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KOH WAI (cont'd) and KOH CHANG
Page 25
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TOP: Panoramic view of the northern coast of Koh Wai taken from thr top of the "Pavillion".
TOP ROW LEFT: Aom in a tree; she likes climbing trees???
TOP ROW RIGHT: Yep, she's in a tree again. She likes swings too.
SECOND LEFT: TT at breakfast. Yes that really is a cup of coffee and not beer.
SECOND RIGHT: Aom going for a morning snorkel off the jetty.
THIRD LEFT: What is it with trees with that lady? This tiny cove was one of many we pass whilst out walking.
THIRD RIGHT: Not to mention trees again but in the background is the coastal track. This is the only means of exploring the island by foot as the interior is thick jungle.
BOTTOM LEFT & RIGHT: Coconut palms are absolutely everywhere and so are the coconuts. Here's some baby coconut trees on the beach.
This movie contains scenes around the coastal path of Koh Wai.
SUNDAY 17th: Board the resort's supply vessel (which doubles a fishing boat) on its return trip to the neighbouring big island of Koh Chang. From there we would get a lift on a local's pick-up truck to the main ferry terminal on Koh Chang and from there to the mainland. Catch the big car-ferry over to Trat.
TOP LEFT: The leaving of Koh Wai on board the resort's supply vessel. TOP RIGHT: Her Royal Highness aboard and cruisin'. SECOND LEFT: Koh Chang, Wat Khao Than port. SECOND RIGHT: River mouth near Wat Khao Than, Koh Chang. We sailed up this river for a few kms. THIRD LEFT: Maybe this is a Fishing Boat THIRD RIGHT: This is where the supply vessel finally tied up. The white stuff drying is squid and the red stuff in the bowl is some sort of small fish. BOTTON LEFT: Our lift. In the back of the pick-up truck en-route to the Koh Chang vehicle ferry terminal BOTTOM RIGHT: And this is the said vehicle ferry.
Last day on Koh Wai, The edge of a tropical thunderstorm touched the island in the wee small hours with torrential rain. By the time we were out of bed, the storm was long gone and the morning sunshine was drying everything up.
Maybe I’m lucky… as I walked down from the bungalow there was an enormous BANG just behind me which made me jump. Looking behind was a freshly fallen coconut lying split open literally a step behind me. Clearly it had been loosened by the storm; problem was it was too young and green to eat. The palm trees are over 15 metres high so one of those on your head would be lethal.
After breakfast, Aom went on a final snorkelling sortie. I decided against going into the sea again because of my injured shin. To be honest, if the injury had occurred in UK, I would have gone for stitches, but no such luxury out here.
We’d more or less finished packing when the reception lady came over to inform us that our ferry, the High-speed Penan was not running today because of high winds and seas after the overnight storm. This prompted a re-think and aided by the resort staff a devious alternative travel arrangement was made.
The plan was to:-
The trip over on the supply vessel was actually more fun than the high-speed ferry. We sat up-top on plastic beach-chairs which had merely been screwed to the wooden deck and secured further with bits of rope. Very much a working boat.
It took about 90 minutes to near Koh Chang and we sailed into Ao Salakphet and then into the mouth of a river the banks of which were lined with working vessels, fishing boats, tatty wooden jetties and dilapidated sheds, shacks and warehouses with mangroves on the opposite bank. Eventually, we tied up alongside a jetty and made our way through an ice-making factory (don’t ask why.. it just happened that way) to the road beyond. There a pick-up truck, our lift, was waiting. There were already a few people there so Aom and I opted to climb into the pick-up’s back and sit ourselves there amongst the luggage. There was a big thick mat on the floor so it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
Here's a movie of the leaving of Koh Wai and the arrival at Koh Chang:-
