This weekend we went to Ko Si Chang. Ko Si Chang is a small island located in the gulf of Thailand. To get to Ko Si Chang we took the sky train to the Eastern Bus Terminal (Ekamai stop) and caught a two-hour bus headed east to the town of Sri Racha. In Sri Racha we caught a ferry boat to the island.
Ko Si Chang was recommended to Chad by another FAO who had been in Thailand a couple of years ago. We were going mostly for the beaches–which had heard were small but nice. Sammy came prepared for the water with all of his plastic shark toys and dinosaurs (for making footprints).
Ko Si Chang itself is a small fishing village. Many city dwellers from Bangkok travel to Ko Si Chang for a weekend away from the city. There are a few historical sites on the island, including the summer retreat of King Chulalongkorn and and old Chinese temple. We were on Ko Si Chang Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Day 1: Chinese Temple and Buddha’s Footprint
The Chinese Temple is built into the side of a cliff face and has small caves with religious figures inside. Sammy wanted MORE caves!
If you walk through the Chinese Temple and climb 500 steps you can access Buddha’s Footprint. Buddha’s Footprint is a stone replica of another footprint in India. The original is said to be the actual footprint of Buddha. Sam walked all 500 steps (Jack took the daddy mobile up). The footprint overlooks the entire island and bay.
Day 2: beach and Royal Palace
On the second day in Ko Si Chang we finally went to the beach (which Sammy had impatiently been waiting for). It was Jack’s first beach trip and he loved it. We stayed at the beach until lunch, got some tom yum soup from the beach vendors and called a tuk tuk to take us to the next stop.
We then went to one of the temples on the island, Wat Tham Yai Prik. Similar to the Chinese Temple, this Thai temple was also built into the mountain side…so, more steps!
Next, we took a quick loop around the royal palace summer retreat. This is how Wikitravel describes the royal retreat:
“Tourists can explore the remains of a former royal palace which was built as a summer retreat for King Chulalongkorn. The royal residence was abandoned in 1893 when the French occupied the island during a conflict with Thailand over who would control Laos.”
Finally, we picked up a quick snack in town, went to go see the Yellow Buddha (which overlooks the bay), then headed back to our hotel for dinner down the street and bed.
Will Travel with Toddlers 
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