Trat, a paradise island town, one of 12 must-visit cities in Thailand that shouldn't be missed for any reason.

I would like you to go and experience some unseen spots that have been hidden in Trat with me.

I believe that these places will attract all of you to plan a journey to here right away after seeing them.

And if you are ready, let's go to Trat!

You might be wondered why Trat is called a paradise island town and why it has been picked to be one of the 12 cities that mustn't be missed.

You might have more questions and many more answers need to be given but this travel review might not be able to respond to all of them.

We intend to invite all of you to go and travel with us.

And we have the answer of where we are going to eat, travel, and stay over for 3 nights. ^^

This is a great project of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in the campaign of "Discover Thainess the Thai way 2015" with many activities and competitions.

A must to visit city in this travel review intends to let all of you to get to know more about the city.

We are Team TTBN09 that will take you to see, to feel, and to experience more about

Trat Province.

Let's go.

We are going to Trat by the white Mitsubishi Pajero Sport that we have rented from Thai Rent a Car, a car rental service that has many branches all over the country.

It is about 300 kilometers from Bangkok to Trat. We have arrived at the hotel around 11 PM., so it is around 4-hour drive. We stay at Residence Guesthouse in Khlong Bang Phra for tonight.

The room is only 550 THB a night.

Refrigerator, complementary 2 bottles of water, air conditioner, private bathroom, fresh towels, and complementary Wi-Fi are all offered at the Guesthouse.

You can call the owner directly at 039-530-013 for reservation.

The reason why we choose to stay over at Khlong Bang Phra is that it is known as Chiang Khan of the east. The area is very calm and quiet perfect for a total relaxation in a concept of Slow Life as it is a very popular concept these days.

The local life along the river as well as the local architecture have attracted many people to come here.

The local way of living and the architecture have been well conserved here at Khlong Bang Phra.

They also attract the tourists by offering a very budgets accommodation and guesthouses.

Moreover, there is a lot of spots that can take some good photos.

We have checked out from the guesthouse and are about to have some chicken rice. We spend only 200 THB for this meal.

The City Pillar Shrine of Trat

This City Pillar Shrine is different from others since it is built in Chinese style. It was built under the command of King Taksin during the war. It is a belief that the City Pillar Shrine will protect the city of Trat and bring only happiness to the locals.

Here we go! Let's make a group photo of our team #TTBN09.

We then do not hesitate to move to our next destination, Ban Nam Chiew in Lam-Ngob District.

Ban Nam Chiew is a small village located on the way to the pier where we take the ferry to Koh Chang.

There is a river named Chiew runs through the village to the Gulf of Thailand.

And we have got a chance to walk around the village this time...

It looks like a very quiet village but it's very popular and always people come to visit and observe how to make Siamese palm leaf hat, or ngob. This village is also a house of people from 2 different religions living well together.

I am sorry that I don't have many photos because my camera just run out of battery suddenly. Hahaha

Walking from Ngop hat demonstration center further in, you will be able to visit Ban Nam Chiew's mangrove forest. The walking path through the forest is well-built. However, we have decided not to walk too far because we have to save sometimes to catch the ferry to Koh Chang.

To go to Koh Chang, we need to take the ferry for about 20 minutes and it costs 100 THB per person.

We plan to go around Koh Chang to explore it deeply because it is one of the highlight tourist attractions in Trat.

Trat

A paradise island town, we have well arrived.

Once we have arrived at Koh Chang, we are looking for a restaurant firstly since we are all very hungry. Hahaha

We end up at Krua Salakphet Restaurant. It is one of the most famous restaurant in Koh Chang located in the Southern part of the island.

I would say the location of the restaurant is so good by the beach so you can enjoy the view while having your meal as well.

Let's have a look at the menu that absolutely outstanding from others this meal!

Stir Fried Spicy Seafood, I love this one the most. Even though I was not the one who has ordered this menu but its spiciness is totally incredible. I would say I have never had Stir Fried Spicy Seafood this good before.

On the other hand, other menus such as Crab Omelet, Casseroled Prawns with Glass noodles, and Tom Yum Seafood Clear Soup are also superb.

Therefore, I would like to sum up that all spicy menus at Krua Salakphet Restaurant are all super good and they are all traditional.

