Mangroves.
As mangroves have a habit of blocking beach access most of those on the west
coast have long been cut down already. But you can still hire a canoe
and paddle down the Klong Prao river estuary to see mangrove lined
riverbanks. A really beautiful mangrove forest can be found in Salakkok, in
the south-east of the island. Sea canoe is the best way to visit.
However, a newly constructed concrete walkway enables lazy-arsed visitors to
walk about 800 metres through the mangroves. An experience that leaves
you marveling at the poor construction on the concrete walkway for which
huge tracts of mangroves were obviously cut down to enable it to be built.
For a nicer mangrove forest experience, head to the head of the bay in
Salakphet, turn left as you pass the temple in the village and follow the
road to the end. Here a wooden walkway through the mangroves awaits
you. Very peaceful down here. There are a few sings with information
about the mangroves, but nothing in Engish.
Marine life.
Whilst the seas around Koh Chang may not offer Andaman-esque crystal clear
waters they do offer a wide variety of marine life for snorkellers and
divers alike. Rays, eels, turtles, groupers plus the very occasional
whale shark can all be seen in addition to the usual multicoloured reef fish.
The most interesting things I've seen are a couple of small sea snakes in
the water off Klong Prao beach and big turtles near Koh Rang.
Markets. There are an increasing number of afternoon / evening markets on
Koh Chang. Vacant plots of land are rented to traders who set up at
varioud places on different days of the week. The same stall holders put in appearances at all
the markets which generally kick off mid-afternoon. From 2pm onwards
you'll see people putting up stalls and by 5pm things are usually in full
swing. Not a great deal that you would want to buy but interesting
enough to look around. If you're anorexic
you may find some cheap clothes that fit but otherwise seasonal fruit, deep
fried meat by-products on sticks, tattoos, second hand TVs and a wide range
of plastic items in primary colours remain the worthwhile purchases.
Massage. You'll find
massage ladies on the beach, in your resort, lurking in hole in the wall
shops everywhere on the island. Finding one isn't a problem, finding a
good one is far harder. Cost is about 250 - 350 baht for a beach massage
lasting an hour or so. A good way to unwind after a day's
swimming/canoeing/elephant riding/snorkelling etc. The vast majority
are 'traditional Thai massage only' so, guys, if you're in need of some form
of 'special' massage for your dangly bits you'll need to shop around -
preferably discreetly. Getting a stiffy whilst enjoying a beach
massage is considered impolite, and the odds are the massage girl won't be
impressed as she's probably seen bigger & better in her time. For a
good value, proper massage away from the beach in well decorated, clean surroundings
try Sima Massage, Klong Prao - near Chang Chutiman elephant camp. I know
lots of people who have been there and they will get all the knots out of
your muscles. Your body will feel like jelly by the time they finish
with you.
Missing the ferry.
One of the common fears anyone arriving on Bangkok Airways evening flight is
"What happens if
we miss the last ferry and are stranded at the pier?" Don't worry, that
hasn't happened yet and unless flights are delayed a by a couple of hours or
so it's unlikely to be a problem. Trat airport is an informal place,
you'll be out of there 15 minutes after your plane lands and then it's only
another 15-20 minute drive to the ferry pier. The ferry waits for
passengers who are on the airport minibus shuttles to the island. It
won't leave without you. Anyone heading to Koh
Chang by bus should leave Bangkok before 12pm to make sure that they can get to Laem Ngop or Centrepoint
piers in time for the 7pm ferry.
Mobile Phones. It's handy to have a mobile if you are spending
a bit of time in Thailand. No need to use your SIM from home, just buy
a Thai SIM card for between 50 - 300 baht and use that. They will work
with most European phones. The main service providers are AIS, DTAC and
True. The price of the SIM card also includes a credit for phone calls.
Buy a 300 baht SIM and you probably won't have to refill it at all during a
2 week holiday. Pre-paid refill cards are available from just about
any mini-mart in the country. There are a handful of mobile phone
shops on Koh Chang, these sell both second hand and new phones. As of
mid 2008, the cheapest new Nokia is 1,200 baht. No frills, but it
makes calls, SMSs, has an alarm clock and you won't care if you lose or drop
it.
Monkey Show. This wouldn't be Thailand unless some poor dumb
creatures were being exploited. The dumb creatures in question being
the visitors who head to see 'attractions' such as this one. Animal
rights activists and anyone who's sense of humour has developed further than
guffawing over the sight of a leashed monkey dancing to Britney Spears'
latest offering should steer clear. "Look, Mummy, the monkey can
walk around on two legs!", "So could you dear if I held you up by a
noose around your neck." If you haven't already visited Koh
Chang, then you have now missed your chance to see this as the monkeys have
all graduated and so the school is now closed.
Monks. There's a monastery in Klong Prao and one of the perks
seems to be that off duty monks are free to lurk around the beach near KP
Huts trying to work their devout Buddhist charm on female backpackers.
There are also couple of monk retreats (basically monk campsites ) in
the jungle. Other monks can easily be spotted in Bangbao, Klong Son,
Dan Mai and Salakphet where there are wander out of their temples early in
the morning to receive alms from the locals. If you're up around 6-7am you'll see
Thai business owners, workers and locals giving alms to monks by the main
road in White Sand Beach, Klong Prao, Kai Bae etc.
Motorbikes. 100-125cc bikes are available to rent from virtually any
hotel, guesthouse, hotel, noodle stall and street corner. Cost is 200
Baht for 24 hours rental which usually drops to 150 baht in low season.
Expect to leave your passport or some form of photo ID as a security
deposit. Most bikes are new and many are now automatic - which makes
life far easier for inexperienced riders trying to navigate Koh Chang's
hilly west coast road. These will take two regular sized tourists, or
four Thais, up the steepest of hills. You should be given a helmet as they are mandatory, although 95% of
people don't wear them. Koh Chang isn't a good place to learn to
ride a scooter. They are easy enough to control but if there is any danger
or a novice rider panics then a winding, hilly road isn't the best place to
come off in the middle of the road. Big bikes and dirtbikes are also available
to rent from a couple of shops for anyone wanting to display their manliness by
wrestling a V-Max around a few hairpin bends or going off-road in their
resort car parks. Visit Koh Chang Choppers, at the southern end of
white Sand Beach, just past the International Clinic, for Honda chopper
rentals from around 600 baht/day. Avoid renting ATVs, they're not road legal in
Thailand, so you're screwed if you have an accident.
Motorcyclists. There are two kinds of riders on K.C. The bad
farang riders and the bad Thai riders. Their traits differ however,
the Thai rider will more often than not be a danger to other road users
because he places all his faith in not having an accident in a small
amulet his grandfather gave him rather than following any rules of the road.
This amulet gives him superhuman powers and makes him indestructible.
Think about it, how fast would you ride if you thought you had eternal life? Farang riders pose an equal threat, not through speed, more through lack of
it. Lobster tanned couples wobbling around on a 100cc scooter and
eventually stalling and falling underneath the wheels of a pick-up
when attempting to climb a hill are an all too common cause of tailbacks.
The best attitude to have whilst riding a motorbike is that everyone else on
the road wants to kill you. If you bear this in mind you will be
cautious. Also, don't drive at night. If you do, assume that not
only is every other road user is out to kill you but that they are also
drunk
N
Naval Memorial. Don't mention the war.
Or more specifically, the naval battle off the southeast of Koh Chang in
January 1941 when the French navy opened a can of nautical whoop ass on the
Thai navy. Or as local historians prefer to recall, after a hard
fought battle the French retreated. Err, yes, after they'd sunk all
the Thai ships, they did indeed head off, in the direction of Bangkok.
It was down to the Japanese to bang some heads together and tell the warring
parties to stop the infighting. You could almost sense the Japanese
commanders thinking "Who chose these guys to be our allies?" Regardless of
who won or lost, the battle and the Thai sailors who lost their lives are
commemorated in a ceremony on the mainland and also a smaller one at Hat Yuthanavy in the south east of Koh Chang every January 17-19.
Newspapers. Since late
2005 V-Mart branches in White Sand Beach and Klong Prao have been selling
newspapers for face value - no mark up!!! What's even more surprising
is that the days of only being able to buy yesterday's newspaper today are
now gone. Visit V-Mart after mid-morning and you can get the day's
Bangkok Post. Life is good. It is also possible to subscribe to
The Nation (Thailand's English language news-free newspaper ) or The Bangkok
Post and get them delivered to your door every morning. Another, more
expensive option, are Newspapers Direct. The Koh Chang franchise of
this newspaper company prints out the day's newspapers from pretty much any
country in the world. If you want to read your local paper the day it
comes out, you can whilst here on holiday. Figure of 180 - 220 baht
for most newspapers.
New Year Gala Dinners.
