pacman my favorite spots of the waterfall and showed @justaskja the best spots in the emerald pool for filming video.

We spent the afternoon watching all the families and couples visiting the waterfalls come and go while we got the dead skin eaten off of our bodies and feet from the fish. I dove a few more times off my favorite boulder before we decided to leave to find a bite to eat for lunch.

It was close to mid-afternoon so we trekked back through Mu Ko Chang National Park to our car.

We headed to Siam Beach Resort for a dip in the ocean and some great quality food. Their food has always been to my satisfaction ever since I stayed as a guest for my birthday in 2018. The resort has one of the best clear water beaches and their restaurant has tables on the white sand beach to enjoy lunch. After lunch I spent long moments in the ocean feeling like a kid again, enjoying the ocean waters.

We returned to the Royal Siam View exhausted and I turned in early so I could wake up in the morning and get some footage of the beach. It was a legendary day with legendary people.

Relaxing Never Felt so Good

The rest of the trip was spent at a few bars on the West-side in Lonely Beach and at our resort. Siam Royal View has all the 5-star amenities, a marina, bars, and restaurants so enjoying our villa was easier done than said. The villas have their own pools so we spent nights swimming and capturing ourselves doing stupid things underwater. This was a special trip and looking back as I type this I realize how grateful I am for the opportunity to walk through paradise on these beaches on Koh Chang.

Authored & Photographed by:

@stewsak

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