Into Cambodia
To keep from having to carry my tennis shoes externally on my day pack, I left them for the staff at Siam Huts. Someone there could use them. I won't need shoes until my return flight at the end of March and I already picked out the ones I'll get for that trip. They are like a plastic slipper in assorted colors and their numerous holes make them look like recycled Whiffle balls. I'll opt for black. Somewhere in Cambodia, I'll abandon my pair of socks.
For all the taxis that scour the main road, only a few go to the pier. Most only run between Bang Bao and White Sand Beach. After nearly an hour, I caught one in front of Siam Huts for 100 Bhat. It deviated to several high dollar resorts to pick up other passengers. Those locations offered spectacular views of some of the other Ko Chang beaches; good photo opportunities for when I return in March.
I had to race to buy a boat ticket to the mainland (100 Bhat). The ferry's fog horn bellowed and its mooring ropes were being untied as I boarded. The crossing took about half an hour; too quick to enjoy a meal from one of the onboard concessions. After the smooth crossing, I boarded a taxi to the Trat bus station for fifty Bhat.
Mercedes mini-busses leave for Hat Lek whenever they get ten passengers. I was the tenth and promptly on the way to the border (110 Bhat). The normally 75-minute ride took 90. Since I was the only foreigner on board, it deviated to drop all the other passengers at back-street destinations around Hat Lek and one other nearby town.
When groups cross, hoards of Cambodians badger them for hotels or guest houses and taxi rides into Koh Kong, the Cambodian border town which is a twenty minute ride. If they see you smoking, they'll offer cheap cigarettes or marijuana. I was relieved to only be pestered by two, offering transport. For 70 Bhat, I got a motorbike taxi into Koh Kong, about twenty minutes away.
Usually, I stay at the Moto Guesthouse in town, but this time opted for a guesthouse closer to the river - just fifty yards from the morning boat. The room cost US$5 and included a regular bed, chair and small table, and a cable television. Accommodation in Cambodia is much cheaper than Thailand but the cost of food is slightly higher.
