Koh Chang was a place to be remembered. It’s where Mike lost his wedding ring, so, if any of you found a gold ring engraved with Jass & Mike 121214, please let us know. This entry will show you our experience on the private transfer from Bangkok to Koh Chang, where we go and eat, and also the food and drinks prices.
Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok
My flight from Kuala Lumpur landed at 5:15 pm, and I thought I’d be able to meet up with Mike at about 7 pm. However, I was wrong, and I spent 40 minutes queuing for immigration clearance. The journey in a taxi also took about 2 hours to get to Amora NeoLuxe Suites in Sukhumvit due to the traffic jam.
To top it off, my taxi driver didn’t know how to get to the hotel. He drove to the area and called the hotel for a direction. However, by that time, he’d already driven past it, and because he didn’t want to turn around, he asked me to walk to the hotel! Thankfully, it took me only 10 minutes to walk to the hotel.
By the time I reached the hotel at 8:30 pm, my in-laws were already waiting for me, and they helped me get an extra keycard from the reception for Mike’s room. Once freshened up, I went down to meet them, and we walked to Robin Hood bar to meet with Mike before getting a taxi to Sabaijai Gayang for dinner.
Ferry to Koh Chang
The next morning, by the time we went down to the reception and checked out from the hotel, the driver for the private transfer that we’d booked through the IamKochang website had already arrived and was waiting for us at the hotel’s parking lot. The price for a return journey was 10,000 Baht for a door-to-door service. The van’s seats were leather, and the ceiling was high enough for me to stand. It was a ten-seater van and with only five of us, there was plenty of space left to ourselves.
There’s signage prohibiting smoking and also alcohol on the ferry. However, some of the passengers ignored the warning and kept drinking beers throughout the journey. The ferry’s drinks counter didn’t sell it though; they must have bought it from the shop near the pier.
Amora NeoLuxe Bangkok ~ Chang Buri Resort Koh Chang (7 Hours 46 Mins)
09:30 am – Depart from hotel
10:18 am – Toilet break (6 minutes)
12:25 pm – Lunch at Klaeng (25 minutes)
02:50 pm – Waiting for the ferry at Thammachart Pier + Van Loading (76minutes)
04:06 pm – Ferry journey (39 minutes)
04:45 pm – Drive from Ao Sapparot Pier (31 minutes)
05:16 pm – Reached Chang Buri Resort & Spa
Chang Buri Resort & Spa Hotel and Its Surrounding Areas
We spent six nights in this spacious Deluxe Seaside room. The room had a seating area which was next to the bed. The bathroom came with a separate shower and a bathtub. The balcony with a pool view, and if it wasn’t because of the trees, we could see the sea too.
When we first got to the room, I didn’t realise that our television was not working until I had finished unpacking our backpack. If I had known earlier, I would have asked for another room.
The maintenance guy couldn’t immediately fix it immediately, and only be able to fix it on the third day when we came back from a hike in Klong Prao. The Wifi connection in the room wasn’t great though; we did get it, but it was very temperamental.
The hotel didn’t have a beach—border with only a cement wall down to the sea. The water wasn’t deep unless you swam slightly further away from the wall.
To get to the White Sand beach, you could either walk on foot by the main road for about 15 minutes or swim over from the hotel just like we did. The sandy seabed helped to make the crossing more comfortable. There were some parts where the water was deeper and some were shallow. So, whenever you feel tired from swimming, you can always walk.
* The seabed near the hotel was the resting place for Mike’s gold wedding ring. So if any of you – human/mermaid/merman/sea creatures find it, please let us know. The ring was engraved with “Jass & Mike 121214”.
Food & Drinks in Koh Chang
There were plenty of restaurants nearby, and we often went to the restaurant located just in front of the hotel. They have a great selection of Thai food at a reasonable price. There were also a few grocery stores and 7-Elevens nearby.
You could have a beer in the hotel’s seaside bar, for a small bottle of Singha, which only cost 60 baht.
There were plenty of bars in front of the hotel. However, we didn’t go there. We went to the White Elephant bar or Paddy’s bar about a 5-minute walk from the hotel.
