Si Chang Island, March 2012

Dear friends,
How are you doing? Have you been traveling lately? Last weekend I got to travel again to Si Chang island, a small island not too far from Bangkok. You might be wondering why I'm traveling much to the beaches. Well, if is was 2 years ago, I would say yes, I prefer beaches rather than mountains. But now after the Switzerland trip that I got chances to hike in the mountain, I feel I'm convinced by it and I will look for more chances to do more in the mountain this year. This trip to Si Chang although it's an island, we didn't swim or snorkel at all. Actually Si Chang is famous for sightseeing, hiking, and tasting seafood. So this trip is kind of transiting from the sea to the land, hehehe. But, to my mind, the destination is not the most important thing for traveling, but it is the ones you are with. A good travel companion can make a walk to a nearby public park memorable moment. In contrast, an incompatible companion can make a trip to a heavenly island become.....suffering moments.

Si Chang is an island in the gulf of Thailand. It's a district of Cholburi province. So now many of you may recognize that Cholburi is just 2 hours by driving from Bangkok. We just commuted not long enough to get bored, the blue sea appeared in front of us.



As I have already sold my car, we took a bus early in the morning to go to Sri racha district before connecting to the pier by local tuk tuk taxi. The bus we had was fine in service. There are several kinds of bus in Thailand that we should learn. A VIP one normally has 999, ป.1, VIP sign that might a little bit more expensive, but the seats are much better. And the most important thing, it doesn't stop much along the way that strongly affects the arrival time. The one we took to Sri racha is 88 baht/person (one way).

The boats at Koh Loi pier depart hourly to the island. It costed 55 baht each. The safety was just fine but, for me, it didn't pass the standard as the boat driver allowed a little bit too much people in there. Not enough seats for all of you? Hey go sit on the floor in the crew cabin.....oh my goodness. I chose to sit near the lifebuoy and wore a life jacket. I was sure life jackets were not enough for all the passenger that trip.

Just a short moment, boat became full and we took off. Here I saw the land behind us. It was a cloudy day, but fortunately not windy and no rain.

Along the way, we saw a lot of cargo ship. That was my first time seeing these ship very closely.

40 minutes later, we saw Si Chang island in front of us. One of the advantages I had iPad with me is I could check for all the information about the places anytime I want. That week I was a little bit busy with some paper works, so planning trip ahead was not possible. And Si Chang is just like Amphawa that you don't have to plan much. They are not far, easy to access, and can be finished in just one day.

The Si Chang pier on Sunday morning was not as busy as I thought. When we got down from the boat, there were some local guys approached us and offer motorcycles or cars for rent. My friend decided to rent a motorcycle to be our vehicle for this wonderful trip. (we hoped)

One thing I never forget about traveling is to have a map with me. It's help you to have overall picture of where you are. Nowadays good traveller's maps usually highlight places to visit, restaurants to eat, and choices of accommodation. The map showed that the pier was close to a viewpoint in the Chinese temple in the mountain. It's the temple that local people pay much respect to. They believe that visiting this temple 3 times in the period of three years will give them the best luck. I saw villages and pier from the viewpoint. People have come to settle on this island for nearly 200 years at the same time Sri Racha became a seaport.

One of the highlights on this island that everyone shouldn't miss is Phrajutatuch rachatan (พระจุฑาธุชราชฐาน), a palace of king Rama V, built in 1889 as a summer place for him and his family. Jutatuch is the name of one of The king's son who later died at the age of 16 by thyphoid fever. Unfortunately this palace was actively in used only for 3 years. In 1892 when Thailand had conflict with France and got our Thai gulf closed by them some of the buildings were removed and taken back to Bangkok. Nowadays this palace is governed by chulalongkorn university. Opening hour is 9.00-17.00 everyday and no entrance fee.

Famous Assadang bridge. Assadang is the name of another son of the king Rama V who was not healthy. A doctor suggested that the king took him here to Si Chang as this place has stable weather throughout the year.

Walking around the area.... You can see a white pagoda of Assadangkanimit temple. A royal temple in the area of the palace.

Some fisherman boats were parked near Assadang bridge.

A private beach of the palace. Notice how clean the sea of Si Chang island.

We had lunch at a nice little restaurant named Pan and David. It appears on many website recommending places to eat on Si Chang. The food price was reasonably a bit more expensive than those on the land.

Me, tired, very hungry and ready to eat everything.

We had fried rice with crab, fish spicy soup with mushroom, and grilled beef served with spicy sauce.

Sure, after eating and resting for a while, we should have a little hiking to see the rest of the island. There are not many beaches on Si Chang, but the most beautiful one is Tampang beach on the west side of the island. The beach was so clean and quiet. That time we visited was late afternoon, so most of the people who didn't intend to stay overnight on the island had gone in order to be in time for the last boat at 17.00. The beach was surrounded by small hills to climb up and feel the wind. We heard nothing but the sounds of the wind and the birds. I have learned from my friend that this quiet moment is essential for our lives. We sometimes are too rush to do many things so we forget to take care of our body and mind. And many time we forget even why are we so hurry like this? Isn't it possible to slow our lives a little bit? And don't have to be doing anything all the time.....

I also have learned to be respect to the nature. All the creatures has lives that they love like we do. All the natural places are essential for them like how our homes are important to us. Sitting there for a while with my eyes closed.... I felt my breath... And the truth that my friend tried to acknowledge me.

Our hotel was near another viewpoint named Khaokad, a famous viewpoint for the sunset. We took a little bit too long before we got to the point although it was very close to us. (hehehe....in fact, we got lost) but I was in time to see the last sunlight of the day. The ocean and the color of the sky during the dusk is my favorite. Is it as beautiful as the sunset picture I took from Lanta islands?

The day ended with a calm moment over the ocean. This will be another destination for me when I want to get away from the city. I couldn't believe this island, being close to the city, would be quiet and relaxing like this. I highly recommend this island for those who don't have much time to travel to a faraway places.