Journey’s Odds and End

We’ve come to the end of our stay at Journey’s End on Koh Chang in the Gulf of Thailand.

Every morning, I developed a routine that included: get up, threw on elephant pants, walk down to the beach, make myself a double cup of coffee, and do the NYT Wordle, Connections, Strands, Sudoku and the Mini; if they had arrived yet (we’re 12 hours ahead of NY).

One of the great joys of travel for the two of us is meeting new friends, or “travel buddies” as we like to say. There are some people with who you just connect, usually nearly instantaneously. This happened with our State Department friends in Vientiane. We’ve met some really great people here at Journey’s End in Koh Chang.

Nikki (UK/Koh Chang)

I’ve already mentioned our hostess with the mostest Nikola (Nikki). She’s had a “storied” history, and was always quick with one of the stories. She’s also a consummate problem solver, something that goes with the gig of running Journey’s End.

She kind of took me under her wing when I developed the gastroenteritis and I had to spend an evening at the hospital.

Ang, Oh, and Lek (Thailand)

The staff at Journey’s End were instrumental in creating the vibe there. We all loved the joyous laughter that would sporadically erupt from behind the bar. Ang is a supreme cook, and is doing a lot of the books these days.

Peter und Karin (Vienna)

I like to say that Peter saved my life. As a long time cyclist, he agreed to coach me in honing my motorcycling skills. After an “incident,” he suggested that cycling might not be for me. That’s when Nikki figured out the car for us to rent.

Turns out that Karin, Peter’s spouse, used to live at something like 22 Taborstrasse in Vienna. I lived at 24a. A few years apart. She is still working as an office manager for a fashion magazine.

Peter took it upon himself to arrange for the purchase of several dozen bratwurst made by a local German butcher. Hmm.

Peter and Karin in foreground. John and Nikki in background

Jeanne et/en Joost (Paris/Netherlands)

You know you’re going to hit it off with someone when within hours you’ve invited each other to visit at your respective homes. Jeanne and Joost are such people.

Jeanne is from Paris. She is a film writer, director, and producer. (Jeanne Labrune on IMDB). The moment you meet her you are greeted with an effusive and welcoming smile.

Joost is Dutch. He was a ships Captain, piloting large ships worldwide. He graciously drove me,Ellen and Jeanne to the hospital and stayed to help understand the care being given. He is also a musician and song-writer. You can find some of his catalogue on Spotify if you search on “Joost”.

We spent several nights on our porch talking and drinking a little wine.

Joost is a man of grand gestures. One night he and Ellen organized a fish dinner. He brought the fish and Ang cooked them.

Of course, their departure was an event in its own right.

Allan og Charlotte (Denmark)

Allan and Charlotte live in northern Denmark. He works for the Royal Danish Airforce maintaining fancy airplanes. She is a visiting nurse.

We had several adventures together, the most exciting was undoubtedly our trip to Bang Bao.

If you notice the squiggly red line, this is the narrow road to the pier in Bang Bao. We opted to drive until that mess started, then hopped on a Songthaew to let someone else drive us, preferably someone who has done it thousands of times.

Perhaps my favorite sign so far –

The pier was once a fishing village on stilts. Now it’s shops and restaurants. We found an amazing seafood restaurant at the end of the businesses, and feasted.

Each of the blue pens had different types of live seafood.

Ellen found “The Fisherman’s Hut” restaurant not far from Journey’s End. Turns out it was owned by a Swede who married a Thai woman. The light fixtures were all Ikea, and they had Swedish meatballs on the menu.

Marissa, Manolo, und Maya (Berlin)

Ellen overheard a young German couple negotiating transport to move from their hut on Long Beach to the West side of Koh Chang. Manolo is a professional photographer, and he would be travelling in Vietnam for a bit. Alyssa opted to have a room that included electricity and an en suite while he was gone. The huts on Long Beach had neither.

Of course, Ellen volunteered us to chauffer them over. Long Beach is a beautiful beach, but it is a series of hairpin turns and mountain inclines on a very narrow road. Nonetheless, we persisted and had a good time.

Stefan und Barbara (Vienna)

Stefan and Barbara arrived rather late in our stay, but we got to know them pretty well. He is a teacher and avid hiker, like all Austrians! Barbara is a manager and has her hands full.

The Lovebirds (Romania and Germany)

The crowd at Journey’s End got to calling this couple “the lovebirds,” as they seemed so young, happy, and in love. As it turns out, there was something to it, as he proposed to her about a week before we left. They practiced serious yoga, and are planning to travel around the world for a year before he starts a new business consulting on sales people’s mental health. He is branding it something like “Sales Effectiveness.”

Italian Mother and Son (Italy/Netherlands)

We only had a few nights with them, but they were lovely. The mom is a fashion designer in Milan, he is an architect rendering 3d digital models of stuff in the Netherlands, where his girlfriend lives with him.