Beautiful Klong Prao Beach, Koh Chang

Klong Prao Beach

Obligatory pina colada/legsie shot

Klong Prao Beach 

Klong Prao Beach

"selfie" gone wrong

Another "selfie" gone very wrong

I'll stick to photographing beverages at sunset

Beach bar, Klong Prao Beach

Klong Prao Beach

There's always a beach hound 

Klong Prao Beach

Work?

This blog hasn't mentioned work yet... does this mean I have managed to switch off? Of course not. I do my usual 3-4 hours each morning (holiday schedule) and then take the rest of the day off. It works well for me. I am working on (unpaid) projects that I enjoy. My list is slightly ambitious, but I wouldn't want to lounge about for 6 weeks, would I? You have to admit my office space isn't half bad.

• reviewing an article for Language Learning in Higher Education journal DONE
• editing SiSAL Journal (reviewing papers, sending them out for review etc.) IN PROGRESS
• proofreading an ebook to be published by IATEFL "Getting learners actively involved" edited by Marcella Menegale" DONE
• creating the ebook files DONE
• liaising with the editor and authors and publishing the book IN PROGRESS
• organising a conference at KUIS in October (Liaising with colleagues in Japan, inviting speakers) IN PROGRESS
• taking a 6-week social psychology course from Wesleyan University (via Coursera), watching lectures, readings, assignments etc. IN PROGRESS
• reviewing chapter submissions for an ebook I'm editing with Christian Ludwig "Tools, Tasks and Environments" BEHIND (sorry Christian)
• proofreading / creating another IATEFL ebook edited by Anja Burkert, Leni Dam and Christian Ludwig "The answer is autonomy" TO DO
• Liaising with authors and potential authors for future ebooks for Candlin & Mynard e-publishing
• Keeping this blog BEHIND
• Working on initial chapters of a book on "reflective dialogue" with Satoko Kato BEHIND (sorry Satoko)
• Working on a paper on affect and self-directed learning with David McLoughlin BEHIND
• Revewing a book proposal for Springer BEHIND

The Dewa Resort in better weather

The weather was good for the rest of the week. Here are some shots of the beach and resort. Beautiful.

Dewa Resort in the rain

We arrived at the Dewa resort dripping wet - but not as wet as our bags.... we knew we weren't seeing the resort at its best in the torrential rain, but we were a bit disappointed with the room. They used a kind of polished concrete on the walls and floors. I knew what the designers were trying to do, but it just seemed cold and unfinished. Our room smelled damp and we made things worse by having to hang our clothes all around the place to dry. Every time we went out we had to remove the key from the electricity slot, so when we came back, the damp smell came back. The main colour theme used throughout the resort is grey (walls, tiles, uniforms, bath robes etc.). Trendy? Maybe, but I associate Thailand with colour, so for me it just seemed wrong.

View from our room on Day 1 

Our room. We weren't keen on the polished concrete. Supposed to be trendy, but we found it a bit dark and cold

The pool in the tropical rain

Getting to Koh Chang

So we went for option 3: bus + ferry + songthaew. It was a fraction of the cost and Thai buses are very good. We thought it would be more of an adventure. For the first part, the journey was fine. We turned up at Ekamai Bus Terminal in Bangkok at 9.20 and got tickets for the 9.45 bus no problem. The bus made good time and we got to the pier just in time to take the next ferry without waiting (last year we waited ages in the baking sun for the next ferry). The sky was overcast and the weather relatively cool. The ferry was smooth and uneventful. All good.

A Koh Chang ferry

We arrived safely on Koh Chang, squeezed into a songthaew with about 9 other people and then the heavens opened... I mean really opened. It was a full-on tropical rainstorm. The kind of rain that turns roads into muddy rivers in minutes. Koh Chang is hilly so this was an interesting ride. We didn't care about getting a bit wet as it was warm rain, but we were a bit concerned about our bags on the roof.....

A songthaew taxi (taken from this site)

Planning the next leg: to Koh Chang

We went to Koh Chang last year and had such a lovely time on this beautiful Thai island that we decided to go again this year. It's rainy season (which doesn't bother us because we aren't really sun bathers) which means that the resorts are relatively cheap. Some of the accommodation on Koh Chang caters for budget travellers, but there is a shift towards more chic boutique resorts. Last year we stayed at the fabulous Chill Resort and were very very tempted to go back. A Thai lady working at our local Thai restaurant in Japan (where we go for som tam fixes) said that she had stayed in a place called the Dewa and highly recommended it, so we booked a room for a week.

The next task was getting to Koh Chang. Part of its appeal (at least for us) is that it isn't that easy to get to as this means that you don't get hoards of package tourists. We had a few options:

1. Hire a driver to take us door to door (4500 baht / 5 hours including ferry)
2. Take one hour flight with Bangkok Airways ("Fly boutique, feel unique") to Trat Airport - an airport about one hour away from Koh Chang, then take a bus to the pier, buy a ferry ticket, take a 30 minute ferry ride, plus 20 minute ride in a songthaew (shared jeep) to the resort (6000 baht for two people / 5 hours)
3. Take the local bus from Bangkok to the Koh Chang ferry pier, buy a ferry ticket, take a 30 minute ferry ride, plus 20 minute ride in a songthaew (shared jeep) to the resort (600 baht for two people / 5 hours)

What do you think we did?