Phu Talay

  We stayed at a lovely place called Baan Rim Nam (House on the water), an old fisherman's house on stilts, right on the "klong" or estuary near Klong Prao beach.  Baan Rim Nam is run by Ian, an Englishman with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the island and author of the best Koh Chang website:
iamkohchang.com

We spent our first night on the island in one of Porn's Bungalows (Porn is a common Thai nickname, apparently) a tiny wooden beach hut, with what felt like a multitude of unidentifiable wildlife clamouring to get in .  After this rustic experience Baan Rim Nam felt like proper luxury, at about £20 a night.  We had a large, tastefully decorated (in a rustic Thai style), air conditioned room and en-suite bathroom, with double doors opening out onto a huge deck on stilts over the Klong.  The deck was a wonderfully serene place to be at night, (or anytime) with all the comforts you could require; super comfy hammock, fridge full of cold beer running on an honesty box policy etc.  There is no restaurant here but for a nominal charge Ian will do you toast and and a pot of proper English tea for brekkie, the best (and only) tea I had on the island.  The lack of a restuarant isn't a problem when, just across the Klong, there are several top notch seafood restaurants.  Delighfully, a boatman will come over and pick you up and take you to your restaurant of choice.  On our first night we picked Phu Talay seafood restaurant.

What followed was a smorgasbord of seafood...steamed mussels with holy basil, chilli and lemongrass...

Peppered soft shell crab...

And a delicious soft shell crab stew, not pictured!  We thoroughly relaxed sitting on a deck right by the water, with a warm breeze and no sound but wind charms, lapping waves and softly spoken Russian from the table next to us (we encountered a  lot of Eastern Europeans on Koh Chang and this restaurant boasted a Russian menu; slightly confusing when I got an English menu and the boy got a Russian one, both with different dishes on, but we muddled through).  It was a lovely, romantic setting and the food was fantastic, super fresh seafood flavoured with aromatic herbs and spices, and some strange vegetables I hadn't encountered before (I later found out that these were baby aubergines).

If you are ever on Koh Chang I would whole heartedly recommend stayng at Baan Rim Nam for a few nights if you can, and being ferried across the water to Phu Talay or one of the other seafood places here, a really great experience!

Thai Feast...

 I can't really do our Thailand trip justice in one blog, so I'll do it bit by bit, highlight by highlight.  We ate loads of really good food, some in fairly upmarket restaurants, some from street stalls and a range in between.  I love the spicy salads and ate loads of these, som tum, laab etc.  I also had a devious method of fulfilling my inner Western stodge craving; club sandwiches.  Available on every menu, small or large, these were my fallback safety food, and always delicious.  We even had one Mexican meal, after the restaurant was recommended to us and we were not disappointed.  We only had one stumble, when the boy, craving beef towards the end of the holiday, ordered a fillet mignon from the resort restaurant; bad choice!  He was presented with a solid, grey, fibrous lump which looked liked it had been thawed and refrozen numerous times.   I did miss a nice glass of wine, I had one glass the whole time I was there and that was a thimble full.  Made up for it on the Chang beer though... 

Anyway, Ill let the pictures do most of the talking.

Our first proper Thai meal, at Ka Ti restaurant, Koh Chang, also turned out to be waaaaaaaaaaaaaay the hottest meal we had! 

 The tastiest ever seafood tempura with sweet chilli sauce to start with...

 Followed by what I think is the hottest chicken laab I've ever had!  Ate it all though.

 The boy opted for a dish called "Angry Snapper".  Think the clue was in the name really...

 Despite choking on his first mouthful of chilli and being openly laughed at (very good naturedly) by our Thai waiter, the boy did an admirable job of demolishing this, declaring it delicious.