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Koh Chang Updates & Stuff page
November 2008 onwards
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20 June -
Surefire Business Ideas For
Beating the Recession. Become a Rancher
With the increasing number of steakhouses on the island and high
price of quality imported beef, there has never been a better
time to start your own cattle ranch. All you need is a few cows
and some vacant land where you can tether them. For
example by the roadside just south of Klong Prao village where,
if you are quick, you'll find this member of a prime beef herd
eating as little as possible.
If you're slow, you'll find him listed 300 baht cheaper than the
imported option on your menu.
Discounted rooms.
Quite a
few resorts now have signs outside offering very cheap deals on
rooms. On Lonely Beach you can stay on the sand at Siam
Hut for 180 baht/night and roadside in Klong Prao you can get an
ensuite AC room for 400 baht.
Or stay in the 'No1 Resort on
Koh Chang' for only 950 Baht/night. No, not the Amari,
or The Dewa, or Aiyapura, or Dusit Princess or Lek's Guesthouse
and Noodle Stall . . .
A small business to keep you
occupied.
This small internet cafe and
safety deposit box business is for sale on White Sand beach.
Ideal for someone looking to live on Koh Chang but needing a
simple, easy to run business to keep themselves occupied.
More photos and details |
Battle of the Beaches.
Man vs. God
Browsing through brochures, you won't see a more
pristine 100 metre stretch of pure white sand beach than the one
direct in front of the Dusit Princess in Bailan. One
glance at the brochure or photos on the hotel booking website and you'll
be reaching for your Visa card ready. But before you try to figure
out whether to go for Deluxe, Superior or Suite you did notice
that all the photos were taken at high tide, didn't you?
There is a reason for this, the sand keeps getting washed away,
as until the resort was built there was hardly any sand here.
Originally a breakwater was built out into the sea in order to
stop the sand being washed away by the tide. It looks like
this didn't work too well and so has been supplemented by a sea wall was built
directly across from the end of the breakwater to the land adjacent to the
resort. So at low tide, this basically makes
the area in front of the hotel into a large sludgy, murky
paddling pool that prevents sand from being washed away.
So that's Man's attempt at
a beach. About 10 minutes after the
photos above were taken I was on Lonely Beach, a natural beach
with no additives, colourings or underwater concrete walls, a couple of kilometres to the north.
Can you spot the difference? This is what a real sand beach
looks like at low tide . . .
Elsewhere . . .
Had a few
days off this week and took a spur of the moment trip to Phnom Penh, for the first time in
over a decade. It's still a shithole with some faded
charm with the city's one shopping mall full of natives
joyriding on the escalators. So very similar to Trat, only with far more garbage and
Landcruisers on the streets.
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12 June -
Another lazy update as all my free time is being spent on the
new version of this site.
White Sand Beach - Keeping Up Appearances
The sign says asks businesses not
to dump their garbage on the pavement by the main road, but at a
collection point only 200 metres away. Given the choice
between making the roadside an eyesore and taking your trash an
extra 200 metres what would you do? Bearing in mind that your
business depends on the tourists walking along this road.
Bangbao Pier Seen from Cliff
Cottages yesterday - note the bright sunshine and clear
blue sky. The weather has been extremely good the past
week.
Several business owners and local
officials from Koh Chang took a day trip to Koh Kood a couple of
days ago to see how they are using simple, German technology to
recycle waste. The idea is to copy the scheme on Koh
Chang. There will be a demonstration here sometime this
week, but the faxed info I was promised hasn't come through yet.
So no idea when & where it will take place
If it dos then I'll have some
pics in the next update, if it doesn't, then you'll be seeing
more photos of fruit. |
Amazing Trat Paradise Fruit
Festival
Better late than never, last week I was
sent a press release for a fruit festival on the mainland that
runs from April -July.
So, we went on a mission to try to
find the Fruit Festival but ended up at 'Oriental Garden' a fruit
farm
company that seems to be behind the Fruit Festival idea.
It's a place where visitors can see fruit growing, being dried, packed and sold
to other visitors at the end of their guided tour.
However, there were some signs to a market
which led down a dirt road, this looked infinitely more fun and
so we followed this track. There were no more signs and no
market of any kind to be found. But the dirt track was fun, an
ideal place to have an ATV or mountain bike, the dirt roads keep
going through rubber and fruit plantations where you can stick
your arm out of the car and pick rambutans off the trees, and
then ends at a farmer's house. He looked quite bemused.