Paddy’s Palm Drinks
145B – Heneiken Pint
160B – Tequilla Sunrise
The White Elephant’s food and drink prices
All Day Breakfast
65B – 2 Eggs of your liking on toast
80B – Cornflakes with Milk & Banana
130B – Egg & Bacon Sandwich/ Muesli with Yoghurt and Fresh Fruits
180B – 3 Eggs Omelette
190B – Continental Breakfast
195B – The Elephant Breakfast
220B – Nordic Breakfast
230B – The Elephant Big Breakfast
250B – Full English Breakfast
Salads
75B – Chef’s Green Salad
170B – Chef’s Salad
180B – Shrimp Cocktail
190B – Tuna Salad
195B – Chef’s Smoked Salmon Salad/ Caesar Salad
Sandwiches
160B – Sausage Butty
180B – Smoked Salmon & Scrambled Egg
185B – Club Sandwich
Soups
120B – Minestrone Soup
145B – Chili Pumpkin Soup
160B – Goulash Soup
Homemade English Pies
250B – Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie/ Beef and Guinness Pot Pie
English Pies in Pastry
180B – Minced Beef & Onion/ Steak & Kidney/ Beef,Ale & Mushroom
Pizza
290B – Medium with 4 toppings selection [Ham/ Salami/ Shrimps/ Seafood/ Chicken/ Beef/ Bacon/ Sausage/ Pineapple etc]
Brunch & Snacks
95B- Curry Chips
115B – Scotch Egg
120B – Chicken Satay
140B – Jacket Potatoes
180B – Nachos Baked with Chicken & Cheese/ Pytt i Panne
340B – Ploughman’s Lunch
German Favourites
170B – Bratwurst mit Pommes/ Kartoffelbrei
190B – Currywurst mit Pommes
220B – Frikadellen mit Kartoffelsalat
250B – Schnitzel Schwein/ Huhn
270B – Jagerschnitzel/ Pfefferschnitzel/ Zwiebel-Rahm Schnitzel/ Coach Schnitzel/ Hawaii Schnitzel
Meats & Steaks
275B – Pork Chop
295B 1/4 rack/ 390B 1/2 rack – BBQ Ribs
340B – Tenderloin
475B – T-Bone Steak
595B – Lamb Shank
Mains
195B – Spaghetti Bolognese/ Homemade Ravioli
255B – Homemade Lasagne
280B – Duck Breast/ Fish & Chips
290B – Homemade Cordon Bleu
360B – Norwegian Salmon Fillet
Thai Favourites
85B – Som Tam Tai
110B – Fried Rice
120B – Fried Rice with Holy Basil/ Spring Rolls/ Moo Daet Deo
100B – Stir Fried Mix Vegetables
130B – Phad Thai/ Tom Jeud/ 4 Chicken Wings/ Rice Soup
135B – Yum Seafood/ Som Tam Poo Jeud
140B – Neua Daet Deo
145B – Stir-Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts/ Yum Beef
150B – Tom Yam/ Tom Ka Kai/ Massaman Curry
155B – Green Curry/ Sweet & Sour
Frozen Cocktails
185B – Margarita/ Daiquiri/ Martini
Draught Beers
150B – San Miguel Light (0.5L)
Draught Ciders
95B (0.25L) / 180 Baht (0.5L) – Kopparberg
Cocktails
130B – Grey Hound
140B – Absolut Bull
150B – Tequila Sunrise
160B – Bloody Mary/ Daiquiri/ Pina Colada
180B – Cuba Libre/ Fjellbekk/ Jaeger Bomb/ Margarita/ Martini/ Mojito/ White Russian
190B – Mai Tai
210B – Long Island Iced Tea
220B – Caipirinha
Ciders
150B – (0.5L) Black Rat Dry
185B – (0.5L) Stowford Press
190B – (0.33L) [Kopparberg] Strawberry & Lime/ Mixed Berries/ Pear
210B – (0.5L) Five Bridges Rose/ [Thatchers] Gold Apple/ Katy Apple/ Green Goblin
Alcopops
85B – (0.33L) [Spy] Classic/ Kamikaze/ Mai Tai/ Margarita/ Red/ Screwdriver
135B – (0.33L) [Bacardi Breezer] Lemon/ Orange/ Lime/ Strawberry/ Apple
135B – (0.33L) [Smirnoff Ice] Black/ Green/ Red
Smoothies
99B – Strawberry/ Mango/ Blue Raspberry/ Banana/ Pineapple & Coconut/ Lemon & Lime/ Cappuccino/ Mocha & Cappuccino
Shakes
70B – Coffee
75B – Banana/ Pineapple/ Mango/ Strawberry/ Watermelon
Shots
130B – B-52/ B-53/ Baby Guinness/ Fire Bom/ Russian Fire/ The Blackout/ Vikings Mead/ Viking Blood
Soft Drinks 45B – Coke/ Fanta/ Sprite/ Dry Ginger Ale/ Schweppes Manao
White Wine/ Red Wine/ Rose Wine/ Champagne – 140B ~ 4,300B
On our last night in Koh Chang, we had dinner in Sea Bar Restaurant at the White Beach. They have a fire show at night on the beach.