Yet another pet hate of mine are the compulsory 'gala dinners' which
guests staying at larger resorts and hotels over New Year, and often Xmas
have to pay . . . along with inflated room rates. I'm not sure who
coined the phrase 'gala dinner' but I'm sure that it wasn't originally used
to describe a mediocre buffet and entertainment that consists entirely of
the male hotel staff dressing up as women and lip synching Whitney Houston
and Mariah Carey's greatest hits - plus "I will survive" for the finale,
whilst guests, who attend only to avoid wasting the 1,500 - 2,000 baht
they've prepaid, down litres of free 'punch' in a desperate attempt to get
in a party mood.
Nightlife. If it's a full
on full moon experience you're after, heading to the islands south, rather
than east, of Bangkok is a better bet. There's a couple of nightspots
that fall into the 'nightclub' category - Sky Bay Pub on Pearl Beach - which
caters for a 99% Thai crowd and the newly opened 'Backsound' club on Lonely
Beach - which caters for a 99% farang backpacker crowd who still haven't
realised than dance music is dead. Elsewhere you'll find plenty of
bars which will stay open until the last customer leaves or passes out,
whichever is sooner.
Nonsi waterfall.
Don't bother unless it's been raining a hell of a lot in the previous 24
hours as this is a minor attraction if ever there was one - a small fall at
the end of a washed out 800 metre long track. Although the nearby
restaurants are supposed to be good so it'd make a pleasant enough stop on
an east coast trip if you happened to get a puncture nearby.
Novels featuring Koh Chang.
Pick up a copy of 'Thai Girl' by Andrew Hicks at the airport or any
good bookshop in Bangkok. Since being published in 2004 it's been the
best selling English language novel in Thailand. Part of the story is
set on Koh Chang and reviews in the local press were uniformly positive,
making it ideal for a poolside read. Especially if you need an
alternative to violent thrillers or want to stand out from the 'DaVinci
Code' or Andy McNabb reading herds.
O
Old People. The oldest person on
the island and she may also be the oldest in Thailand, is the matriarch of
the clan that own most of Kai Bae. She thinks she is 108, family
members aren't so sure but agree that she is definitely over 100.
She's lived on the island all her life and attributes her longevity to daily
shots of Thai whisky. You'll see her pottering around KB Hut resort in
Kai Bae.
Other Islands.
Adventurous souls will head off to discover
one of the other islands in the Koh Chang archipelago e.g.
Koh Kham, Koh Laoya, Koh Rayang, Koh Mak, Koh Wai or Koh Kood.
Unfortunately you will find that you have been beaten to it by large groups
of Thai package tourists and students if you travel over weekends
during the high season. One of whom, in the next bungalow,
will have brought his guitar and will play The Scorpions' 'Winds of Change'
repeatedly until daybreak. If you're really unlucky a murdered version
of 'Hotel California' will be thrown in for good measure. You'll also find that with
a few exceptions the cost of accommodation and food is higher than on Koh Chang.
Thankfully ferry services now run several times daily between the main
destinations of Koh Chang - Koh Wai and Koh Mak so island hopping is easy to do and
more accommodation in the 300 - 1500 baht range is opening up. For a
real tropical island getaway take a look at Koh Rayang -
www.rayang-island.com
or Koh Kham
www.kohkhamisland.com
, two small islands just off Koh Mak each with a single wooden hut resort. (More
detailed info on the islands.)
P
Phones. Most numbers for agencies,
bungalows are mobile phone numbers. A number beginning '039' is a Trat
province land line number. Blue public coin phones can be found
in most small hamlets on the road around the island. Using these will
be way cheaper than calling from a guesthouse/hotel. To make cheap
calls elsewhere in Thailand just dial '1234' before you dial the Thai
number. Costs around 1.5 baht minute. So the next time a tour
agent charges you 50 baht for a 30 second call to reconfirm an airline
booking with an airline office in Bangkok you know you're being ripped off.
Most payphones can also be used to make international calls. They have
info in English about how to do this and if you use a '007', '008' or '009'
prefix instead of the usual '001', you'll get much cheaper call rates -
sometimes as low as 6 or 7 baht/minute to many Western countries.
Photo developing. For
those people stuck firmly in the 20th century shops in White Sand Beach, Koh Chang
Plaza - Klong Prao and Kai Bae offer 35mm. photo processing. Digicam
users can burn CDs of their pics in most internet cafes however prices vary
from the extortionate (e.g. Friends.net branches) to dirt cheap, be sure you
shop around. The Kodak shops in White Sand Beach print pics from digital
memory but the price is 100% higher than in Bangkok at 10 baht/print
compared to the usual 3 or 5 baht mainland price.
Pizza. There
are now several places offering homemade pizzas and an accompanying delivery
service. Baan Nuna were the first and were followed in mid-2004 by
Invito restaurant who deliver for free in White Sand Beach and for an additional
30 baht in Klong Prao & Kai Bae. If you're in Kai Bae then try the
pizzas from Kai Bae Marina, located nowhere near the sea, but near the
southernmost 7-eleven mini-mart and very tasty.
Planning Laws. On paper, very strict. In practice you
can build what you want if you are rich enough and even if you aren't you
can ignore the local planning officers as the only power they really have is
to stick a sign up telling offenders to stop building . . . . please . . . .
otherwise they will come back and stick up another notice. Which of
course will be ignored and once something's built it's extremely hard
to get a court to convict someone of building something illegally on their
own land and force them to tear it down.
Plazas. Tourists like to
go shopping - that much we know. But who told the Thai developers that
the plaza layout was one that would attract custom? Perhaps they don't
care as the units in Koh Chang's handful of shopping plazas are virtually
all rented out. Problem is that most people don't walk to the back of a
U-shaped plaza, they linger at the front, near the roadside. Which means
that those who have rented units at the back have a hard time attracting any
business other than that which comes from regular customers i.e. other
shop/restaurant/bar owners whose businesses are also located at the back of
the plaza and therefore have plenty of time on their hands.
Police. A pretty laid back bunch. Most appear to be more
interested in spending time on their outside business interests, which
usually involve running bungalows, bars, acting as land & building agents
etc than actual police work. Although I'm sure they're fully committed to
protecting & serving during shit hours. Many newcomers interested in setting
up a business and on the lookout for help and advice often opt for
assistance from the local men in brown. If you can't trust the Thai
police to help you out, then who can you trust?
When boredom sets in, as it does with all of us, police uniforms are donned
and fun is had by setting up checkpoints and seeing who can pull over the
most farang motorcyclists who aren't wearing helmets. You'll need 100
- 200 baht in your wallet unless you want to walk home and explain to the
bike rental place how you were hauled in for a grilling by the fuzz.
Don't expect sympathy, expect to have to fork out a few more baht in way of
a surcharge.
There are police boxes roadside on all the main
beaches. I'm not quite sure of the purpose as the one time I needed
some help. I just wanted a brief report, in Thai, to say I had
reported my phone as being lost, which would enable me to get a new SIM with
the same number form the mobile phone company. But I was told that
this couldn't be issued at the police box. So I had to go 30
kilometres to the main police HQ in Dan Mai where, after hanging around for
half an hour, a guy whipped out a pad of paper and hand wrote a five-line
report for me . . .and it was free.
Posh hotels.
Encouraged by the Thai government's plans for Koh Chang as an island for
nice, middle-class tourist couples who like nature and not loud bars and
partying, developers have knocked up some pretty decent resorts. As
the forseen masses haven't yet descended on Koh Chang this means there are
some very good deals to be had at the larger resort hotels. These
usually have the best beach access, pool, large rooms - some with indoor &
outdoor bathrooms, satellite TV and an overpriced restaurant which you swear
you won't use but you will as you'll be too lazy to wander out of the
confines of your hotel when nightfall comes. Note that staff remembering
your name isn't just a sign of good service, it's also a sign of how few
guests they have. Tropicana, Ramayama, Bhumiyama, Panviman, Aiyapura, Aana,
Grand Orchid and Amari Emerald Cove can all be booked at the fringes of high
season for the same cost as a night in an English B&B.
Postcards. You'll
find plenty of scenic view type postcards for sale island wide.
However, if you want something a little different take a look at Curlykez
Gallery's (www.curlykez.com)
collection of postcards. You can find these at their shop just past
Bangbao or more easily in VJ Supermarket, VJ Plaza, Klong Prao. Some
very nice arty photos and designs that make a refreshing change from the
usual deserted beach, palm trees and sea view photos
Post Office. There is a new one, by the roadside in Pearl
Beach. It offers all services of the postal variety as you'd expect from a
post office. For some unknown reason the powers that be have
installed a postbox shaped like Flash Gordon's rocketship at was once a
scenic viewpoint overlooking Kai Bae beach. I added a photo
here. For another unknown reason this was quickly removed and replaced
with a more traditional postbox.