Guess he doesn't get many English visitors.
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30 May - We'll be Dammed
Surveyors were out with their on
the dirt track leading down to our place last week. They were
placing markers every few metres along the side of the road. It
appeared as though they were measuring up in preparation for
finally laying a paved surface. But they weren't.
They were marking the path that the new water pipes will take.
As part of Koh Chang's new central water supply. Good
news, an end to reliance on wells and ground water.
So when was work going to begin on putting the pipes in?
The answer was not for a long time because before the pipes are
put in, the dam has to be built.
Dam? As in very large concrete
retaining wall type of structure? So does this mean that there are plans in motion to build
a dam in the National Park and flood a valley in order to provide water
for the island's resorts & residents?
Apparently so according to those
doing the surveying.
The Miracle of Koh Chang
The tourism department has been busy trying to lure various
minority and niche groups of tourists to Thailand in an attempt
to shore up slumping visitor numbers.
One such group is the 'Gullible Christian'
demographic.
Having seen the numbers who head to sites such as Fatima in
Portugal and the
income that can be generated from selling specialty souvenir
junk to pilgrims, Koh Chang's Tourism Dept have leapt into
action. All that was needed was a miracle or something
similar to fire the imagination and wanderlust of the followers
of Jesus Christ who were looking to combine a beach holiday with a
pilgrimage.
A quick Google discovered that
inanimate objects with unexplained depictions of the face of
Christ were always money spinners as the image can easily be
printed on souvenir t-shirts, disposable lighters and
cocktail shakers for example.
This week, the early rainy season
storms lashed the west coast of the island, eroding sand and
revealing what until now had remained hidden from view for
centuries.
Khun Somchai, the boss of
Koh Chang Tourism and recent convert to Christianity, takes up
the story. "I knew it was him as I had seem his photo
when I was reading the bible the day before. At first I thought
it was Bob Marley, but then I heard the voice of an angel
telling me how amazing this image would be on, say, a shroud,
and then it struck me. It was indeed the face of Jesus. Imagine my surprise, as
only a few days earlier the Tourism Committee expressed a wish
for a miracle to occur on Koh Chang and it came true.
Praise the Lord. The Christian god is much better than
Buddha who has never given me any winning lottery numbers
despite repeated requests."
Rules & Regulations
Print out this
PDF from the
Department of National Parks. It covers the guidelines
and regulations for scuba diving and boat trips operating
in Marine National Parks in Thailand. It focuses on the
Andaman side of Thailand but does state several times that the
regulations apply to all Marine National Parks in Thailand . . .
of which Koh Chang is one.
Next time you are out on a boat
see how many of the regulations your dive operator or tour
company is breaking.
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Safety on the
Beach
With the sea being a bit rough
for the past few days I thought I should, as a public service,
outline the procedure regarding what to do, aside from panic and
hyperventilate, if you happen to
be caught in a rip tide.
But then I remembered that the
local authorities have kindly placed signs at strategic
locations on Koh Chang's beaches in order to provide this
information for tourists. Here is one sign:
. . . and the reverse has the same
'Warnung' information but
in Thai language.
So if you don't read German or Thai, what should
you do? Other than asking the guy who just nicked your sunbed or the woman doing the massage
nearby, to translate for you?
Simple. Just stroll 200
metres along the beach to the next sign, taking time to shout
out to anyone trapped in the current that you are trying to find
out what they should do and for them to stay calm and just tread water for a
couple more minutes until you can advise the best course of
action.
This sign is in Thai but also in English.
However, that side of the sign is the one
that is lying face down in the dirt. Unfortunately, someone forgot that in
the rainy season, when rip-tides are prevalent, the waves are
more than
strong enough to uproot warning signs placed in the sand under the high
tide mark.
What to do as the unfortunate
victim drifts out to sea, arms flailing? Shrug and make a
mental note to learn German next time you holiday in Thailand is
my advice.
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21 May - the Fourth
Annual Underwater
Cleanup 2009
Admit it. You didn't know there
had already been three. Which isn't surprising as this is another of those badly publicised
events that Koh Chang is famous for. Or would be famous
for, if anyone bothered to publicise how badly publicised the events
on Koh Chang are.