We pay 1,030 THB in total including drinks.

After that we drop one of our team members at Khao Laem to explore the route as well as to see the view of Koh Chang from the top. Then the rest of the team goes to different viewpoints and beaches around the island.

The list of the beaches on Koh Chang is as follows.

Klong Son Beach**

Sai Khao Beach**

Kai Mook Beach**

Laem Chai Chet**

Klong Prao Beach**

Lonely Beach or Tha Nam Beach **

Kai Bae Beach**

Bailan Beach**

Bang Bao Beach

Than Mayom Beach

Ao Kong Kang

Ao Salak Kok

Salak Phet Beach

Remark: The beaches with ** sign meaning that it is a long beach where you are able to swim as well.

Kai Bae Beach

Kai Bae Beach is one of the most famous viewpoints on the island. The symbol of this view point would be the red post box in the rocket shape. The tourists always take photo with the post box together with the view.

Moreover, we have heard that this is a great spot to view the sunset. Sadly, we don't have a chance to be here during that time.

But we have planned to go somewhere for that already, please stay tuned.

Tonight we are going to stay here at Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway.

Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway is a 5-star resort. It offers a private beach as well as a high-end accommodation.

If you are looking for a place to stay in Koh Chang that offers a luxury accommodation, exceptional service, and total tranquility, Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway is one of the best choices for you to choose from.

The room starts from only 1,900 THB excluded the government tax and service charge.

There are Fitness Center, Spa, Kids Club, and Karaoke rooms so you can enjoy the facilities throughout your stay.

The Welcome Drink is offered upon arrival and the Welcome Fruit that has been well prepared in the room.

By the way, you will be asked to deposit 1,000 THB for the room key upon checking in.

There are 96 rooms in total and can be divided into 5 types of rooms. For us, we will stay in the Deluxe Ocean View. It is about 52 square meters. The room comes with the private balcony that is facing to the ocean as well as the in-room Jacuzzi. ^^

This is the view from our balcony. The swimming pool and the ocean can be view from here. Looking at this stunning view is so tempting, let's go down then. ^^

This is the place where we plan to see the sunset at Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway.

It can be considered as one of the best spots to witness this amazing daily event.

In addition, there is a huge swimming pool right by the beach with many Jacuzzi spots in the pool.

You can also walk to the beach directly from there.

..Romantic indeed..

This is another type of room that we have got a chance to see, the Pool Villa. There are 20 Pool Villas in total and it is about 123 square meters. Let's see how does it look like!

Pool Villas are located near the Lobby. They all don't have the sea view but they have the private pool as well as the Jacuzzi.

The villa is totally spacious. You can even go from the bathroom directly to the pool and Jacuzzi.

The rooms of Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway come with hairdryer, in-room safe, toiletries, complimentary 2 bottles of drinking water, and chargeable mini-bar.

The Wi-Fi here is also complementary. You will get a password from the Front Desk upon checking in. We have tested its speed and it is pretty good.

The Lobby of Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway is well designed and decorated. It is another great spot to take photos. ^^

There is plenty of seating area available at the Lobby for you to rest and relax.

The staff are all friendly and helpful as well, they take a very good care of us. I guess they have been trained very well.

After it is getting dark, we have decided to go back to the main swimming pool to see the pool, beach, and the view.

Even though it is a rainy season and Trat is known for its high possibility to rain, it is not raining today. So we are super lucky and lucky to be able to see the sunset on the island.

Look at this! The view during twilight is totally stunning. ^^

This is the restaurant where breakfast and dinner are served.

The buffet breakfast line is pretty good. There are various kinds of food for you to enjoy. They even have a noodle corner as well as a seasonal fruit corner.

The third day has come and we are going to stay in a home-stay tonight. After we check out from Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway, we are heading to Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort directly. We have arrived around noon which is a perfect time for lunch. Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort is located in the Southern part of the island nearby Krua Salakphet where we had our first meal on the island earlier. To get there, you need to spot the sign of Krua Saeng Arun where you then need to go into a small alley. You can't drive in and need to park your car at the same parking space of Krua Salakphet.

Our lunch consists of Calamari, Deep Fried Crab Roll, Spicy Seafood Salad, and Tom Yum Mullet fish. It is 820 THB in total.

