Khlong Bai Lan

If we thought Koh Chang was idyllic, Koh Mak was heaven. We'd heard from Cecil, who we did our Manaslu trek with, that Koh Kood, the island just south of us, was her favorite and absolutely perfect. We looked into it but found it kind of expensive and out of our budget. However, looking at the island three times smaller just north of it, we found a resort right on the beach for £32 a night! Bargain! So we booked three nights before heading back onto the backpacker trail. We got a speedboat there and were picked up by the hotel at the other end. In the taxi we took in Koh Chang to the ferry port, while going up a steep hill, the makeshift seats on the pickup truck collapsed, along with the roof they were attached to. Thankfully, I think it just slipped off its perch and didn't hurt anyone, but it was scary for a second there. (See picture).

Arriving at the hotel was lovely. The staff were friendly, we got nice scented water on arrival, and we were taken up to our room, up a small hill on a golf buggy. We had a 1st-floor room, which gave us a fantastic view of the resort and the beach, and we were level with the treetops, making it perfect for bird watching. These were the cheaper rooms too. There were more expensive beachfront bungalows for £15 more, but in the end, the privacy and view you got in these cheaper rooms were more preferable to us anyway.

For the next three days, we lounged about in bed, looked at the view, read, decided our next moves, and hung by the pool. They also offered free snorkel and kayak rentals. So on two different days, we went out and explored the coral right on our beach. The water here was perfectly clear too, and it was not as shallow as Koh Chang, so pretty much perfection all around.

On one of our evenings, we got dinner at the resort dining hall, where all the meals are served, and the monsoon rains had been pretty intense. After it stopped and we were heading back, we were overrun by these largish winged bugs that flapped chaotically around every single light along the path and anywhere with a bulb. There were so many it was apocalyptic, and we had to use umbrellas to try and keep them off us. The geckos were having a feast, but it felt kind of icky and scary to us.

Another day we wandered out of the resort to a grocery store to get snacks. We stopped next to it and had lunch. The place looked like nothing, but the food was delicious. Appearances aren't everything out here.

Overall, it was actual heaven. It was so hard prying ourselves away from the place. We're seriously tempted to just return at the end of our trip and spend our last bit of time (and money) there. If anyone is considering it, do it. It's on the island of Koh Mak, at the Mira Montra resort. 😍🥲Read more