Journey to Koh Chang

After five months of work, the end of semester has come - and with it, holidays! As I hadn't been outside Ubon since October, I relished the chance to travel to the island of Koh Chang last week with some friends. We travelled Thai/Filipino-style, cramming eight of us in my friend's ute (two in the front, four in the back, and the kids in the tray outside).

Koh Chang is pretty far from Ubon, so we made a few stops along the way. We spent two nights in Saraburi Province (near Bangkok), where my friends' cousin lives with his family. Their street was lined with houses displaying both the flag for Thailand and the royal family.

Thais are quite nationalistic: these flags are displayed everywhere, and the national anthem plays publicly twice a day. When it plays, everyone stands and waits patiently for it to finish before continuing their business. Even when you go to the cinema, a short montage of the king plays before the movie starts, and it's necessary to stand and pay respect.

My friends are Filipino, so I got a nice education about Filipino hospitality. They welcomed us into their home, cooked food, and even took us on a daytrip to a winery in the hills of Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) Province.

Although late afternoon was falling into early evening, we then went a bit further to an Italian-inspired town with beautiful architecture and a very European vibe. We decided to have dinner before exploring, and found none other than a Mc Donalds - the first I'd seen since I was in Bangkok. I love how Mc Donalds is a little bit different in each country, and I really enjoyed the Thai changes. Firstly, Ronald McDonald greeted us with a wai, the Thai sign of respect.

The decor was really interesting too, themed like a European cafe - though I suppose this was to fit in with the town's theme. The menu was typical, though much smaller - and you have the option of filling small dipping bowls with chilli or tomato sauce for your French fries. Lastly (but certainly not least), our meals came with a free pie. I've never been much a fan of apple pies, so I was stoked to realise that this was a pineapple pie. Delicious!