Dancing & Diving Ko Chang

We thought long and hard about which of Thailand's many islands we should go to.  Some are deserted now during low season (too boring for us), others are just a party scene (we're too boring for them), and others are perfect but hard to get to or pricey.  So, we found Ko Chang, an island close to the border with Cambodia, accessible by a combo of car and boat.

Ahoy, I see land!

Ko Chang means Elephant Island,
so we were not surprised at all to see
this pickup truck labelled
elephant food on board with us.

Ko Chang is perfect: beautiful nature, peaceful beaches, and enough nightlife to keep us entertained until our 10pm bedtime.

Our budget hotel.  Can you spot Jeremy in the picture?

A better hotel where we hung out

Jungle meets beach

Napping after every meal is totally acceptable here

Even napping during is OK

While there, Alina did a 3-day Open Water diving course.  The course consists of 1 day of theory and 2 days of exercises in the water.  She did terrifying feats like taking the regulator off, turning the air off, taking the mask off, putting together equipment, and other very impressive tricks that demonstrate all-around fearlessness.  It was awesome, the instructor rocked, and she is now a PADI certified open water diver.

Alina and instructor, Patrick

Meanwhile, Jeremy was having a dance party on the beach.

...after which he was tired so he rested.

After Open Water graduation, Alina joined the dance party

And then everyone partied!

Actually, we took these pictures while napping, and tried to make them look like party pics.  Were you fooled?