Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Sunshine Days in Koh Si Chang

Koh Si Chang is a small island in Chonburi province, the east coast of Thailand. It’s only about 65 kilometres from Bangkok.  There are many ways to travel to Koh Si Chang such as bus, van, car, or taxi. We took a van from the Victory Monument: Bangkok - Siracha. The tickets cost around 100 baht each. We told the van driver to drop us off at Siracha Robinson Mall because it’s closer to the pier than the van station. Then, we took a tuk-tuk (three-wheels motorcycle taxi) to Jarin pier where we could take the boat to Koh Si Chang. The boat costs 40 baht each for a 40-minute journey to the island. The boats from Jarin pier leave hourly from 07.00 a.m. to 08.00 p.m. and boats from Koh Si Chang to the main land are also hourly, from 06.00 a.m. to 06.00 p.m.


40 minutes later …

Here we were at the main pier of Koh Si Chang, there were many kinds of services provided such as tuk-tuk tours around the island for 350 baht per day, accommodation for those who would like to stay overnight but don’t have a room yet, and motorcycle rental services for 350 baht per day (24 hours).
We, as usual, rented a motorcycle for transportation to take us everywhere around the island. 

We booked our room at the famous Maleeblue (booked in advanced like 2 months), the hotel is really popular, especially if you travel on the weekend. For weekdays I guess you can just walk in. Each room in Maleelbue has it own name and we took the room called Chellah.

The hotel has a very unique design and many green areas. Our building had only two rooms: Chellah and Sale. Our room was quiet small and the private bathroom was not attached, we had to walk across the hall to use it. Fortunately, the other room in the building was occupied by our friends, otherwise it would have been really awkward. No outside food or drinks are allowed to be brought into the hotel.

Around the island …

The Beach
There is only one beach on Koh Si Chang, it’s called Haad Tham Pahng. It’s a medium size beach with soft sand and a lot of people. Just one thing I didn’t like that the nearby restaurant turned on a loudspeaker which amplified people singing kareoke. It killed some of the mood since I came to the beach to relax.

Phra Chuthathut Palace
This beautiful place was once the royal summer palace of King Rama V. The area is really well kept and there are a lot of trees and Frangipani flowers (my favourite flower of all time).

Chong Isariyaporn (Khow Khad)
Place for rest, sea viewing, and the best spot for watching the sunset.

Saan Chao Pho Kao Yai
A Chinese Buddhist temple that was built into a cave at the top of a very long staircase.  The view is great but the walk is exhausting.


                                                                                                        - Thanks for visiting -

7 comments:

angela said...

Everything there looks so gorgeous, I'm jealous, I only live in LA. Buildings everywhere, nothing special :(

Bay said...

Oh Angela, tell me about it. Bangkok, where I live, is a concrete jungle too. That is why I am so excited every time I get out of the city, even for a small trip makes me happy.

Unknown said...

Bay, I love this post and your photos are gorgeous! I'm always looking for great beaches that aren't too far away from Bangkok. I will write this one down in my book and make a real effort to visit next time I'm in Thailand. Thank you so much. :)

Bay said...

Hi Vee, glad you like it :)

If you have a chance, please visit, it's nice.

But there is also Koh Larn (where can take a boat from pattaya, I reviewed it on Feb 2010) thatis near Bangkok, about 1 hour by van.

Koh Larn - many nice beaches, clear water. I highly recommend to spend at least one night and should go on weekdays, in the evening you will feel like the beach is yours.

Koh Sichang - only one beach as I said in the post (beach is less beautiful than Koh Larn) but Koh Sichang has other places to visit other than beaches. Koh sichang, let says, has more cultural things to do/see.

If you have time, you should do both :)

Are you in Thailand now? If you are, I'm going to Koh Larn on 2nd of Sep, you can join me and my friends.

CrazyCris said...

Looks like a great place for a holiday!

And I hear you about the karaoke complaints! There's nothing worse than being forced to people singing badly LOUDLY! :s

Unknown said...

@ Bay, I'm not in Thailand at the moment, unfortunately! Earlier this year when I was in Thailand I bought a little book to write travel plans down and I call it my 5 baht book. I have written down the info about buses etc from your blog into my 5 baht book! Thank you so much for all the detailed information. It's brilliant. :)

Bay said...

@Cris Thanks for reading my complaints :D
I hope they do something about that though, because it's truly noisy. At least they should turn the volume down.

@Vee A 5 baht book, I like it! For places near Bangkok, please feel free to ask, I always seek places to go on the weekend ;)

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