After we check in into Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort, we take the boat to Koh Lao Ya directly.

Koh Lao Ya is known as one of the pearls of the east.

The wave is pretty high and strong today. Even though we need to take the bigger boat, we still don't hesitate to go. We really want to go there. Hahaha

It takes about 40 - 50 minutes to get to Koh Lao Ya.

Look at this white sand beach! Koh Lao Ya is not crowded and there is no one else right now. I am not sure if it is a private island or not. There is one and only resort named Lao Ya Resort on the island. It is opened only high season which mean that it is closed during rainy season like this.

In other words, it is only us on this whole island right now. So we are happy and let's have fun to the maximum.

Furthermore, we have checked the telephone reception here on the island and it seems like all service providers are good. Therefore, you can enjoy the social media such Facebook as an example anytime.

After we have come back to Koh Chang, we notice that we still have plenty of time to kill before the day ends. So we have decided to continue our journey. Hahaha

This is one of the hidden gems in Koh Chang which is not known by many people, Ban Na Nai's Mangrove Forest in Ao Salak Phet. We highly recommend all of you to go and visit once you are in Koh Chang. The further you walk into the forest, the more beautiful surroundings will be seen. !!

At the beginning, the pathway might not look so beautiful and you might stop your trip just there. But once you walk further in you will see a beautiful red wooden pathway which is totally contrasting well with the forest.

Even though there is nothing but the forest along the way, we find it very joyful. Maybe because the weather is pretty nice plus the length of the walking path is not too long. We are really enjoyed walking in this forest and it is pretty exciting to see the different views along the way.

And this is what we are seeing now, this is totally amazing. This has put the smile on our face and we all says the same thing that it is so beautiful.

The end of the path would be this spot. This time the tide get higher and higher and it happens pretty fast.

At this very moment, we feel so grateful and the tiring feeling has faded away. The weather is so nice and we feel so refreshing. This is perfect to take a nap. Hahaha

This entire experience has given us a confident to confirm that Ban Na Nai's Mangrove Forest in Ao Salak Phet is the most beautiful mangrove forests we have ever seen in our entire lives.

After that we head back to Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort. To stay here is only 500 THB per night. The room is by the sea and comes with the air conditioner, private bathroom, 2 complementary bottles of water, and free Wi-Fi. However, there is no refrigerator nor the fresh towels provided.

And there is a highlight when staying here that we would like to tell. If you are ready let's go and see what it is!

Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort is pretty big. It can even host a party for a group tour.

They also have a package of 2 days 1 night and 3 days 2 nights which they will take you to do snorkeling, go to Koh Lao Ya, and go squid fishing.

The room with all meals included, one night will be 1,500 THB person and 2 nights will be 2,600 THB per person. And if you would like to get only the room, it would be only 500 THB per night.

The highlight that I have mentioned earlier at Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort would be the dinner.

The seafood dinner is totally superb.

I have heard that the dinner is prepared for all group tours and every package.

The Steamed Blue Crab is huge and the crab meat is so fresh and good. it is served with the spicy sauce. Deep Fried Spawning Squid is another menu that I totally love it. Sizzling Spicy Fried Scallop eating with some rice is the best. These all menus would make your mouth water for sure.

The ambiance during dinner with a view like this plus a nice sea breeze is totally fantastic.

The morning comes with the rain shower and I guess it will rain the whole day today. Well, I guess we are lucky that it rains only today in our whole trip. We start the day with the breakfast and it is a Seafood Boiled Rice. It is served in a big pot and for me I have three bowl. Hahaha

To sum up the stay at Saeng Arun Seafood & Resort, I would say that all guests who stay here can't deny that the seafood is totally superb here and the room rate is so cheap.

The obstacle is not on the road, the obstacle is created on our own mind. If we are ready for the adventure with our strong heart, everything else doesn't seem to be a problem. The photo above is a good example that the road was destroyed by the flood and it looks like a big problem and might stop the journey but actually it is not a big deal at all and we are still able to continue our journey.

The journey is await and Karang Bay Viewpoint is our last stop before going back to the main land.

We truly believe that Trat is a paradise island town indeed!!

Thanks to all of you who have read through this travel review.

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