My Travel Blog

We spent a day snorkeling on the neighboring sea and islands around Koh Chang. We got to the pier very early in the morning, and I managed to get myself a new pair of bikini at reasonable price at the stalls here.

Stalls at the pier

We boarded the boat as soon as we got there. The view was nice.

The boat ride took about an hour, and it’s quite bumpy.

The map

A shot on the boat ride

We went to 2 snorkeling spots. On the second spot, we dropped by an island.

I found that the corals are not as colorful as Similan Islands, but then, I should not be complaining.

Fish feeding is allowed here, and the fish are so FRIENDLY!

The fish got close to the boats as soon as they were packed. I guess they were used to having tourists around.

It’s our kids’ second snorkeling trip. I’m glad that they love the sea just like their parents. Having a swim in the sea is definitely a great work out, as comparing to taking the fat burner pill.

I’m not sure why SIL picked this hotel, it’s not situated by the beach, but the little town of Koh Chang. KeereeEle Hotel is not a big resort, and it’s quite small but reasonable.

The Lobby

Another part of the lobby

We arrived in the afternoon, and checked into the hotel in group. I found that this place is quite colorful, and it’s pleasant.

The Pool

I didn’t go for a dip in the pool for the 3 days stay. Maybe I was too eager to go to the beach in bikini instead. LOL! I don’t have nice body ok? But I feel that bikini is best for the beach! So does lipozene work? Maybe I need some.

The hallway to our room

Our room, as I said, it’s just a decent room.

The restaurant

We had free breakfast here, but the food is quite limited. Gee…it’s not a five star hotel, so what can I expect?

I’ve almost forgotten about our trip to Dumnoen Saduak Floating Market on the last day of 2009. This floating market is about 2 hours away from the city, but hubby was eager to check it out.

It’s just like a normal market, but not the usual wet markets I visit. You can basically find a lot of things here, but most of them are handicrafts. There are food, antic toys and books and clothes too.

If you fancy a photo shot with the python, feel free to try it out.

We took a ride on the boat, and it’s not too expensive. If you need to get anything, just ask the boat to park by the side, or by the boat stalls for your shopping need.

You can grab some guavas!

I didn’t get these bags, if you are wondering. I don’t support pirated products.

Our boat ride including a short tour to coconut sugar farm.

Remember to get a pack of the coconut sugar, it’s really delicious!

You can shop for some handicrafts at this sugar farm too.

I still have some photos to share on this trip to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Stay tune for next post.

We are going to the beach again in 2 weeks, and this time, it will be an island called Koh Chang. I haven’t been there, but I’ve some so much about it. It’s not as commercial as Phuket, but I guess it will be just as nice.

We will be there on a company trip that includes team building games and snorkeling. So, my kids will be having a lot of fun again.

SIL booked the rooms at a new hotel found at the travel fair recently. I didn’t get the name of the hotel from the pop displays, maybe I will ask her again later and check it out. I hope that it’s a nice place to stay.

I’m still looking for that resort but I found another website with a list of spa packages in Thailand. One of my ideal holiday will be doing nothing but getting a lot of rest and spa!!! I love massage, and getting a good one might not be easy, especially to someone who’s been doing it for 10 years.

I wonder if they have top acne treatment at the spa centers too? Maybe hubby needs one. LOL!

After checking into Nusa Playa Hotel and Spa, we immediately came out to the beach even if it’s already late at night. The tide was so low, you can have a nice walk on the long stretch of the beach.

The kids had great fun running around, and chasing after them was more tedious that working out at commercial fitness equipment.

It’s the first time my kids have ever spent so much time playing on the beach at night. It was fun seeing them enjoying themselves, while I tried to take some night shots. My night shots are pretty bad, so I needed more practice.

Yeap, I still need to work on it!

Let’s continue with our aimless wandering trip, shall we?

So, since we hatred the crowded Baen Saen beach, we decided to drop by Pattaya. What then, being one of the famous tourist spots in Thailand, Pattaya was very crowded too on the first day of 2010. We couldn’t get a room, and the traffic was congested. Thus, we went to Jomtien beach, which is not too far away from Pattaya.

We had luck on our side this time. After a quick dinner, we managed to find a hotel with 2 rooms. And it’s at Nusa Playa Hotel and Spa.

I haven’t noticed this hotel all the while, maybe I’ve missed it.

The price was reasonable and SIL got a discount with her credit card.

The only thing I don’t like about the hotel is the balcony. It’s quite dangerous for little kids, and it’s still under renovation for some part of the hotel. They didn’t block the restricted area well and my kid almost walked towards to open area of 28 floor! Gosh, mesothelioma won’t give me a fright at that time comparing to my kids’ safety.

But the room is good enough for a night. We didn’t have anything to complain about it. Breakfast was great too, considering that it’s not a 5-star hotel.

Best of all, even if this hotel has a lot of oversea tourists, but they check out very early in the morning. So, the pool was quite empty. LOL!

My kids had great fun in the pool and that’s truly enjoyable.

We had a great holiday this week, and most of the time was spent with close family members. Nonetheless, we didn’t have anything plan out, especially on the first day of 2010. We were pretty tired after staying up late counting down to the new year, but when BIL called us to pack some clothes and go on an aimless trip, we eagerly agreed.

Our first stop was in Baen Saen beach in Chonburi, which is suggested by hubby. The beach was crowded with local Thai and it’s so DIRTY! I don’t quite like most beaches, which are more populated by the locals. I think they don’t know how to maintain the cleanliness of the beaches. But then again, it was public holiday and no one was cleaning up the streets and bins. The public washrooms had such long queue, and unless you can stand the dirtiness, then just hold on to your bladder.

There was once when I went to one of the toilets in metal buildings and coach buses in Muek Lek, and mind you, it was so disgusting, I can’t do it again!!! So, we were only there in Baen Saen for less than 10 minutes and off we went to Pattaya.

To be continue …

We’ve been talking about going back to Muek Lek, after our trip to the sunflower field last year, but to no avail. We have been very busy, and I think we will miss the pretty sunflowers this year. It might be too late now and the sunflowers might already be harvested.

I thought of snapping some nice photos in Muek Lek, considering that I already own an dSLR. Too bad I don’t have a marco lens, which cost as much as my insurance quote. Ouch! So I can’t snap any close shot, unless I know how to play with the setting.

Oh well, maybe next year we will visit the sunflower field again.

I love Similan Islands and the same goes to my kids. We would love to go back there again soon, but maybe not anytime next year unless hubby gets some high paying Philadelphia jobs. But judging from his ego, he won’t go back to working for others.

I snapped a lot of photos here, but only have a few to share. The rest are still in RAW and I’m too lazy to convert them.

Honeymoon Bay on Koh Ha (Island no.5)

Na Beach on Koh Miang (Island no. 4)

Na Beach

My kids on the beach