Power Cuts. The electrical supply tends to go off at least
once every couple of weeks. Usually these outages only last a few
minutes, however during the rainy season you can have several hours without
power. If you're in a resort then they will have their own
generator and so you wont be affected. But all small businesses will
have the lights out until power comes back. Longer power cuts are usually the result of branches or entire
trees falling on the lines. In addition, it isn't unknown for
skinflint backpacker hut operators to cut the power during daytime to save a few
baht.
Q
Queen's Cup Kayak event.
March 11 was the date of this annual event in 2006 and it's on April
20-22 in 2007. 2008's event was cancelled due to lack of interest. The event is designed
to raise funds for Thai elephants, the idea is good but seems secondary to a
back slapping session for sponsors and second tier local government officials. The
original un-tourist friendly format was teams of three people paddling for 3
days around the island, then a better one day format with teams of 2 paddling from Bangbao - Koh Mak
and for 2007 it's back to the three day format with teams of two paddling.
R
Radio
Stations.
Local radio arrived on Koh Chang in
mid-2005 with the launch of the 'poptastic' Koh Chang Tourist Radio which
broadcasts a daily smorgasboard of someone's favourite tunes on 98.25FM.
From my listening experiences the output consists of 70% Issan hits
from the 80s, 25% advertising for laundries, noodle shops and motorbike
repair centres (adverts in English come courtesy of two guys with French &
German accents, which, when you hear interspersed with crap Thai pop, sets
the surreal tone perfectly.) and 5% Bee Gees, Whitney Houston, Michael
Bolton and an hourly playing of 'Hotel California' and other easy listening
favourites etc - which is for you .
. .the foreign visitors.
Tip: Make a mental note to pack your Ipod. For the 2006-07
season the station was re-branded as SEA FM, I have no idea if it's any good
or not as I've never listened to it.
Rain.
When it rains it really does piss
down with a vengeance. For anyone, myself included who is used to
Bangkok's rainy season weather i.e. a storm then a couple of days sunshine
followed by another storm and so on, the rain on Koh Chang will come as a
bit of a shock. It can rain solidly for a week or more. This
means all your clothes are permanently damp, there's no-one on the streets,
half the shops are shut and everyone is complaining about how boring the
rain is. Trips to Koh Chang's waterfalls can kill a day but after that
your best bet is to check into a rainproof hut and get hold of a few good
paperbacks.
The main rainy season is from June -
October. During this time it will rain during your stay on the island.
Just how much is down purely to luck. With luck on your side, they'll
be a shower in the morning , clouds will clear and the afternoons will
be sunny. Unlucky, and you'll be huddled in your hut for a week.
Real Estate Agents.
None of the large firms that operate in the busy tourist destinations such
as Phuket, Samui or Pattaya have an office based in Koh Chang yet.
There are a few small offices all of which seem to have pretty much the same
selection of land for sale. But they all face the same problem of a
lack of small plots of titled land that are affordable and suitable for
housing. Also for most, selling land etc is secondary to selling
tickets for snorkelling or elephant trekking trips to tourists. So
it's unlikely that the staff can give you any additional information other
than what's written on a piece of paper in front of them.
Renting land/property. Anyone making a quick visit to Koh
Chang in the hope of snapping up a nice plot of land or property to rent
easily will probably be in for a disappointment unless they are happy to pay
over the odds. Virtually all rentable real estate isn't advertised
anywhere in Thai or English and the stuff that is is often overpriced and/or
not worth renting in the first place. As with buying land, the best
way to find out what's available in your preferred area is to put in a lot
of leg work and ask around. The most recent, laughable attempt to
price a resort for rent resulted in an asking price of 4,500,000 baht annual
rent for a newly constructed resort in one of the quietest areas of the
island . . . and yet they found someone to lease it. (More in the
Real Estate
section.)
Resort Owners. Anyone thinking that people who stay in
large hotels are putting cash in the hands of big corporations whilst those
who stay in backpacker huts are putting cash in the hands of locals are
deluding themselves on the second point. Businessmen have long
realised that backpackers are a good source of cash, sure they don't spend
as much on a daily basis but it's far easier & cheaper to knock up a few
wood huts than it is to build a 4*. For example, one of the most
popular places to stay on Lonely Beach is owned by a well-known politician.
Many of the other nearby bungalows are owned by one of Thailand's largest
conglomerates. A few locals, however, have refused the blank cheques offered
by businessmen - the prime examples being the family that owns most of
the Kai Bae beachfront properties and the old guy who owns the land on which
Thale bungalows, Klong Prao is located - a prime site for a luxury resort if
ever there was one.
Restaurants.
I've never got round to reviewing restaurants for the simple reason no-one's
yet offered me a free meal for doing so. The places mentioned all
serve predominantly Thai food and seafood. I'm not a fan of the vast
majority of western food served up on Thai islands as it tends to be crap
and if I'm paying a few hundred baht for a steak I'd like to know that the
guy cooking it knows the difference between 'rare' and 'well-done' at a
minimum.
Therefore, in no particular order here
are a few places that I've tried and quite like:
Cookies, White Sand Beach - On the
beach and very popular, good food, good prices and good size servings.
Popular with Thais too. Not a gourmet experience but with so many
options you'll be bale to keep even the fussiest of family members happy and
well fed.
Sangtawan Resort, White Sand Beach -
Just north of Cookie, almost as good and prices are low. If you're
staying in a beachfront resort, don't feel compelled to eat there.
Choose a beachfront restaurant which might not be as fancy but will serve
food with some flavour and not the 'toned down to the point of being
tasteless' crap that I've had at a couple of large resort restaurants in
this area.
Texas Steakhouse, White Sand Beach - A place to go to
when you get bored of seafood and need red meat, carbohydrates, starch and a
few pieces of salad or veggies to make you feel as though you're eating
healthily. The Danish chef ensures you get western food the way western food
should be cooked and well trained Thai staff provide the service in this
small, 30 seat rooftop restaurant. Limited menu but with all the
dishes a meat eater will want.
Invito, White Sand Beach - By
the time you visit Koh Chang they should have relocated to a quieter spot
not far from the international Clinic on White Sand beach. Currently
they are adjacent to a dozen small beer bars. Very good Italian food and
good place to go if you're celebrating something. But current location
far too noisy to make it a place for a romantic meal.
Bamboo Restaurant, Bamboo bungalows, White Sand
Beach. Pretty good Thai food and a 'better than you'd expect'
Italian menu too. OK, so it's not as good as the best Thai & seafood
resturants and it's not as good as the best Italain restaurants on the
island. But prices are good and the Italian food that I've had there
is much better than average. Another place to go if you want to eat Thai or
seafood but your partner / fussy kids want pizza or pasta. Or better
still just combine the options and have a four cheese pizza with your green
curry and BBQ snapper.
Somtam shop, White Sand Beach -
Located just south of KCTV on the sloping road leading south out of out
White Sand Beach. It has a name but I can't remember it off the top of my
head and there's no sign in English anyway. Not much of a menu
in English either. But it's easy enough to order Somtam and sticky
rice and point to chicken or pork on the BBQ. The somtam is the best
you'll find and they do very nice BBQ marinated pork in sesame seeds ' Moo
Det Diaow'. Really good. Always gets full of Thais from Bangkok
at the weekends and high season.
Yummy Hut, Klong Prao - About 50
metres north of the turning for Tropicana Resort, but on the opposite
side of the road. Run by Rak and her husband. They've both got
years of experience in the restaurant business and speak very good English.
Their dishes are usually a little different to the regular Thai food, they
like to experiment a little and substitute ingredients which makes their
food stand a out from the host of other similar restaurants in the area who
serve generic Thai dishes. If you're staying at Tropicana or Barali
Resorts, then this is a place well worth visiting.
Sassi italian, Amari Emerald Cove Resort, Klong
Prao. If you want to impress someone for whatever reason and you
know that they are the type of person who wants not only good food, but good
service as well then this is the place to go. Great Italian food,
fairly forma ambience but with staff as good as you'll find anywhere.
One restaurant where your dessert definitely wont arrive before your main
course.
Barracuda Beach Bar, Klong Prao
- 100 metres north of the Panviman hotel, right on the beach. This is
the nearest eaterie to our place, as such virtually everyone who stays with
us will head there for for a meal or two during their stay. The
comments I hear are uniformly excellent. If you're already paying for
a room in one of Klong Prao's luxury resorts, then there's no reason why you
should pay crazy prices for an average meal when for half the cost you can
eat far better food here. Well worth a visit for the food, the
atmosphere, the father & son fireshow, and the quiet beachfront location.