A total of zero results on
Google relating to this year's cleanup that was held on May 19.
No mention either on the half dozen Koh Chang dive school
websites I quickly looked at. Strange, as you'd think dive
schools would want to clients to know they are active coral
huggers. But there was a banner put up a few days ago announcing to Kai Bae residents the
date of the cleanup.
Since 2006 DASTA, the organisation in
charge of killing the island in the environmental equivalent of
death by a thousand cuts, and local dive operators
and boat tour businesses; have joined forces to spend one day a year clearing up garbage
from the seabed. Apparently, a few hours is all it takes to get
the seabed spick & span again.
There were around a dozen
foreigners from dive schools present at the at the 'Opening Ceremony' at the end
of Bangbao Pier, from where the boats left. There were also
hordes of school kids, presumably brought in to fill up seats
and provide an audience, plus local dignitaries, businessmen and liggers
only there for the free food & t-shirt. After a light
meal and several speeches, the boats eventually departed for different locations. Upon their return there was a
closing ceremony and yet more free food.
Organisers and participants got a pat on the back, commemorative
t-shirts and that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you do
something once a year to help Mother Nature and also get a free
meal to boot.
However, it does seem that not promoting it at all and
having it midweek, in low season, at a time when many dive
instructors have already returned home and with are very few
tourists on the island, isn't exactly going to make the world
sit up and notice Koh Chang's 'green' credentials. Maybe
it's an event only for local consumption?
Photo highlights: Here we have a
very respectable lady wearing a shirt from 1972 and exceedingly
sensible shoes, presenting
someone important from the police with what looks like an empty cardboard box
wrapped in gold foil; as others, already clutching their gold
packages with pride, look on.
More unknown people with an 'I was there'
banner
Bringing garbage onto the boat,
under the watchful eye of a Channel 7 TV cameraman.
Empty Beaches
The
sun is shining on most days; the sea is calm, and what's more since 19 May entirely free of garbage; and it's very,
very quiet on the beach. Some beachfront resorts are currently
empty - zero guests.
Pool rules
Even in this
age of political correctness and equal rights, there are some
rules that really should be restricted by sex, age and weight.
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Jungle Trekking For Beginners
So you want to explore the jungle but you don't want to walk too
far and also don't want to pay for a guide. What to do?
Head to Chai Chet Resort, at the north end of Klong Prao beach
where they have made an easy to follow trekking route that will take you around
the peninsula, with the sea below you for the first half of the
walk. It's free and a very nice way to spenmd walk. Some good views too.
Resorts For Sale.
Two very well known popular backpacker resorts. One on Lonely
Beach and the other with a private beach in Bangbao. Both
are sensibly priced
In Bangbao. 25 bungalows, private
pier,
restaurant, 5 Rai (8,000sqm) of land, 100% legal registered 20 year lease
and very cheap monthly land rent.
Price:8,000,000 baht
More details
In Lonely Beach. 12 bungalows,
bar & restaurant, long land lease & permission in place to
build 8 more bungalows. Price: 4,000,000 baht. Very good reviews online
More details
More details of both on
KohChangRealEstate.com
Murder Incorporated.
Koh Chang has
it's own little wannabe mafia element comprising the
wealthy sons of local land and resort owners. They can
pretty do what they please, safe in the knowledge that their
parents always sort out any mess they got into. And if all
the stories locals tell are to be believed this includes rather
a lot of activities that usually result in spending years or
life in jail.
However, it was a sad day for the
gang last week
when the son of one resort owner shot and killed a guy in Trat
and put another two in hospital. Not sad because he did
that. Sad because he didn't get away with it.
His parents advised to go
into hiding and not to return to Koh Chang until Mum & Dad had
smoothed things over. However, he was homesick after one
night in Trat and so the next morning he headed back. As
luck would have it he found himself on the same ferry as a dozen police
who were all looking for him. They
recognised his car and arrested him on the boat.
So now Mum & Dad aren't happy with Number 1 son for coming
back to Koh Chang too soon and thus screwing up any plan to get
him off the hook relatively cheaply.
It looks like room rates at
---------- Resort will rise again next year to cover the
additional operating expenses.
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11 May - Not a lot
in this update as I've been busy.
The past
couple of weekends have probably been the busiest on the island,
not with foreign tourists but with hordes of Thais descending
here for two long weekend breaks. During the May day
weekend there was more traffic on the roads than during Songkran.
