Koh Chang – a Thai island paradise where time drifts away! We found an amazing hostel – Pajamas Hostel! We originally booked 3 days, but ended up staying over a week! The social vibe was fantastic and we met lots of new friends. This is a definite stop for any traveller.

The hostel pretty well has its own private beach with gorgeous sand, warm water, and great sunsets. If the 1 minute walk to the beach is too far, there’s also a pool! Lots of chilling, swimming, kayaking, and drinking beer.

We were here for a full moon festival, which is widely celebrated in Thailand. To participate, we built flower wreaths with a central candle. When it got dark, we lit the candles and floated our wreaths into the night. Then the party got started!

Where do Thai’s party… in the Buddhist temple! The temple was transformed with music, dancing, games, and all kinds of tasty snacks. I recommend the roasted grasshoppers. You could even sit down with a monk to discuss your innermost thoughts.

Considering how long we stayed here, it’s sort of embarrassing that we only went on a few excursions. It’s just too chill! A few trips of note:

• We hiked to a mountain peak at the top of the island. The views and wildlife were beautiful. You could see out into the ocean for leagues. We also saw all kinds of cool snakes, spiders, and vine parasites that take over entire trees. Pretty cool!
• Tandem kayaking off to some mini-islands. We thought it would be fun to go around the island, and soon found out that the waves were much stronger on the open ocean. With a flurry of paddling we fought off the waves and dodged the rocks. Some extra beer was drank that night. We earned it!

With so many good friends and fond memories, leaving Pajamas Hostel was tough to do. But with so many new adventures awaiting us, we decided to hop the bus to our next destination – Cambodia!

Cheers, Shawn

Photos taken by Jon Lang

Asia trip – 2015