Life in Thailand: DRIVING to Koh Chang from Bangkok!

Koh Chang means "Elephant Island" in Thai (Chang is Elephant, Koh designates Island). It's a rather large, mountainous island located in the Gulf of Thailand near Cambodia. There are no elephants on the island- that's just the name. However, the island is known for its pristine beaches and can be quite affordable during the rainy season. The resorts and hotel facilities can also be as modern or rustic as you would want them to be. A long weekend? Why not rent a car and drive on over? Throw in some special promotions from the local establishments and we were set to go!

Locale Thai workman taking in some air above the truck (note there is also a guy relaxing in the shade below)

Technical Travel Information
The exact route we followed is plotted out below courtesy of Google Maps. Point A of course is Bangkok, and Point B denotes Elephant island. The trip times for Google Maps in Thailand are not always accurate (usually faster and overly optimistic when compared with the actual driving time). Progress is being made! Google Streetview wasn't available when I first arrived in the tropics. The only hangups to look out for are (1) avoid Motorway 9 at all costs - trucks and cars bottleneck towards the beginning and end. It's faster to just drive local or take the highways through the city (2) Road 344 (north of Pattaya) is a very local 2-lane road that is necessary, but must be taken with a sabai sabai attitude.

The trip itself was enjoyable with numerous distractions along the road, as well as some heavy traffic. But hey, this is Bangkok, remember? And Bangkok's traffic is basically the same as any other big city's - just with the small trucks, tuk tuks and motorcycles thrown into the mix. The highways to the island took us partly along the same roads that lead to Pattaya and Rayong, with Pattaya well known as a party city and Rayong as a province known for its fresh fruit and industry.

Traffic and road conditions on the way to Koh Chang. Shot taken north of Pattaya.

Halfway to the island, dark storm clouds began to gather and it looked like a heavy storm was about to hit. Ordinarily this would just be typical weather during the rainy season, but we were worried that the ferry trips to the island might be canceled until the next day (since by that time it was already getting close to mid-afternoon). Our worries proved to be unfounded since by the time we made it to "Pineapple Pier" - our destination on the mainland - the ferry could be seen approaching.

Legend. 1. Fruit vendors and small markets abound on the road between Bangkok and Koh Chang. FRESH durian, rambutan, lychee, pineapple available!! 2. As we were part way into our six-hour drive, the weather took a turn for the worse. The rain started as we were driving through the hills up ahead. 3. Lush, green, and heavily forested terrain 4. Finally! The mountainous island of Koh Chang is straight ahead. We were blessed to reach the ferry in time.

Incidentally, the ferry usually departs every hour until 7pm. We bought our ticket at the pier and our waiting time ended up being only about fifteen minutes until we were on the ship. One ferry is rather new and very comfortable - the one we road to the island, pictures below - but some of the other ferries seemed rather old and dirty. Since the trips are on a first-come, first-serve basis, it's a roll of the dice which which ferry takes you across the water!

The nicer ferry crossing the narrow straight between the mainland and Koh Chang.

After a thirty minute trip, we were across the straight and approached the port of arrival for the island. Kind of fun welcoming pier I must say! If you didn't bring a car, at this point hotel shuttles will sometimes pick you up (depends on the resort you are staying at). Otherwise, grab a taxi and head towards your final destination! Our resort was located on the western side of the island by the beach town.