P' Nid's Restaurant, Kai Bae -
No signs in English, other than one that says 'Thai Food 25 baht' this is
the place to go for 25 - 30 baht meals. They have a small menu in English
but if you know your Thai food they'll make pretty much anything.
Staff and owner, who's from Koh Chang, don't speak much English but you wont
care when you eat the food. We've been going there for over 4 years
and have yet to have a bad meal and guests at our place who I've sent there
to eat have all come back singing the praises of the food. Located about 50 metres south of the 7-11 but on the opposite side of the road. Look
for the phone booth roadside, which is in front of the restaurant.
Pak Pao Noodles, Kai Bae - Midway between the
two 7-elevens, near LaLuna guesthouse. A standalone building set back
from the road with plenty of parking. Khun Anne, the middle-aged owner
speaks excellent English and attracts Thai in droves with a franchise for
noodles from the north of Thailand. The secret is in the way the meat
is prepared and the spiciness of the chilies. But they can make it
milder. On the face of it all they sell is variations on this one type of
pork noodle soup. But they do have other food and regular Thai food as
well.
KB Hut Noodle Shop, Kai Bae. Take the
turning signposted to KB Hut,opposite the southernmost 7-eleven in Kai Bae.
Head 50 metres down and you cant miss the large open sided restaurant on
your left. Menu in English. Very good noodles and all Thai
dishes for around 30 baht / plate. Always busy.
KB Bungalows & Kai Bae Beach
Restaurants, Kai Bae - You cant really go wrong at either of these
places. More expensive than the places I mentioned on White Sand Beach but
serving consistently good food. The resorts are next door to each
other so easy to try both places during your stay. KB Bungalows win
marks for presentation and use of coordinated tableware. KB Beach has
a restaurant right on the shoreline and every dish will arrive in a totally
mismatched plate or bowl.
Treehouse, Lonely beach. Spend a night
hanging with the travellers. Sit on the open deck by the sea, eat
surprisingly good dirt cheap food which is not as toned down as you might
expect in a place catering solely to young western palates. Wash it
down with a bucket of your favourite cocktail
The Bay, Bangbao - On the pier.
'The Bay' differs from other seafood restaurants in that the owners know
what appeals to western visitors. Meaning that they serve 40-50 baht
single plate meals at lunchtime, the decor is bright, modern and clean.
The kitchen is open, a lot of thought has gone into the design and the staff
don't look like they're sulky kids being forced to work in their parent's or
uncle's restaurant when they'd rather be sleeping. They also have a
friendly, fat Labrador who'll happily jump in the sea at your request.
If you now have too many options, I'll keep it simple
for you. The two restaurants that you shouldn't miss eating at while
you are on Koh Chang are:
1) Kati Culinary, Klong Prao. On the main
road 100 metres before Chang Chutiman Elephant Camp, 50 metres north of the
turning for Tropicana Resort. "AwesomeŁ, "Excellent", "Best food we've
had in Thailand", "A taste explosion." Comments just from some of the
people who've stayed at our place and who have been there. Run by a
mother and daughter, using the mother's recipes. I haven't had any
Thai food that is better than this on Koh Chang. Only around 8 tables, so
arrive early or call them to book a table in high season. One thing to
remember is that everything is made fresh to order and so don't expect a
fish to arrive at your table in 10 minutes, figure on nearer 30 minutes -
the time it takes to prepare and cook from scratch. (In the day
time they run a cooking school here, so only open for dinner.)
2) Saffron on the Sea, Pearl Beach. Take
the signposted turn towards the beach, just north of the Post Office.
Another small place where you feel like you are eating in someone's home
rather than in a restaurant. The resort only has a handful of
bungalows and the restaurant consists of even fewer tables in a very nice
garden setting by the sea. Ideal spot for a romantic meal with no
music from karaoke, fire juggling shows or traffic noise, just the sound of
the waves. As with Kati, everything is prepared from scratch, so you
will have to wait a while for your food to arrive. But the wait is well
worth it - guaranteed.
Roads. An asphalt road almost circles the island. Around
the east coast the road is flat, on the west coast there's a very step climb
between Kong Son & White Sand Beach, from there it's flat road until you leave Kai
Bae and the road becomes a mini rollercoaster until you reach Bailan.
The 10.157km (according to the sign) between Salakphet and Bangbao is a dangerous, narrow gravel topped
road for motorbikes and bicycles only . . . or it would be if the central
section had actually been completed. As it is, the road just stops in
a dead end in the jungle after a couple of kilometres. You can
go along the southeastern stretch to a beach called Wai Check, which
is very nice - but only by motorbike as bridges are now washed out.
A lot of
complaints are made about the roads on Koh Chang being too narrow but plans
have been approved to add footpaths and widen the road in certain places on
the west coast. In early 2005, there were a lot of surveyors out on the
west coast roads, apparently deciding where to put footpaths . . .I don't
need a troglodyte to know that adjacent to the road would be a good place to
start. By mid-2006 the fruits of their labour were evident and the road was widened from White Sand Beach
down to Kai Bae
to include an additional footpath / bicycle lane / parking area / area for
setting up market stalls which runs along the beach side of the road.
The road widening continued in 2007/08 with a 100
metre long section in Klong Son village being widened to remove a kink in
the road that caused drivers to have to slwo down in their rush to get to
the ferry. With the road wider and straighter there's no need to
change down into second gear when you pass through the village. At he
southern end of White Sand beach the hill section was widened in mid 2008.
Again to allow trucks and minivans to get more speed up as they hurtle down
hill towards the busiest beach on the island.
Romantic Restaurant. Go back and
read the 'Restaurant' section above. 'Saffron on the Sea' is the place
to be for great food, intimate atmosphere by the sea or if you want aircon,
a multitude of knives and forks and extensive wine selection then 'Sassi' at
the Amari Emerald Cove is for you.
S
Sailing. Salakphet Bay is where
all the yachties hangout. There are no sailing schools on the west coast but
if you want to charter a yacht or learn to sail this can be done at 'Gulf
Charters', located at Island View Pier in the village of Baan Rong Thian on
the western shore of the bay. Also, 'Sunsail' has a fleet of eight
yachts moored at Koh Chang Marina a kilometre to the north. Private yachts
can also be moored at both Island View and Koh Chang Marina. Both places
also offer accommodation on land in good value bungalows and apartments.
The area is getting increasingly popular with sailors. If you enjoy a
bit of adventure and don't want to moor alongside a dozen other boats every
night, charter a yacht and head down to Koh Kood and surrounding
islands for a week.
Salakkok.
More a strip of a couple of dozen fisherman's houses on the shore of a
large inlet than a village. Not often visited, but try to make the
effort as there are some great views of mangrove forest. The view
across the bay from the eastern shore is one of the best anywhere on the
island. In this area
you'll find The Spa - a very nice place to stay for a week if you enjoy
daily colonic irrigations; and also Salakkok Kayak Station, where you can
rent a canoe to paddle through the mangroves. Good fun and something
unique to this area. Locals also run dinner cruises aboard
traditional wooden gondoliers. You are paddled out into the centre of
the bay where you can enjoy a meal aboard your boat under the stars.
On a clear night it's like dining in a planetarium.
Salakphet. Small relatively uncommercialised fishing village on
the south east of the island. No resorts in the village but there are a few
homestays. It's a long motorbike ride to get there but worth it for
the views of the bay. In the village, kayaks can be rented for 100 baht/first hour
plus 50 baht for subsequent hours - hire one, paddle out to the nearby
islands in the bay and enjoy the view of the mountains behind you and
islands to the south of Koh Chang in front of you. You'll also see the
local fishermen with boats tied outside their houses, something that you
wont see if you just drive through the village.
Sandflies. These 2mm long insects are
more of a pain than mozzies. You can hear a mozzie but you cant hear a Sandfly. You'll feel something bite you and when you look all you
will see is what appears to be a small piece of dirt or cigarette ash -
about 2mm long, half black and half white. This is a Sandfly. If
you're lucky the itching from the bite will go in 5 minutes, if you're
allergic to them then you'll end up with one centimetre diameter red circles
on your skin. It'll look like you have measles. An they will
itch a lot. Go to the nearest clinic or pharmacy and get some cortisone cream and you'll
be fine. Bear in mind that most mozzie repellent doesn't work with
sandflies, but you can buy stuff that keeps them away.
Satellite Views. Google Earth has just
(late 2007) expanded their high resolution coverage of the west coast of Koh
Chang, so if you know where you are staying you'll be able to get a
satellite view of your hotel. In the 'Maps'
section of this site, I've got some Google maps where you can find your
resort and see what the surrounding area looks like from above. Also
take a look at www.pointasia.com - for a Thai
version of Google Earth but with better resolution of all the island and
outlying islands - especially Koh Mak and Koh Wai.
