Koh-Chang and the Ferry of Doom

We wanted to get one more dive done while we had the chance, heeding the warning that people who don't dive soon after their qualification tend not to dive again. Koh-Chang, an Island off the South East coast of Thailand, just back from the Cambodian border seemed a good opportunity.

The bus from Bangkok terminated in a small town called Trat. It's name sums it up rather well. We spent a night and then got the ferry the next day to the Island. The ferry met expectations in terms of it's state but what exceeded expectations was the lacklustre attitude by the crew. It was a roll-on-roll-off style ferry, with a big door at the back where cars drive on and a big door at the front where they drive off (and pedestrians walk off between the moving cars). Anyone familiar with the Zebrugger ferry disaster will know the dangers inherent in this design of ship. This however didn't include the crew of our particular ferry who obviously considered it more hassle than it was worth to raise either of the doors for the 45 minute crossing. Having taken stock of the location of the life jackets (just a small climb on top of the tuck shop to reach them down from the roof), I then couldn't believe what I saw next. A passenger walked out to the end of the forward ramp, above the water to get his photo taken. Surprised at this, I wondered if any crewman had spotted this act of lunacy. A member of crew did approach, but I realised he did not share my concern, instead lowering the ramp till it was skiffing off the water to presumably help improve the photo. What can I say!

The Thai Tourist Board is trying to develop Koh-Chang into an upmarket resort choice and what was once the preserve of the backpacker has almost entirely been bought out from under them. There still remains a small offering for the restricted budget though and as it was off-season we were not short of accommodation options. We stayed at White-Sands, which is the largest town on the Island and has the most amenities. At first we wondered if we should have sought one of the more authentic, less developed beaches down the coast, but a conversation with another couple, later, who had done that very thing revealed that in their opinion we had made the right choice. There wasn't much to do here other than enjoy the beach and spend a day on a dive.

Again it was a two dive day but the boat this time was much smaller and the experience all round was much smaller too. The diving itself was still good though, albeit it was quite a different kind of environment. There was a lot more current in the water and visibility was a lot less but it was great to be out doing a dive as grown ups. The highlight was when we saw a turtle on the first dive, it was great to see it, chomping away on a plant and then it decided to give us the shake vanishing beyond our visibility. We popped up after the dive and no sooner did I get on board than I was sea-sick. Not wanting to look like a one hit wonder, I promptly repeated my performance after the second dive too. Still, the fish didn't seem to mind as they came up to try a bit of it for themselves. Waste not want not.

Despite being the rainy season, the weather in Koh-Chang could not have been better. It was super sunny and hot and the sea temperature was 31°C. It was truly like wading into a bath when we went for a swim on the beach. Incidentally, that was the sea temperature further out to sea where we went diving so it was probably a little hotter again at the beach. The hotels, all had little restaurants and bars opening onto the beach and you could have the pick of any venue, since being low season the whole place only seemed to be about a quarter full. We stayed there for four days before heading back to the mainland to make our connection for Cambodia.