Все просто здорово Everything is just great

Three months have passed since our holiday on Koh Chang, everyday affairs and worries completely absorbed us, and it seems how long ago it was, this holiday, and was it? But no, it really was, and when you look at photos and videos from there, you remember how cool it was there.
And it didn't start well. The departure of our plane was delayed by 34 hours, which, as a result, no one compensated us with anything, they simply stole one and a half days of rest from us. Everything about this is a separate story, but I am writing here about a vacation on Koh Chang, at the Koh Chang Cliff Beach Resort. Our trip to Thailand is far from the first, but we had to rest on Koh Chang for the first time. So, instead of noon, we arrived at the Utapao airport only in the evening, closer to 9 o'clock. Passport, customs control, baggage claim, boarding buses and transfer to a transit hotel where we will spend one night. The hotel in Pattaya was called Red Planet Pattaya, for a long stay, probably not very good, but for transit it will do. As a result, having settled in the hotel, having walked and having dinner in Pattaya, in the vicinity of the hotel, we went to bed at about 2 o'clock in the morning. And at 5 o'clock already rise, shower, breakfast at the hotel and boarding the transfer minibus to the ferry. About 5 hours, it seems, we were driving to the ferry (everyone was dozing), 20-30 minutes on the ferry, another half an hour on the minibus already around the island - and now, finally, we are at the hotel. Vacation begins!
The Koh Chang Cliff Beach Resort is located on Kai Bay Beach, at its very beginning, in the northern part of the beach. On the one hand, it is fenced by a rocky cape, on the other hand, you can freely enter the hotel's beach, but there were almost no outsiders. In general, there were not many people in the hotel, there were always enough sunbeds, only on one weekend the Chinese arrived, it became a little livelier.

The hotel is located on the slopes of the cliff, as if in tiers, and the types of rooms differ depending on the height above sea level. Our room was the Poolside Seaview, on the second floor of a two story building, close to the dining room and lower pool. The room is not bad, large double bed, sofa, balcony overlooking the pool and a piece of the sea. It is advisable to always close the door to the balcony and it is better not to leave anything on the balcony - beware of monkeys. Of course, we read about this, but we did not expect that they behave so impudently. They came to meet us on the very first day. They walked around all the tables, ate everything that they didn’t put in the refrigerator or brought into the room, ripped off the tablecloths from the tables, gnawed at someone’s clothes. In general, they showed who is the boss in the jungle)). One day we somehow fought with them, the Thais drove them away with sticks, for some time they were not there, at the end of the rest they began to appear on the territory again. And the territory of the hotel is very large, it seems a little neglected, but it is a jungle, here everything seems to be growing faster than you can put things in order. There is a pond with fish, two pools, though on the top - "infiniti" climb quite high.
We had food, like everywhere else, probably in Thailand - breakfast. Normal, hearty breakfasts, something from local dishes, something from European. Sometimes there was a little lack of meat in the dishes (everyone had already been chosen, there was a side dish, after a while the dishes were updated). In general, everything is fine, we didn’t lose weight on vacation, that’s for sure)).
On the second day after arrival, we had a meeting with the hotel guide, who, as always, except for our purchase of excursions, did not care about anything. About our lost rest time and the possibility of any compensation, we were told that they are the host and the postponement of our departure does not concern them. When asked by my wife that my birthday is tomorrow and it would be nice to organize some kind of surprise for me, it was also said that he would not be able to help. Well, no - no, we will organize everything ourselves. My wife came to the reception with our voucher, showed them my date of birth, our room number, and the next day, upon arrival in the room from breakfast, we were waiting for a small gift and a compliment from the hotel - an hour of free kayaking. A trifle, but nice!
Briefly, I will also say that we did not take excursions, where possible and not far away - we visited everything on our own. We walked along the beach to the observation deck, took a tuk-tuk to the waterfall, and also took a tuk-tuk to White Sand beach (ours is better). We had dinner every time in different cafes (I love variety), everywhere everything is tasty and inexpensive. My wife went for a massage every day. They swam in the sea every morning and evening, the weather was good, the sea was wonderful. Before leaving, it rained for two evenings, even a downpour, but in general, this did not affect the rest.

At first, the place where we lived - the very beginning of Kai Bay Beach, seemed boring to me, lacked some kind of drive, fun, live music. The general and our crisis, apparently, affected Thailand too. My friend rested in about the same place 4 years ago, and remembering the places and cafes that he visited at that time, he was surprised how many of them are closed now. For my birthday, I wanted to sit in a cafe with live music and it turned out that there was nowhere to go: there is a crowded cafe Filou, where we were sitting just yesterday, and right opposite the hotel there is a cafe "Mayak" (Lighthouse), where besides us there was another couple, from our own flight, and a small company from Kazakhstan. The current owner of the establishment, Ramil, entertained us with songs by Leps and other Russian performers. Well, that's not what I came to Thailand for, damn it!
As I have already noticed, my wife and I were not the first time in Thailand, and it would seem that everything is already familiar to us, familiar, it is difficult to surprise us with anything. But I did not take into account the time at which we flew to Koh Chang. We thought to celebrate my birthday here, but it turned out that the whole of Thailand would celebrate - to celebrate the Thai New Year! And the Thai New Year came the day after my slightly sad birthday. And it was something!!
No, I knew, of course, that the Thais are cheerful and friendly people, that they traditionally pour water on New Year's Eve, and so on. But it’s one thing to read about it or even watch someone else’s video and photo, and it’s quite another thing to find yourself in the midst of all these events, and even take a direct part in them. In one word, the scale and atmosphere of these holidays (and the New Year is celebrated in Thailand for up to a week) cannot be conveyed, this must be lived. In general, the Thai New Year turned our vacation from an ordinary event into the most memorable one to date. And now I want to celebrate each of my birthdays in Thailand, and right after that, so that the Thai New Year comes!