Probably due to not as many people taking trips at Songkran due
to the red shirt riots in Bangkok and elsewhere. Yesterday,
every Thai family & tour group had the same idea of checking out of their hotel at
12pm and then going for one last seafood lunch before heading
home. The result was mid afternoon
traffic jams that at one time stretched form the ferry pier to the southern
end of White Sand beach i.e. a few kilometres of backed up
vehicles.
How do you know you had
environmentally conscious Thai visitors staying nearby?
Simple, they don't throw
all their garbage onto the roadside
randomly. Less well educated upcountry bumpkins
sitting in the back of pick up trucks do that. Whereas a
wealthier, Mercedes driving family, for example one in a black
S-class with a Bangkok '7777' plate, will pack it up into plastic bags and
then
leave it a few metres from where their car was parked, so as
not to be too obvious. And then someone will come and remove
their garbage for them. In this case that someone was me.
Elephant graveyard.
This week someone emailed wanting
to know how many elephants there were on Koh Chang. I don't know
for sure, maybe around 35-40, but what I do know is that
there are two less this week than there were last week. This is
because one of the male elephants was in must and whilst trying
to convince it's mahout to let it run wild and hump anything in
sight it managed to gore one of the other elephants nearby with
it's tusks and killed it. The male and the body of the dead
female were both smuggled off the island by disguising them as
elderly Russian visitors.
This week's rainy day photo
Watching the wildlife
Kai Bae viewpoint has a new
attraction, yet another example of the local authority's finely
tuned 'Reverse Midas Touch' whereby everything they get their
hands on turns not to gold, but to crap. Swinging from the tree outside the 'Visitor Centre'
i.e. building with a map on the wall and leaflets for car rental
laying on a desk, is this mock gibbon. This is possibly the
first attempt at creating the world's only Madame Tussaud's for
jungle animals right here on Koh Chang. Another unique
attraction that's sure to be a hit, after all you don't
get plastic monkeys in The Maldives, do you?
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New Apartments.
There are four new one bedroom apartments to rent in Kai Bae.
Two on the ground floor and two on the upper floor of a large
converted house. Monthly rental from 9,000 Baht/month +
water/electricity. They are fully furnished with small
kitchen area and also have free wifi and cable TV.
Call Anukoon on 081-410-4747 if you are interested
IamKohChang 2.0
A mere
4 years after the whole Web2.0 revolution, I've decided that
it's time to jump on the bandwagon and redo this site entirely.
The new version will look totally different and will hopefully make it
easier for you to find what you are looking for. It'll also have
more photo galleries and videos. A lot of the older or very poorly
written stuff on this site will disappear or and most pages have to be
rewritten/updated and photos enlarged/changed. During the past 3 weeks
I've managed to complete a layout and design I like and figured
out what features I want. Some are obvious, e.g. on some pages
you'll be able to leave comments/tips/advice for others to see. (But
if there are any specific features that you'd like to see on the new
site,
let me know.)
And I also had time to complete a total of 1 page, so only another
200-300 to go. Hopefully I can speed up and get a version that's
80% complete online within a couple of months. The only thing that
won't change is the tone of the site. |
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1 May - Just popped
out of my flu bunker to get some fresh air and update the
site.
Not wanting to cause unnecessary
alarm, Koh Chang authorities have been busy alerting residents
and visitors as to how the threat of Mexican Swine Flu might
manifest itself, and what to keep an eye out for, should it
reach the island. They've come up with this.
Driving around the island
yesterday evening I did notice that the Mexican restaurants
all appeared virtually deserted. Could that be due to
unfounded and irrational flu fears I wondered. Or is it simply
because they are Mexican restaurants?
Whither the weather?
The weather is settling into an
early rainy season patter now of early morning thunderstorms
guaranteed to wake even the heaviest of sleepers at 5am
followed by an overcast morning with the sun coming out in the
afternoon. But the sea is still calm and snorkeling &
dive trips still running.
Name Game Again
E-E-E-K-R-E-E-E-L . . . If you
tried using this combination of nine letters in Scrabble you'd be
f&@ked. Let's hope the same isn't true of the new resort called
'Keereeele' that is opening on White Sand beach any day now.