Schools. There are five small schools on the island in Dan
Mai, Klong Son, Klong Prao, Salakphet and Bangbao. All are abysmal.
Islanders with common sense send their kids to school in Trat, which entails
the kids getting up at 5am and getting home around 7pm which isn't a good
thing though - still it beats juvenile delinquency. The school in
Klong Son occasionally has a signboard up in the village appealing for volunteer
English teachers. If you want to do some good, and thus avoid
reincarnation as a lower life form, then kid yourself that spending a
hour having a one sided conversation with a class of 40 bemused 7 to 10 year olds is one means
to this particular end.
Seafood Restaurants. A seafood BBQ is another item on the
'must do' list of most visitors to Koh Chang. Judging by the signs outside
all the large restaurants have been featured on one or more Thai TV shows at
some time in the past. Prices don't vary too much providing you steer
clear of the fancy hotel restaurants. Don't automatically rush to the
beachfront places. Consider places such as 'JE Seafood', just past the
waterfall turnoff in Klong Prao. This unremarkable looking seafood
restaurant hardly gets any foreign visitors. But pass by in the
evening and it's more often than not you'll see cars and minivans lining the
street. This restaurant is well known amongst Thai visitors for the
low price & high quality of the seafood. A similar place is 'Mam Seafood',
another couple of kilometres south, 200 metres past 'Big Elk' steakhouse.
They are a wholesaler but will also cook your seafood for you in a variety
of styles. Eat it there or take away.
If you have any
access to your own BBQ then you should stop off at one of the wholesale
places in the Klong Prao area - just look for the very large red and blue
plastic cool boxes piled up. This is where most of the resorts buy their seafood.
80 baht will buy you a
decent size snapper, 200 baht for a couple of crabs, another 150 or so for
half a kilo of good size prawns, 50 baht for half kilo of squid and finally
20 baht for another half kilo of mussels.
7-Elevens. In early 2003 there weren't any 7-11s on the
island, by early 2004 there were three. Two on White Sand Beach, at either
end of the beach and one in the centre of Kai Bae. In late 2004
another was added in Bangbao. April 2005 and Klong Son now has one
too. March 2006, Kai Bae now has two. Jan 2008 and White Sand Beach now has
three of them.
Say what you like about big corporations making the island too touristy, but
having a 7-11 nearby means that all visitors to the island no longer have to
pay inflated local minimart prices for a bag of ice and that's got to be a
good thing - unless you happen to own a minimart near a 7-11 in which case
you're screwed. Or rather, you would be screwed in any country other
than Thailand. In reality a minimart can still get away with charging
10 baht for a bag of ice that is sold for 5 baht in the 7-11 even if your
shop is only 5 minutes walk away from it. The exploitation of human
laziness knows no boundaries other than the laziness of human beings.
Shipping Containers.
Why let illegal Chinese immigrants have all the fun? On Koh Chang there are
two resorts constructed entirely of shipping containers. Check out
'Cabin Resort' on White Sand Beach and 'Charmed Resort' - formerly known as
'Container Staid' (Yes, really) on Pearl Beach. To be fair, they do
have door and windows and 'Charmed Resort' even go as far as to put a few
pieces of wood on the exterior to give the appearance of a gigantic coffin .
. . again, in keeping with the illegal immigrant experience.
Slums. Not in the rat infested, Rio de Janeiro type sense but
more the style of building that seems to be preferred by many shops,
restaurants and karaoke bars. Bang together a few sheets of corrugated
iron and supporting poles and Bob's your uncle - an open walled multi-use
shack. On the main road these are now being replaced with concrete
shop units and shophouses. But if you've ever wondered where all the
workers live on Koh Chang then head to Klong Plu waterfall, Klong Prao.
By the roadside, about 400 metres from the entrance to the waterfall is a
mini shantytown for construction workers. Or head into Klong Prao
village, take the dirt track inland just after the gas station and motorbike
repair shop. This is the kind of area where the folks that live here
keep wild boar running around their homes which are amongst the rubber
trees. Continuing the poverty tour, head another 800 metres or so south,
over the river and take the dirt track inland immediately after the sharp
right hand bend. You'll find loads of Cambodian workers living down
here in the type of conditions you expect someone earning 100 baht a day to
be living in.
Snorkelling. A day spent on a snorkelling trip is a day well
spent providing you aren't unfortunate enough to be sharing the boat with
Thai snorkellers who in the main tend to be non-swimmers who love nothing
more than standing on coral in order to pose for photos. Moving on . .
.the visibility is usually good and you should be able to see wider
variety of fish than in Krabi / Trang for example - at least that's what
I've found. If possible try to avoid going on one of the large boats.
Not that there's anything wrong with travelling with group of fifty
other people but if I was a fish I'd piss off and hide somewhere quick as
soon as fifty large land mammals leapt into the water outside my front door.
Try to take a small boat, the price is the same or cheaper, but
finding one is harder - you'll have to head down to Bangbao and look around.
Day trips should be 600 baht/person, unless you want to go on Thai Fun, Kon
Tiki or other fancier converted fishing boats with western buffets that
charge 1250 - 1500 baht/person.
Snorkelling Sites off Koh Chang.
There are a couple of average sites for snorkelling near the shoreline on
Koh Chang. If you're staying near Pearl beach then get hold of a mask
and snorkel and swim out from the shore a little way, here you'll see living
coral and a variety of fish. An alternative is Chai Chet Cape, at the
northern end of Klong Prao beach, swim out and around the rocky cape and you
should see quite a few fish, but no coral. Just off Koh Chang the
islands offshore from Klong Prao / Kai Bae beach have some snorkelling
possibilities, usually very clear water and some fish always on display, but
you'll need a sea kayak to get there or have to get someone to take you out in
their boat.
Somtam. The best somtam to be had is probably at the shop
which sits at the entrance to 'Giant Bungalows' on the road heading south
out of White Sand beach.
No signs in English, pretty much opposite is Para Resort & seafood, but it's good enough to have a reputation in Bangkok as
the place to go for somtam on Koh Chang. The BBQ chicken is also good
as is the deep friend sun dried pork 'Moo Det Diow'. In second place is the stall
in Klong Son, opposite the 7-eleven which sells dirt cheap fried chicken and excellent somtam.
However, for the real Thai experience you need to head to the somtam &
chicken restaurants at the entrance to Klong Plu waterfall. There
appears to be more than one restaurant but in reality they are the same
place run by different members of the same family, so prices & quality are
the same. When thais travel in large groups they will often head to a somtam
& BBQ chicken place as you can feed everyone easily. A dozen plates of
spicy somtam, couple of tubs of sticky rice, a chicken or two, coke for the
kids and beer for the adults - easy. You can even sit near the river in the
shade.
Speedboats. If you want to take a look at some of the
other islands around Koh Chang, the best way is to travel by speedboat as
the distances involved are pretty big. However, as speedboat
hire starts at 6 or 7,000 baht/day for an 85HP boat, more for a larger boat
with 200HP outboard, you really need to get a group together for the cost
vs. convenience argument to swing in the speedboat's favour.
If you're Thai this isn't a problem as it's odds-on you'll be
travelling with at least a dozen of your best mates/co-workers. If
you're farang then you'll have to resort to attempting to organise something
will fellow guests at your bungalows and, as anyone who has ever attempted
to organise a disparate group of backpackers knows, this is a nigh on
impossible feat. Come the morning of the planned trip, the Japanese
guy will have got lost somewhere, the hippy chick has signed up for a
journey of self discovery via a meditation class on the beach, the two
unfeasibly chiseled Swedish guys will have got off with local girls and the
Brits will be too hungover to find the boat let alone be allowed anywhere
near open water. Thus leaving Joe and Melinda, the tanned,
enthusiastic American couple who organised the multinational event,
wondering WTF happened to their coalition of the willing.
Spirit House Graveyard.
At the top of the hill between White Sand Beach and Klong Son you'll notice a
collection of discarded spirit houses lining a 20 metre long stretch of
road. Virtually all Thai houses and businesses have a spirit house
outside them, the owner will make an offering to the spirits of the land
every morning and ask them to help make their business profitable etc.
(This is a hangover from pre-Buddhist times) When the time comes to
get a new spirit house, you can't simply trash the old one. It has to
be taken to a spot where it can be with other spirit houses - don't ask me
why. So, that accounts for the couple of dozen spirit houses you'll
see by this short stretch of road.
Squid Fishing. Boat operators have come to realise that
tourists will pay good money to see how squid - or more accurately
cuttlefish - are caught. For a sum of 400 - 600 baht, the same as you'd pay
for a full day snorkelling trip, you can go out at night for 2-3 hours and
try your hand at culling the cuttlefish population. Providing you have
brought your own beer with you and the conditions are right for catching
squiddies it's actually quite good fun. To tell if conditions are
right, simply look out to sea at nighttime - if you can see literally dozens
of boats with their lights on then conditions are right as these lights are
from the professional squid fishermen's boats. Squid are attracted to
the light, meaning that so long as there are actually some of them in the
vicinity of your boat catching them is relatively simple. On the boat
you'll be given a razor sharp, upturned mini-chandelier of barbs for use as
a hook. This is attached to a length of line, throw the hook over the
side when you get to the fishing area and slowly move it up & down - that's
about all there is to it. One of the crew will BBQ the squid for you
to eat as you fish and get pissed.
Suzuki
Cariban.
Suzuki, a company that has the ability to produce engineering
marvels such as the Hayabusa, a 200mph motorbike, is also able to turn out
some of the worst vehicles ever to come out of Japan. A case in point is the
Suzuki Cariban. Although retro styling is now in vogue, the Beetle, Mini,
Fiat 500 for
example, the Cariban is based on the classic 'brick' shape and is an example
of designers simply not be arsed to attempt to design a car. Automotive
folklore has it that it's based on an extremely unlifelike sketch of a real
'Jeep' drawn by 4-year old Noriko Yamazaki, Suzuki Motor's Chief Designer's
youngest child.
From the unsprung seats to the oversprung suspension everything about this
offroader is wrong. (The offroader tag applies to the amount of time it
spends in the repair shop.) And if responsive means the steering wheel does
a 180 degree turn when going over the smallest of undulations then ,yes, put
a tick in the 'Responsive Steering' box. The makers saw fit not
to include any mechanics inside the gearbox with the car, instead you get
one that appears to be jelly filled. First, neutral, reverse, fourth . . .
it's night on impossible to guess what gear your in simply by looking at the
six inches of wildly vibrating black plastic beside your left knee.
0-100km/h acceleration takes long enough for no-one to have ever
successfully managed it. You're more likely to run out of fuel before
hitting top speed on the flat. Part of the problem stems from the aerodynamics
which are akin to those of a breeze block.
However, if you feel a cramped ride
with tractor like performance will enhance your Koh Chang vacation please
mention me when you rent one. (I cant afford morals when it comes to
commission.)
T
Tailors. You're going to be surprised by the number of tailors
on Koh Chang, in 2004 there were half a dozen, now there are somewhere
around 50 tailors shops! There is a simple reason for this increase,
many of them have relocated from tsunami hit areas of the south and were
attracted to Koh Chang by the relatively cheap rental price of shop units.
I've no idea which are the good ones and which aren't as they all seem to be
recommend by various tour agencies etc. So some will provide you with
a perfectly fitted Armani copy for a fraction of the price of an original,
and others will sell you an ill-fitting version of the same for the price of
an original.
No island would be the same without a few Indian or Nepalese run tailor
shops offering genuine 'Hugh Boss' and 'Giani Armani' creations. I
can't imagine how many visitors decide they really need a double breasted
three piece suit, two Oxford knit cotton shirts and free silk tie for $99,
but quite a few must do judging by the number of shops offering this
service. (Bear in mind, no-one has ever walked out of a tailor's with
a suit and only paid $99. You'll always upgrade to a better fabric,
different style etc Plus you'll probably want it to fit you.)
Keep a look out for the patented 'Tailor's Walk' . . . as all tailors have
the same demeanour. Tailors are usually portly and of Indian origin.
Their natural habitat is the territory around the frontage of their shop and
are only rarely spotted skulking behind a pile of stock or chatting on their
mobile like the common or garden Thai stallholder. Clad in their own
bespoke creations they strut around their neighbourhood, hands clasped
behind their backs offering a cheery "Hello" to their neighbours and
a rather optimistic
"Excuse me sir, would you like a tailored lightweight linen suit in a pastel
shade, as popularised in the hit TV show 'Miami Vice' twenty years
ago?" to sunburned tourists. In some areas you'll feel as though
you're being stalked as they'll be tailors approaching you with flyers,
business cards and the promises of wondrous offers and discounts.
If you're easily amused you can see a tailor's called 'Chamois Collection'
in VJ Plaza. No idea why it'd be named after the rag you use to polish
your car - but they are apparently one of the better tailors on the island. A stone's throw away another tailor's offers 'Cumtom
tailoring' and they swear they'll pay as much attention to your fitting as
they did to the wording of their sign. Another strangely named tailor
but recommended, by people I've met, is 'Morrissey' - opposite the
turning for Amari Emerald Cove Resort, southern Klong Prao. Named
after an Aussie designer and not The Smith's former frontman.
More seriously - a couple of things you
should be aware of. Always negotiate a good discount - tailors pay big
commissions to hotels, bar owners etc, hence the number of people you'll
meet who seem keen to recommend a trip to the tailors as a 'must do' on Koh
Chang.
So, if you walk into a tailor's on your own, then that should be 10-20% off any price
immediately. Average profit margins on a suit are 50-70%, therefore
don't feel bad about haggling hard. Also, bear in mind that no
tailoring actually goes on in a tailor's shop, there is no backroom with
machinists hard at work. It's all outsourced to a small handful of
overworked, underpaid guys sitting at sewing machines in run down shacks.
(See the small shop units, below road level, on the beach side of the road,
ad about 500 metres south of Klong Prao Resort. The quality of your suit
also depends more on how busy these guys as well as which shop you buy from.
Tattoos. When I was a lad only bikers, only Motorhead
and the Village People had tattoos, now it seems everyone has got a tribal
motif of some kind on their right shoulder. I'm never sure if the
tribal tattoo is designed to set you apart from the crowd or show you are
part of the crowd. But, if you haven't got yours yet, then what better place
to get it done than lying on a sandy beach towel outside a hut
on Koh Chang? There are several tattooists on White Sand Beach, Kai Bae and
Lonely Beach who will stick a sterilised needle tipped with sandy ink into
your body in return for a few hundred baht. Corporate types and twelve
year old girls may prefer the henna tattoos on sale by beach vendors, they
wash off after a couple of weeks so no bollocking by your boss or teacher
when you get home. If you want to get ink done, speak to Keow - at
Sabaiporn Restaurant, roadside in Klong Prao - opposite the turning for
Panviman resort. He was trained by a German tattooist in Koh Pa-Ngan a
few years ago. Prices from a few hundred baht for a small one.
Temples. There are no prime examples worthy of a visit on
architectural grounds on Koh Chang so unless you're cremating a close friend
or relative they don't really merit a visit. There are a couple
of Buddhist temples in Klong Son, Salakphet & Klong Prao and the hill
between the ferry piers and Klong Son is home to a small Chinese temple but
that's the lot. Klong Son temple dates from over 120 years ago,
nearby, built on a sandbar, is a stupa that greets fishermen as they return
home.
A couple of times a year, in low season, the temples hold fairs which are
fun to see. Temple fairs have long been a way for the temple to raise
money. Expect to see lots of stuff to buy & eat, an old, classic Thai
movie being shown on a projector from the 1950s, a mini-disco where the
young and young at heart can get down and boogie to disposable pop from the
past, never-ending games of bingo with a variety of plastic items up for
grabs and form of gambling involving a frog.
Tide Tables. About as much use to you as
a chocolate teapot if you're a landlubber, but essential if you plan on
being out on the water. Printed tide tables for Laem Ngop ( on the mainland)
are available from the Marine Department office which is on Laem Ngop pier. Online, you
can get
pretty good, free, 7-Day forecasts which include wind direction
etc as well as tides, from a couple of sites.
Buoyweather.com has tides, wave heights etc from a spot not
far from Salakphet in the south-east of Koh Chang and the
British Govt.'s Hydrographic Office, has an excellent service
for yachties, 'EasyTide'
with a free 7-day sailing forecast from places around the world
- select 'Koh Mak' for the nearest spot to Koh Chang.
Another useful site for sailors is Wind
Guru, which if your boat has sails will help you figure out just how
slowly you are going to get to wherever you want to go. Expert use of the
data from these sites, plus holding a finger in the air should ensure you make
it back to port safely.
Tobacco. An essential item if you are
jungle trekking. Why? because of you are bitten by a leech you
will need to stop the blood somehow. The leech zaps you with something that
stops your blood from clotting and so the small hole in your foot or leg
wont block up. A pinch of tobacco pressed against the wound for 30
seconds and then left on your skin is what you use to stop the blood flow.
I've tried it and it works. See, you do learn something by reading this
site.
Tourist Figures. How many
people visit Koh Chang annually? This is something that no supposedly
informed source ever agrees with another equally 'reliable' source.
Counting ferry tickets is the easiest thing to do, but that requires
obtaining accurate figures from the ferry companies. Plus, how do you
discriminate between locals and market traders from the mainland regularly
using the ferry, Thai tourists, overseas visitors, Thais visiting on
business, etc etc. The TAT use the number of visitors staying at their
registered accommodation, which again relies on accurate reporting and
doesn't take into account the large number of places that aren't listed with
the TAT
The, 'straight out of the hat'
figure I've heard is 1 million visitors for 2004 - 05. That's roughly
what Samui also claims and so is obviously nonsense. If Koh Chang has
around 3,000 rooms in bungalows and resorts then occupancy must be 100% for
the three busiest months, and 50% for 6 months either side. Rainy
season the number of guests in most resorts can be counted on one hand.
That's very optimistic and what you see on the ground doesn't reflect that
level of occupancy. At the end of the day, does anyone re ally care?
As a visitor, all you need to know is that even in high season, Koh Chang is
nowhere as busy as any of the better known Thai tourist destinations.
It is still possible to escape high season crowds here. Officially, TAT say,
there were just over 100,000 foreign visitors to Koh Chang in 2004. To
put this in perspective, the number of Chinese visitors to Phuket was
just over 120,000 during the same period.
Since then the number of visitors has increased,
there's nothing like tsunami on the opposite side of the country to
increase visitor numbers. 2007s visitor stats from the TAT show that
over 200,000 foreign tourists now visit Koh Chang annually. This
includes an ever increasing number of Russians who didn't figure on the
stats until 2005.
A few of 2007's highlights -
Foreign visitors to Koh Chang in 2007
were 228,000 up 18% on
2006. Foreign visitors to Koh Mak were
up 111% in 2007. March, April & May, were the
months with highest room occupancy rates on Koh Chang. ( These
are Thai holiday months.) In 2007, more Russians than
British stayed at the most expensive resorts. The country with
the most visitors to Koh Chang in 2007 was Sweden, with just
over 30,000 visitors - a whopping 85% increase on 2006. The
number of over 55's - often those who like their comforts and stay at
the better resorts, decreased by a whopping 61%, from nearly 50,000 in 2006
to 17,500 in 2007.
Tourist Police. As of mid 2006,
the Tourist Police have been based on Koh Chang. You'll recognise them
as they get a real police car complete with lights & a siren, to drive
around in rather than an old motorbike. They're currently based in a
Portacabin at the viewpoint overlooking SeaView Hotel, Kai Bae. If you
have any problems, these are the people to call rather than the local
police. Emergency number is: 1155
Typical tourists.
About 60 - 70% of the visitors to the island are Thai. However, the
majority of resorts would prefer to get the majority of their income from
Western guests for a couple of reasons. (Note, this doesn't mean that
owners feel that they can charge foreigners more than Thais it's more down
to what each group expects.)
Thais usually travel as a family or in
a large group of friends, rather than ones or twos. But they will often
still all want to stay in one room. Foreigners will arrive carrying
only a backpack or suitcase. Therefore 99.9% of them won't be carrying a
charcoal grill, week's supply of food, 100 liter ice box, gas stove and the
contents of their kitchens when they arrive unlike your typical Thai group.
So the resort loses out by having three times as much mess to clean up as
the guests will have been cooking in the rooms and also they won't make
anything in earnings from the restaurant.
Foreign tourists don't do this, they
stay 2 people in a room, eat 2 or 3 meals a day in the restaurant - maybe
they aren't as sociable but the real downside is that they aren't always
forgiving when things get screwed up and can be demanding but that's life.
(I wrote this right after pissing off a
neighbour who'd bought a Thai group to stay in my guesthouse. They
wanted to stick five adults in an aircon room for 800 baht/night. Two
is fine, three is OK if someone is happy with a makeshift bed on the floor
but definitely no more than that - regardless of nationality. So they left
grumbling about me. The Canadian guy who'd just checked in, and was
looking forward to a relaxing few days after escaping intact from the Sri
Lankan tsunami, breathed a sigh of relief.)
The Treehouse. Probably the best known of all the Koh Chang
hut complexes, a Lonely Beach legend. Having adverts showing a
cartoon smiley sun, hearts, flowers and cute dolphins can't hurt either.
Very mellow man. This is a place that managed to blend German
efficiency and Thai friendliness, and not vice versa, very successfully.
Unfortunately it's success appears to have proved it's undoing as for the
past year there have been stories of it's demise and then reprieve. As of
February 2006, it's still there. Will it actually close? I have no
idea and I really don't care. In June 2005 a new Treehouse, down on
Long Beach, which is about as far away from other people as you can get,
opened.
Trekking. All backpacker
bungalows have a contact who knows a guy who can take people into the jungle
for a day's trek. Some are good, some are the kind of people you
wouldn't really want to be alone in the middle of an uninhabited jungle
with. Some can provide a pretty good commentary on what you're seeing
and about to be bitten by, other guides simply smile and point out the
obvious "Snake, bad. No touch."
'Tan Trekking' is a one man trekking company run by a
Thai guy, Tan, who lived in Australia for a few years and who has
worked as a tour and trekking guide in Chiang Mai and Krabi prior to moving
to Koh Chang. He's also fully licensed a a tour guide by the Tourist
Authority of Thailand. He speaks excellent English and cuts his own
routes through the jungle. In the 2008/09 season he will offer a
variety of treks including a cross island trek, a hard core trek to the top
of Koh Chang - for experienced hikers, and a couple of shorter, gentler
routes for families or anyone wanting a less tiring look at the jungle flora
and fauna. More on Tan Trekking
Jungleway, a small out of the way
bungalow resort deep in Klong Son valley, not far from Baan Kwan Chang
elephant camp, offer relatively easy guided treks for a few hundred baht/head. Overnight treks are also possible.
See their website for more info
www.jungleway.com
Mogli Trekking, also based in Klong
Son, but do treks in the Klong Prao area.
'Mr Anong' - a one man trekking
organisation operates around Klong Prao and takes visitors up into the hills
above Klong Plu waterfall. By all accounts, he offers a good day
out. Day treks for 1,200 baht/person.
An alternative is the 'Trekkers of Koh
Chang Club'. A group set up by experienced local Thai trekkers to
promote eco-friendly trekking on the island. They conduct several
interesting day long treks in the park. The cost is around 690 baht plus 200
baht National Park entrance fee. Two day, one night treks into the mountains
around Salakphet go for around 1,540 baht. Contact by phone: 039 525
029 or 01 578 7513.
U
UBC. All self respecting
bungalow operators provide UBC (now called 'True' but I dont have anything
else for the letter 'U') satellite TV in their restaurants as it's
essential if they want to grab the Premier League / BBC News / repeats of
Survivor / MTV watching crowds which make up a large segment of the culture
vulture backpacker population.
V
Vets.
There's a small clinic in Klong Prao that's occasionally open but for
most people, the sole source of animal health care is Lisa, a sole American
woman who runs a small practice more as a community service rather than a
money making operation and he fellow vet Carla.
Lisa is in the process of registering
her practice as a charitable foundation 'Koh Chang Animal Foundation'
which would enable her to actively solicit much needed funding from
organisations outside Thailand. If you'd like to contribute cash or
vetinary knowledge, she'd be very pleased to hear from you.
Animal lovers
should call her on: 089 042 2347 or email:
mcalonie@hotmail.com
Any visitors to the island who'd like to make a donation in person to
help her work can call into her house/clinic in Klong Son, 1.5km along the
road to Baan Kwan Chang elephant camp. You can also find all the info
you need about the Koh Chang Animal Foundation at
www.kohchanganimalfoundation.org
For specialised
vetinary care, you'll have to head to Trat or better still Chantaburi or
Rayong. Of the vets in Trat, only one actually graduated from
university with a doctorate in vetinary medicine - so I've been told.
The vet in Chantaburi which came recommended by two other dog owners on Koh
Chang but was very expensive and ineffective. We take our dog to a vet
in Rayong (and another at Kasetsart University, Bangkok - where the royal
family's dogs go), he knows his stuff, is easy to talk to, isn't expensive
and won't try to sell you pricey medicine if a cheaper generic equivalent is
available. The only downside is that Rayong is a 180 km drive from Koh
Chang.
Visas. It all used to be so simple
for everyone from backpackers to bar owners to early retirees who wanted to
stay on Koh Chang long term. All that was required was to hop across
to Cambodia every 30 days and get a new 30 day visa. But as of 1
Oct 2006, border hoppers will only be allowed 3 x 30 days visas in any 6
month period. One of the businesses that will be most affected are
dive schools, the majority of whose instructors have 30 day visas. Anyone
wanting to get a 12 month Non Immigrant multiple entry visa can give me a
call or email and I'll let you know how it can be done.
W
Water. Unsurprisingly, there isn't any central water supply on
Koh Chang. (Although newspaper reports continue to state that it's a
priority and as such mains water is in the plans for late 2003, 2004, 2005
or possibly 2006)
Residents and resort operators are left to their own devices when it comes
to securing a source. The most common way is to dig a bore hole or lay
several kilometres of pipe and syphon off water from mountain streams and
waterfalls. As 95% of the rainfall on Koh Chang falls during the
rainy season, this means that come January/February time the natural water
supplies begin to run low. Some beaches are affected more than others
- if you stay on Lonely Beach don't expect running water in your bathroom
during the day as the majority of resorts have to buy water from the owners
of boreholes in Bailan or Kai Bae. As more resorts are built so the
water shortage will worsen, as on Koh Samui where even the plush hotels have
to ration water. On Koh Chang large, more remote resorts cope by
hiring water tankers to bring water in from other areas of the island on a
daily basis.
Waterfalls. The most visited falls are Klong Plu on the west
of the island and Than Mayom on the east. The first is popular because
it's in a touristy area, the second because a couple of Thai kings carved
their names in the rocks near the falls whilst on holiday a 100 or more
years ago. The tallest falls are down near Salakphet in the south-east.
Waterfalls are great in low season, crap in late high season for the simple
reason that they only have a decent amount of water in them during the
rainy, i.e. low, season and the notion of paying a 400 baht entrance fee to
see a cliff with a dribble of water running down it's face into a rancid mud
pool isn't my idea of value for money and shouldn't be yours either.
Weather. I've only
been able to find one weather website that covers Koh Chang,
www.quickcast.com.
A five day forecast from them can be found
here. Also worth a look is the Thai meteorological department's site
www.weather.go.th
Webcams. There are a couple of
live webcams on Koh Chang. Both set up by Colin from CocoDeeBo Tours.
They are located at their beachfront office at the northern end of
Klong Prao beach. (Note that they arent always on, especially in the rainy
season.)
Welcome Drinks. You
arrive at your resort and the smiling receptionist checks you in, explains
how the coupon for breakfast system works and hands you a voucher for your
free welcome drink in the bar. Great, an ice cold beer would go down
well - even if it's a small one. Read the small print: "This
voucher is valid for non-alcoholic drinks only. Excluding coke, pepsi,
water and any commercially available soft drinks you may have come across
during your time on this planet." Therefore, if you're the
slightest bit sensitive to 'E-numbers' and/or are diabetic then avoid all
welcome drinks. Mid-afternoon and the bar will be empty, one of
the saddest things in the world is a newly arrived couple sitting in an
empty bar sipping on a tumbler of sickly sweet, gooey orange liquid
decorated with a slice of pineapple and a purple orchid flower; and
grimacing.
They want to get up and leave but as
they're the only two in the bar it's obvious the barman will know who left
the unfinished drinks and you don't want to piss him off as you've set your
heart on a sunset pina colada served in a hollowed out pineapple.
(Made using 'nature identical' pina colada mix.) So you have to suck
the unknown concoction down and just hope the orange pigment now lining the
interior of your mouth isn't permanent or will be proved to be carcinogenic
by scientists in the coming years.
Wi-Fi Internet Access.
Until recently 'wireless' meant simply not having electric or phone lines.
However, Koh Chang has now leapt forward into the late 20th Century and here
are a handful of wi-fi hotspots on the island catering to laptop carrying
visitors.
On White Sand Beach: Earthlink & BanPu
Resort.
Klong Prao; Koh Chang Plaza, Ramayana, Evolution Tour
Kai Bae: OK Diving, Cliff Beach, Kai Bae Hut, Kai Bae Beach bungalows
Lonely Beach: Dive Point
We've got free wi-fi for laptop carrying customers at
our little guesthouse, so if we can afford the 1000baht/month cost for an
unlimited use 2MB connection and a couple of thousand baht for a wireless
router, you'd have thought that larger resorts and luxury hotels could also
provide the same service for their guests. Seems most still can't.
Wildlife. A veritable host of wild things inhabit the interior
of the island. 70 plus species of bird, about 30 different mammal type
things and over 40 reptiles of varying kinds can be found by those looking
to get themselves bitten, stung or poisoned. To simplify matters I now
refer to all potentially dangerous forms of wildlife as "Bob" far
easier than remembering Thai names for various spiders, jellyfish, snakes,
spiders etc although, admittedly, not really threat specific enough for
emergency situations and probably not going to gain sympathy with care
givers. Still we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. "I was
bitten by Bob, do you think it's serious?", "I've no idea, now piss off and
come back when you grow up."
I've encountered three snakes in my house since I've been living here: my
g/f spotted snake one whilst sitting on the toilet, it was sent to reptile
heaven with a few whacks of a broom handle, as was snake two which appeared
on our balcony. Snake three, however, was a different kettle of fish.
Simply, it was the biggest snake I've ever seen outside a zoo - approx 3
metres long. It came up out of the river and into our kitchen where it
looked around as we, & our neighbour, tried to figure out just how deadly it
was. A moving snake looks a lot different, and a lot larger, than a
photo of a carefully positioned stationary snake in the 'Idiot's Guide to
Dangerous Reptiles.' We all decided that we were too chicken to take it on
and so, using long pieces of wood, we gently ushered it back into the
mangroves.
X
Xylophone. A musical instrument, totally unrelated to this site
but Koh Chang 'Xs' have got me stumped.
Y
Yachting. What better way to explore the Koh Chang archipelago
than by sailing boat? This isn't an option for your average budget
traveller though as weekend trips start at about 7,000 baht/head but it is a
unique, if not slow, way to see the islands. Koh Chang Marina near
Salakphet can get you sorted with a latter day Captain Pugwash and boat.
In late 2005, SEA Adventures began operating sailing daytrips for 1,200
baht/head on their 13 metre catamaran. Look for the advertising boards
all over the island if you want a ticket. Private charters are
also available. A lot of people have mentioned that Sea Adventures is
well worth it. You won't get as much time snorkelling as if you were
on a speedboat and you wont get as far south as you would on a yacht
charter from Salakphet, but but they look after you well on board.
Good if you want to enjoy life in the slow lane whilst on holiday.
Gulf Charters have recently relocated their entire
fleet to Salakphet and Sunsail are set to start operating out of Koh Chang
in 2007. Charters and sailing classes are available through Gulf
Charters, everything from learning the ropes to skippering your own yacht.
So, although it's still very early days for sailing in this area, the
future's looking rosy for anyone wanting to get involved in yachting in the
south-east of Koh Chang. Meet up with fellow yachties at Island View
marina & guesthouse in Salakphet. Deiter, the owner, first sailed
around the area in his own yacht well over a decade ago. Good
place to stay if you want to do some sailing or sea canoeing and a good
place to call in if you're on your own boat.
But don't expect to find hoards of yachties at the inappropriately named
'Kai Bae Marina', expect to find a roadside restaurant instead.
Yellow Oil. This
area of Thailand is famed for producing snake oil, a herbal cure all that
has been proven to be an effective treatment against everything from insect
bites to AIDS, cervical cancer and Bird Flu. This stuff kicks Tiger Balm's
ass. The most popular brand is 'Mae Ang-Ki's', but many of the massage
women on Koh Chang sell a locally produced 'no-name' brand which smells like
it should do you some good. Whether it does or not, I have no idea as
I don't have a caged chimp or rabbit to do a spot of DIY animal testing on.
But I'm sure it's safe enough and if it is carcinogenic, the effects are
unlikely to kick in for another 20-30 years or so after first application.
Yellow Pages. There
isn't a specific Koh Chang Yellow Pages full of useful numbers in print.
So, for now, take a look at the list of numbers I've put together
here and see if you can find what you're
looking for.
Yoga. At the start of every high
season signs for various classes in trendy types of exercise spring up.
One place that's worth a look though is Baan Zen, Klong Prao home of Joelle,
a Frenchwoman with years of experience teaching different types of Yoga.
Classes take place in the morning & evening, leaving you with plenty of time
to enjoy the beach during the day. She also teaches introductory
classes for Reiki and Tui-Na. More info here.
In the north of the island, Jungleway also run yoga retreats at their small
hideaway resort in the valley.
Z
Zzzzzzz. A quick summary
of Koh Chang's nightlife. Actually it's not that bad now. Things are
slowing improving and you'll find that you now have a pretty good choice of
places to listen to live music, have a quiet beer, watch a fire show
etc. If you want more of a club like place then you'll still have to
head down to Lonely Beach where the backpackers hangout and Vitamine or
Lemon Bar. For live music Oodies & Sabay Bar, both on White Sand Beach, JuJu
in Klong Prao, by the main road not far from the Amari resort and Blues Cha
Cha in kai Bae are some of the better places with live music nightly.