The Journey Back to Bangkok
The next morning, we headed back to Bangkok with only 4 of us in the van because Matthew had already left Koh Chang 2 days ago.
Chang Buri Resort Koh Chang ~ Furama Silom Bangkok (7 hours 21minutes)
09:59 am – Departed from Chang Buri Resort
10:08 am – Waiting for the ferry at Ao Sapparot Pier + Van loading (72 minutes)
11:20 am – Ferry journey (34 minutes)
11:54 am – Drive from Thammachart Pier
01:50 pm – Lunch (37 minutes)
05:20 pm – Reached Furama Silom
The traffic was a bit slow when we got closer to the city. However, we managed to get to the hotel just before it worsened. We thought of having a sunset dinner near Wat Arun, but the taxis that we flagged down refused to go to the area, so we went to our regular bar at Molly Malone instead.
The journey back to the hotel was hilarious. Mike flagged down a Tuk-Tuk on the opposite of the road, and we rushed to it only to realise that it was a two-seater Tuk-Tuk. At first, we hesitated, but then we gave it a go. Mike and Dad sat comfortably on the seat while Mum and I crouched down.
We barely had time to adjust when it started moving. In that precious five-minute journey, we held onto each other and were laughing all the way to the hotel. It was an unforgettable experience.
Flying Back to South Korea
The next morning after we had our breakfast in the hotel, we took a taxi to the airport, checked in and sat on the plane for a five-hour twenty-minute journey to South Korea. We arrived at the airport at 11:35 pm. A few days ago, we booked a ride from the Agoda website and mentioned that we required the pick up on 30th March at 12:15 am.
We waited until 12:30 am, but the driver didn’t turn up. We had no choice but to get the airport meter taxi, and the driver was driving like he owned the road, his average speed was 120km/h, and at one point, I saw the speedometer showing 180km/h!
Thanks to his driving, we arrived in record time. A 40-minute journey from the airport to the hotel around city hall to drop off my in-laws and then to our home in Hyochang. It’s inexpensive too, with a midnight surcharge, the fare was 83,000won. It’s almost the same as what the Agoda had charged us.
On that night, they even sent us an email thanking us for riding with them and asking for our feedback. The driver had mistaken our arrival date, because the next night, we got a call from the driver asking where were we. In the end, we got a full refund from them.
Additional Information:
Transportation:
Return Flight: Seoul ~ Bangkok @ 676,412 won
Return Transfer: Bangkok ~ Koh Chang @ 10,000 Baht
Taxi about 350Baht ~ 380Baht from the airport to Bangkok hotel (highway)
Hotel:
Amora NeoLuxe Suites (1 room x 2 nights) @ 110,650won
Chang Buri Resort & Spa (2 rooms x 6 nights) @ 1,039,286won
Furama Silom (1room x 1 night) @ 3,300.00Baht
Travel Date: 21st ~ 29th March 2018