How to pronounce the name? Not a clue, but as I'm never going to
stay there and never going to have to ask a taxi driver to take
me there I don't really care as it isn't my problem. I'm not
going to be left feeling a bit of a nob as I try umpteen combinations of
guessing how I should pronounce a triple 'e' in the correct Thai
manner so the driver understands. I have a feeling
that it will be better known as 'The big yellow building near
the Irish pub'.
There's a lot to be said for
simple, easy to pronounce resort names. And I've met people who
honestly can't
remember where they are staying due to the current vogue
for naming resorts using a unmemorable selection of Pali or
Hindi syllables. 'Driver, take me to Bhumipurikachaburirama.
Or was it Gajaramapuriyama? Oh, sod it, you know, the big white
hotel on Lonely Beach.'
One example of a simple, easy to
remember name is 'Amber Sands Resort'. Contrary to
my initial thought, this isn't a caravan park on a remote
stretch of Devon beach but is in fact the new name for 'Funky
Hut' on the east coast of Koh Chang. A sensible change as
the new owners and their comfy, good value bungalows never
really fitted the image that the previous
misleading
moniker of 'Funky Hut'
portrayed.
A new one stop shop.
Another great idea that fills a previously ignored niche.
If, like me, you often found yourself needing to buy a custom
made
wardrobe, have lunch and take a relaxing steam bath but simply don't
have the time to visit three separate premises then this new
place in Chai Chet should make your life much easier.
Council Finances
Decreased revenue from tourism is leading to budget cuts that are hitting Koh
Chang's local infrastructure plans hard. Proposals for new
visitor amenities
have been scaled back. So much so that the 136,014 Baht budget
earmarked for a new public toilet has been slashed by 136,000
Baht. Leaving just enough for this sticker. Women can
squat round the back, guys and dogs can use the front.
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'Songkran 2' Photos.
The highlight of the two day extravaganza last weekend was a
parade of decorated floats all of which had an environmental
theme. I missed all that because I was cleaning rooms, but here are a
few pics of other sparsely attended activities last weekend.
Events centred around the main
festival site near Klong Prao temple where organisers predicted a
crowd of up to 100,000 to be on hand to witness a line-up that
included some people playing traditional Songkran tunes, old
folks taking place in a blessing ceremony, a bartender of the
year competition and a bouncy castle.
The dream
The reality
Echoes of Woodstock at the
unplugged bongo jam session kicks off with an 18 minute version
of 'Sympathy For the Devil' that captivated onlookers both young
& old alike.
If you've never seen Pink Floyd
live then it's kind of like this only without a pink
inflatable Doraemon.
Something that was fun though
were the boat races that took place. Very few people bothered to
turn up to watch but those that did enjoyed themselves. Cameras
from Thailand's Channel 3 TV station even recorded events for posterity.
Under starter's orders . . .
The winner acknowledges the crowd
in the main grandstand.
At the end of a long day, it's time
to browse the festival food stalls for some of the mouthwatering snacks that
Thailand is famous for.
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21 April - Songkran 2
It's
New Year (again) If the Russian Orthodox Church can
celebrate Christmas in the middle of January then why can't folks
on Koh Chang celebrate Thai New Year 10 days after the event too?
However, these celebrations have less to do with adherence to the
Julian calendar than they do with hotels and businesses
allowing their staff a couple of well earned days off to let their hair
down after they have have been working over the 'real' Songkran
holiday. Mark Saturday 25 April as the day to either get your watergun's out
again and get wreak revenge on the local kids who soaked you
last week or stay indoors.
Koh Chang For Sale.
Got 250K Baht to spare?
You too could join the ever decreasing ranks of small business
owners on Koh Chang.
This small bar/restaurant on
the roadside, close to several large resorts, is being sold with
all fixtures and fittings. Owner accommodation is also
included. It could do with a bit of tidying up and a lick
of paint. But for anyone with a bit of 'get up and go' who
wants a small easy to run business where they could also live,
you'd find it hard to lose money on this.
Another one for the bargain
hunters - the price for this popular small restaurant is now only
600,000 baht, reduced from 800,000 baht, including all fixtures and
fittings. You get everything you need in order to run the
restaurant - except a couple of staff.
Photos etc
Koh Mak Property.
Two
teakwood holiday homes for reluctant sale. These weren't
built in order to be sold. They were built as rental
properties at an existing resort. But in order to increase cash flow the owner has
decided to sell them. Price 2.5 to 2.8 million including
small plot of Chanote titled land. Resort facilities
include pool, spa, Italian restaurant. 5 minutes walk to
two beaches.
More photos & details
Nearby you could own a 68sqm
apartment on a 60 year Leasehold , with the view below, for 3.5
million baht. (Original price was 4.5 million) These are
built to more eco-friendly, energy efficient specs than
any properties on Koh Chang, with double insulated walls, double
glazed doors & windows, solar water heater etc.
More details
Do something different.
How
about from Sydney to London by 110cc Honda? 'The
Postman' was on Koh Chang last week. Some good stuff on his
website e.g:
'Maps
would also have been a good idea, as would Lonely Planet guides
and a rough idea of where I’m heading. Instead I’m fumbling
through blind, which is stupid given where I’m going.'
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The Downturn.
Koh Chang seems much quieter this year, which isn't really
surprising given the state of the world economy. But how much quieter?
Some observations based on stats from this website.
Transfers. An indication of how tourism has
slumped on Koh Chang can be seen in the change in the number of
people booking private transfers to/from the island through this
site. Enough people do this to give me a pretty good idea
of how busy this island is overall in certain months, especially
amongst families and the type of people staying at the better
resorts who typically use these services. In the past the
numbers have always increased significantly year on year since
this service started, which was about 4 years ago.
October 2008 was up about 15% on
October 07. November 2008 was the same as November 2007 -
no change, despite the news of the credit crunch that came out
in early October. Then came the airport closure in
December and the number of transfers dropped by about 30%
compared to Dec 07, which wasn't surprising given no one could
fly in or out of the country for 10 days or so. In January
things were better, only around 10% down. This was to be
expected, the airport was open and most people who had booked
holidays weren't going to cancel and lose their money.
Overall, the official visitor arrival figures for Thailand as a
whole were about 25% down in January but on Koh Chang most
businesses and hotels had a good month. February has
always been the busiest month for transfers mainly due to the
large number of Scandinavian families visiting the island during
this month. In February 2009 the number of transfers was
down about 40% compared to Feb 2008.
Our guesthouse. No
noticeable change until May as, thanks to having this website,
we're always about 95% from October/November onwards. Last May
we were virtually full all month, but this year we'll be about
60% occupancy. However, given the big picture, this is good
enough for me. But hardly anyone is emailing for bookings
in June/July/August yet which backs up the stories I keep seeing
in the UK papers about more people planning vacations at home
this year.
Hotel bookings. Again, enough
people book hotels through the affiliate links on this site for
me to get an idea about how far in advance people are booking
their holidays etc. This past high season was better than that in
2007-08, which might sound like a bit like bullshit but two
factors to take into account are that for a few months in 2007
the links were screwed up and so the affiliate programs didn't
work as they should, and that 6 months ago I added a lot more
links for one of the affiliate programs to various pages on the
site - making them harder to miss and increasing the odds of
someone clicking on them and booking their hotel. But
despite that the commission was
still down about 20% on the 2006-07 High season.
Real Estate. That's been on
noticeable downturn since mid 2007. At first I
thought it was because no-one was looking at this site anymore
or I had succeeded in putting off too many people from buying
here. But it turns out this was an early indicator
of the bigger problems yet to come. More accurately, this
was a late indicator as from early 2006 - early 2007 it was a very
good time to be building & selling houses on Koh Chang & Koh
Mak, whilst in many other places in Thailand things were already
slowing down. If you
click here, you'll see how the interest in Thai property,
measured by the number of people searching for it on Google, has
been on a steady downturn since early 2005 - well before the
coup / military junta government / airport closure / protests in Bangkok etc etc.
Emails. This
is the easiest trend to spot as I've got pretty much every
email I've sent and received since 2005 archived.
Until Nov 2008 the number of emails received was increasing
annually by around 20-30% compared to the same month during the previous year. From
December 2008 onwards it has dropped down to the same numbers I
got during a typical rainy season month last year.
So, in the light of all that it
isn't really surprising to see a multitude of small resorts for
sale and numerous businesses for sale or with the shutters down
already. According to Somchai the Soothsaying Styrofoam
Stallion, pictured below, those that stick it out will
benefit when things get back to normal in a couple of years
time. And, as pagan deities go, Somchai can usually be
relied on to tell you what you want to hear. Visit him at
Klong Prao temple if you need an emotional crutch during these
difficult times and your God is busy elsewhere. Works for
me.
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13 April - Revolution Update.
The police are nowhere in sight on Koh Chang and this afternoon
armed gangs were lining the island's main street.
Motorcyclists and drivers were forced to stop at impromptu
checkpoints. Other, unluckier, passers by were fired upon
without warning. Some mobs are red shirts, some
yellow shirts, and some favour a multicoloured Hawaiian
floral design. But whilst they're busy shooting each other with
real guns in Bangkok, here on Koh Chang it's water pistols only
this Thai New Year.
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Poor quality phonecam photos
taken whilst on my way to pick up customers this afternoon.
During Songkran I never leave home without one important
accessory to protect me from the water - a 1 ton pickup truck.
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7 April - Guess who has a
new toy? With a top speed of 40km/h the Tourist
Police can now give chase to slow moving criminals who are
fleeing the scene on foot or by bicycle. That is, providing they
don't go onto the beach as this Chinese made ATV will corrode on
impact with sea air. On the plus side,
it's greener than driving the car and it impresses the chicks.
.
And if you still aren't feeling
safe enough you'll be pleased to note that according to the
National News Bureau of Thailand:
Trat creates safety standards
plan for Koh Chang
Trat province has created a
safety plan to elevate precautions on the tourist island of Koh
Chang in efforts to create confidence amongst travelers.
Deputy Governor of Trat Chalor
Baicharoen stated during a meeting of the Koh Chang Tourism
Safety Commission that accidents statistics on the island,
despite being relatively low, had an adverse impact on the
tourism industry of the destination.
In an effort to improve the
island’s image in the coming fiscal year, the commission has
created a safety standards plan that will be handed out to
security volunteers operating on Koh Chang.
The plan includes improvements of
tourist facilities as well as the establishment of aid centers.
Officials hope to see a drop in accident figures once the plan
is up and running.
Not sure how accidents and
fatalities, which almost always involve vehicles or the sea, are
prevented by having 'improved facilities' and 'aid centers' but
if I ever stumble across a 'security volunteer' I'm sure they'll
be happy to inform me and my confidence will be created.
The Greening of Bangbao
Bangbao is now officially an
environmentally aware beacon casting a bright guiding light over
the toxic time-bomb that is the rest of Koh Chang.
Until recently, last
week in fact, most people would have considered Bangbao to be
one of the most polluted places on Koh Chang - what with oil
from fishing boats, garbage from restaurants and sewage from
toilets all empting into the sea under the stilt village.
However, in a pilot project that no doubt other areas if the
island will soon copy, Bangbao has been 'greened'.
After consultations with local officials and business owners a
plan was set in place to achieve 'Green' status whilst having
no detrimental impact on the livelihood of the local community
who make their living from fishing, restaurants and boat tours.
This green revolution was achieved by first explaining and
outlining the rationale behind the program to the locals.
This is simply that you can always charge tourists more for
goods or services if they think they are saving the planet. Once
the penny dropped, implementation of the scheme utilising a pioneering three step
process began.
Initially a brainstorming session
concluded that a logo should be designed which would include as
much symbolism as possible. For example: rainbows,
hearts, holding hands, lighthouse/beacon, the colour green. Then,
having thrown all the key elements together and the spelling
having been checked, this logo was printed onto large stickers.
Finally, in the crucial third step, these stickers were
slapped on every available surface in Bangbao.
Of course
this was only the first phase, as effecting profit making change is never a
simple, quick process. In Phase 2 a large roadside banner is
planned with photos of smiling local kids leaping into the crystal clear
waters overlaid with a 'We (heart) Bangbao.'
slogan. If that doesn't convince the sceptics,
nothing will.
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This is what I call an impressive restaurant
It isn't on Koh Chang, as very few people here would bother to
build something as grandiose as this when some asbestos roofing,
bamboo poles and a few blue plastic tables and chairs would do the
job equally as well.
This is the restaurant at the new luxury Cinnamon Art Resort on Koh Mak
which had it's soft opening a week or so ago. Rooms
are from 5,500 Baht - 12,000 Baht. Had dinner
there last weekend and the food and service really were good too. So who
has the money to be able to afford to build this resort on over
100 Rai of land? Turns out the owner is the Chief of Trat Police Dept.
But can anyone spot why this design might not be ideal during
the rainy season? Flash it may well be, but when it comes
to practicality, the asbestos roof, bamboo poles and blue
plastic tables and chairs win.
Land For Sale on Koh Mak
Small plot, 800sqm, Chanote title with sea views, direct access
from main road and onto beach road. 300 metres walk to Ao Kao beach.
Ideal for an island home or small tourist related business. For Sale on
a 30 year lease
for 1.5 million baht or Freehold for 2 million baht.
More details and
photos.
Adventures by bus
It's not the destination, it's the journey. Dan's account of what should have been a routine bus ride
from Koh Chang Ferry pier to Ekkamai Bus Station Bangkok.
'The air-con was almost non-existent and the bus driver went the 80 kph speed limit
all the way and it took him about 4 minutes to get up to that speed. We then stopped 3 times about 40 km from Bangkok. First time was at a car parts place for 3 minutes, second was at a used tire place about 500 meters from the other place for a few minutes, and then at a food area/convenience store about 1 km past the second stop for 30 minutes. We then had to drive back to the motorway because he had gone in the wrong direction to make the stops. Then he drove right by the bus station
in Bangkok and someone from the back of the bus ran up to the front to inform
him, so he pulled over and let us off about 400 meters down the road.'
One more for the tree huggers
Ever wondered where the
increasing amount of water that is required for use at new,
larger resorts comes from? Most comes from large holes in the
ground in inland areas . . . . like this new hole I found
recently. You could probably learn to sail
on that in the rainy season.
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28 March - Switching
webhosts so if you didn't receive a reply to your email, that's
because it disappeared into a black hole. Send it again.
27 March
- Been very hot here recently, around 36C, which is 3-4 degrees
higher than usual. But spare a thought for people living
in the north-east of Thailand. I've had a few phone calls
from expats looking to head somewhere cooler as it's up to 42C
on the Buriram rice plains.
Lonely Beach Business For Sale
Bargain business in Lonely Beach for sale. Only 250,000 Baht for
a 200sqm plot smack in the centre of the backpacker area that is home to a
well established cooking school & restaurant with
owner accommodation. Good location, excellent price, you'd have
to be really trying in order not to make money.
More details and
photos.
.JPG)
A Tale of Two Coffeeshops
What with it being hot and also
with the rainy season on the way, I thought I'd go and try a
couple of places that people would head to in the event of very
hot or very wet weather - the two new coffeeshops on White Sand
beach. At the far north of the beach, at KC Grande Resort
is 'Bodiwork Cafe' and in the centre of the beach, at Koh Chang
Lagoon Resort, is the grandly titled 'Cafe de Koh Chang'.
Other than first thing in the morning, in order to kick-start my
heart, I only drink iced coffee. So the benchmark would be
iced coffee that is strong but not bitter; cold, not still
slightly lukewarm, not too sweet for my unrefined western palate
- something that is very common; and not watery - should have a
thicker consistency. Basically, the type of iced coffee
you can get at good coffeeshop in any gasoline station in
Thailand for about 40 baht. And even in Kai Bae Hut Noodle
Shop for 45 baht.
For decor, Bodiwork would win -
nicer design with dark wood & white walls and most seating
outdoors whereas Cafe de Koh Chang is a sea of red-brown
panelling with indoor seating in strange small booths. For
staff, nothing wrong with Bodiwork but at Cafe de Koh Chang they
were more smiley and gave me a free glass of iced water while I
waited. Price - the same, 80 baht. And finally the
coffee, Bodiwork was sweet and not so strong. Cafe de Koh
Chang had more of a kick to it and was more to my liking but a
bit watery. So both are pleasant air-conditioned places
to hang out in and both sell coffee and variety of fancy
teas and cakes but I'm still waiting for a coffeeshop that sells
really good coffee and not just a lifestyle.
Sunset cruise
'Thai
Fun', a snorkelling/day cruise boat sailing past at sunset
last week.
Architecture
How do you decorate your garden wall if you are wealthy?
Simple, you use hundreds of glass bottles, but you keep the
labels on so passers by know you drink 'Phuket Lager' and not the
mass produced Chang or Singha beers.
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Viewpoint
The roadside viewpoint overlooking White Sand beach was cleared
recently. