Postcard From Koh Chang

It didn't take us long after arriving in Bangkok to decide that we wanted to escape the hustle and bustle and head someplace much more relaxing and low key. The perfect antidote to the city: the beach! Or in our case Koh Chang, an elephant-shaped island in the gulf of Thailand.

We quickly settled into the cozy bungalows at cliff cottage. All are very rustic and scattered on a large hill. Half have incredible sunrise views and the other half have equally amazing sunset views.

This has been our home for the past few days and will continue as such until Wednesday.

The sunset from our porch.

Thai Menagerie

One thing the guide books did not tell us about Thailand: the domesticated animal situation is ridiculous.

A few examples:

1. At this very moment, I am within spitting distance of three gorgeous dogs. We're seeing at least a dozen dogs a day, maybe more. Almost all of them are very cute.

2. Walking from town (Bang Bao) to our bungalow, we pass by a whole crew of chickens. They walk around the paths during the day, and sleep in trees at night. Also, these roosters look fierce. Gillie and I give them plenty of distance (and avoid eye contact - seriously), lest they come after our ankles.

3. Last night after dinner, we saw a giant black pig (boar?) trotting down the road into the village. This guy was HUGE - maybe 800+ pounds, or several Warren Sapps. A couple of dogs barked at him for a while, but they got bored. We tried to get a picture of him as he sauntered past us, but it was too dark.

4. Our first day in Bangkok, we saw a black lab trotting around with a small bag of garbage. He had a definite sense of purpose - after walking 60 or 70 feet, he stopped and readjusted his grip on the bag. This is underwhelming in prose, but just amazing in real life. We're certain that he is a specially trained garbage dog, ridding Bangkok's parks of litter.

Not in New York Anymore

On our arrival in Bangkok, Gillie and I flagged down a cab for the 45 minute ride to our guest house. After ensuring that the guy had a meter (otherwise they quote you a price three to four times the metered rate - think the touts outside JFK luring tourists into $60 rides to Manhattan), we happily got into the cab.

For the first five minutes, it was just like a NYC cab, except smaller and much less bullet-proofed. Then, the driver hits a button, and from the center console emerges a 7" LCD screen playing a Hong Kong gangster flick. You know you're in good hands when your cab driver is watching a movie while talking on a cell phone while navigating dense Bangkok traffic.

The movie ended about 20 minutes into our journey. The driver pops another disc in, grabs the remote from the center console, and navigates through the DVD menu to a new-ish Jackie Chan picture.

Moral of the story: I kind of miss the TLC.

Bangkok by Night

Remember those day time snack vendors? They turn into road side restaurants after dusk, and stay open late into the evening.

Dogs! Everywhere! And cute ones at that.

You gotta buy your Buddhas somewhere. Reminds me of the trophy catalogs your gym teacher would get.

Bangkok by Day

Food vendors sell a wide variety of snacks on every corner.

Bright pink, Malibu Barbie cabs.

Big lizards!

Tiny plants near bus stops keeping the air clean.

china airlines (a sampler)

Airplane food:

Pork with rice. Potato salad with smoked salmon. Fruit cup.

Beef with noodles. Potato salad with smoked salmon. Fruit cup.

Pork with rice. Glass noodle salad with smoked salmon. Fruit salad, a la can. Coconut spice cake.

Some notes on the China Air dining experience:

1. The roll always came out hot, piping hot. It was fantastic.

2. They love smoked salmon. Salad needs jazzing up? Add some smoked salmon.

3. The first two meals above were served at approximately 8:30 AM EST. The Taiwanese don't believe in eggs for breakfast.

packing: mws style