Why travel all the way to Thailand to go to the beach, when Hawai'i has everything a beach-seeker desires? Ko Chang is a wonderfully laid-back spot in which to recuperate for those doing hard traveling in other parts of Asia. After three weeks in Cambodia's capital city, and several more to come in crowded Bangkok, Ko Chang was literally a breath of fresh air. And with its dirt roads, thatched bungalows, and "anything goes" atmosphere, Ko Chang has what Hawai'i has unfortunately almost entirely lost: a mellow beach vibe on a mostly undeveloped sandy coastline, and affordable beachfront accommodations that start at about $5 a night. Not to mention elephants and monkeys.

Bangkok to beach

From Bangkok, getting to Ko Chang is a snap. Back in the day, this trip meant a cramped six-hour bus ride from Bangkok. Now Bangkok Airways runs two 50-minute flights a day to a tiny airport in Trat, the mainland port that connects to Ko Chang with a quick ferry ride. An air-conditioned minibus service awaits the planes at the Trat airport and for only $5 per person, they'll drive you and your bags to the pier, onto the ferry, and then to the doorstep of your chosen bungalow or hotel on the island.

A few beach resorts on the island cater to bigger spenders, but the farther you go along the island's perimeter road, the more rustic and secluded the beaches get. Making your way down through the beaches on Ko Chang is like peeling the layers of an onion. Each consecutive beach takes you closer to the true essence of Thai beach living.

My boyfriend, Matt, and I spent the first two nights at Hat Sai Khao, also known as White Sand Beach, the most popular beach and the first stop after the ferry landing. This long, narrow beach is the most developed on the island, but that's not saying much compared to most beach resorts. Bungalows, beach bars, restaurants, and low-rise hotels are stacked side by side here along the white sand beach. For most of the year, the water is like glass, the bars are hopping, and you can get a one-hour Thai massage on the beach for about $5. At KC Beach Resort, you have your pick of solid wood bungalows with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning or very basic thatched bamboo huts with mosquito nets on stilts over the sand ($5-$15).

That night, fresh-caught fish, crab and squid were barbecued on the beach, as they are almost every night. Two women lit a floating lantern to honor those who died in — and those who survived — the tsunami in southern Thailand. The entire island of Ko Chang seemed to breathe a sigh of relief for having escaped the catastrophe.

It pays to continue down the road after most of the taxi trucks turn back. Lonely Beach, a wide, sandy stretch with a calm bay, is the hidden jewel further along the way.

Scooting around

The next day, we hopped on a motorbike — by far the best way to get around Ko Chang — and sped off down the road to check out the rest of the island. Song-thaews, or passenger trucks, make hourly rounds of the island and cost less than a buck to ride, but the stops are infrequent and not that dependable. Motorbikes rent for $5 a day, and many hotels and guesthouses provide them.

The Paradise Cabins bungalows on Lonely Beach have balconies on stilts above the water and orchids growing in the open-ceiling showers.

A morning one-hour massage on the sand at the KC Beach Resort costs $5 to $10. Then you can rent a motorbike for $5 a day to see other parts of the island.

Around the bend, Hat Kai Bae is a favorite beach for vacationing Thai families. Down a long sandy path, wooden bungalows dot the narrow beach, and Thai toddlers splash in the shallow water. The sandy bottom is knee- to waist-deep a quarter-mile from the beach, and during low tide, you can wade out to an offshore island. At night, a treehouse bar at the end of the path jams world dance beats under the stars. The Thai bartenders here put on a mesmerizing fire-twirling show. Barefoot dancing is encouraged.

After Hat Kai Bae, the road takes a few sudden twists and dips. The first time on the motorbike, I found myself gripping the seat with white knuckles. This is where most of the trucks and tourists turn back, which is exactly why the best parts of Ko Chang are hidden further on down the road.

Beyond tHe Bend

Just around the bend, Lonely Beach is not as lonely as it used to be, but it's a world away from the clamor of White Sand Beach. Just a handful of bars and guesthouses are sprinkled along the wide sandy beach. Once a secluded bay with few visitors, Lonely Beach is now the place to go for twentysomething and thirtysomething travelers, and Hawai'i's own Jack Johnson seems to dominate the airwaves. We ran into a honeymooning couple from Amsterdam we had met on the plane ride over and agreed to move our camp down to Lonely Beach. Here the bungalows are a little more spread out, the beach is a little less populated, and the music just a bit mellower. Around the cape, we found a secluded little cluster of bungalows at Paradise Cottage, where our newly built bungalow opened onto a little balcony on stilts over the water. The lantern-lit veranda of Treehouse, a bar, restaurant and bungalow village on a rocky cape at the end of the beach, became our local hangout for the rest of the week.

As an omen of changes to come on Lonely Beach, Treehouse is closing down after this season because the owners lost their lease. It will most likely be replaced by an expensive new resort, the one thing Lonely Beach has yet to acquire. In an effort to outrun big-money tourism, Treehouse is moving down to Long Beach, a less populated beach accessible only by water taxi.

On one of our last days on Ko Chang, we rode our motorbike to the very end of the road, where we came upon Bang Bao, a little fishing village where restaurants and seafood markets are set up on a long wooden pier over the water. We saw few other foreigners on our stroll around Bang Bao. Thai fishermen and families seem to have found their sanctuary here, where racks of fresh-caught squid and crab outnumber racks of tourist T-shirts and sarongs.

There's a family atmosphere at Bang Bao that is conspicuously missing at most tourist resorts. Walking into a local guesthouse on the pier in search of the owner, I found four Thai fishermen — her brothers and uncles — drinking whiskey and talking story on the patio after a day on the bay. They greeted me like a returning member of the family, offering me shots of whiskey that I couldn't refuse. The warm sun sank lower on the horizon, and amid the giggling of children and the low murmur of the fishermen recounting the day's catch, I briefly, for a fleeting moment, felt I was home.