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Views don't get much nicer than this on Koh Chang in
my mind. A beach is a beach, try a sunset over an eerily quiet
mangrove lined bay instead.
Even in high season you'd be very lucky to
see more than a handful of other tourists in and around Salakkok hamlet. There's
one, pretty awful, man
made attraction,
no fancy seafood restaurants, only a couple of run down places to stay and
the only activity on offer is mangrove kayaking. Doesn't sound too promising, does
it?
At the moment no one goes to Salakkok mainly
because there doesn't appear to be much reason for doing so and also because
you won't notice the turn off unless you are looking for it. However,
it should me on your must see list of places on Koh Chang - simply because
things haven't changed there. It's your chance to see real people,
still fishing for a living as they have for years.
Heading
down the east coast road, a left turn is signposted to Salakkok and a few
resorts (Ploy Talay, Judo, Rommai Challay etc) that all cater for Thai weekenders
from Bangkok. These resorts are on the eastern side of Salakphet Bay.
Take the turning, about 500m down the road you come to a 90 degree left
hand bend in the road, you'll see a sign for a local temple and school, head past a few wooden
bungalows - 300 baht/night - built on the edge of the mangroves. You'll also pass, on the
left, a man made 'attraction' the
Mangrove walkway which you'll see on your left just before you turn off onto
the road to Salakkok. This snaking concrete monster was built by the
local authorities to allow lazy arsed folks the chance to take some photos
of mangroves
without making too much effort. More info and a few photos of the
walkway in all it's unfinished grey concrete glory are here.
( Salakohet Bay has a far better mangrove walkway - which they managed to
construct out of wood without the need to cut down swathes of mangroves
during the construction process.)
The main road then heads round a 90 degree right hand
turn and most people doesn't give a second glace to the concrete paved road heading off in the opposite direction as they are too busy
looking out for crazed local Schumacher wannabes in rusting pick-ups heading
around the corner in the opposite direction. Take my advice, turn left and take a detour along this
narrow paved road.
The road is about
2 km long and is
lined by mangroves on it's left side, it ends with a few fisherman's houses
built on the shores of a large sheltered bay. The first 1km is paved,
the second kilometre is a dirt track.
Canoe rental from Salakkok Kayak Station, which also doubles as an
inexpensive seafood restaurant is now available courtesy of Koh Chang
Discovery Club - an organisation set up by the guy who owns Baan Kwan Chang
elephant camp, so it's done with eco-friendliness, rather than simply
profit, in mind. This project won an Ecotourism award at the 2007 Thai
Tourist Authority Awards. You can rent a canoe and paddle yourself,
following numbered markers through the channels in the mangroves and out
into the bay or have a guide show you the route. The Kayak Station is
located in a community of local fishermen, in this area you'll see real
local life going on. The project is owned by the local community, some
have invested money, some work in the restaurant, some play traditional
music or dance in the evenings when tourists come to go on dinner cruises in
the bay - aboard a wooden Thai gondolier. The villagers share the
profits and see that it is possible to make a living from tourism without
doing away with their traditional life or destroying the environment.
You'll see the dinner cruises promoted in tour agents on Koh Chang, but if
you simply want to do some mangrove kayaking you'll have to make your own
way here.
When you arrive at the end of the road,
you see another small fishing community of around 20 houses built on the
eastern shore of the bay. You'll notice that despite the amazing views
across the bay to the mangroves and jungle covered mountains, there aren't
any signs of tourism here. On the small pier there's usually one or
two large vessels belonging to the Marine Department moored and if you are
lucky you'll see the small fishing boats coming back with their catch. The bay itself is very well sheltered as the outlet to the sea is only
approx 100 metres wide and the east coast rarely sees any of the winds that
batter the west coast during rainy season.
On the opposite side of the bay, hidden
from view by mangroves, but accessible by kayak is a luxury health spa, The Spa
Koh Chang, an offshoot of Spa Samui, that opened in mid 2006 on the western shore
of the bay. Colonic irrigation, yoga, raw food, a sea water swimming
pool and some very well designed accommodation make this the place for
health conscious spa lovers on Koh Chang.
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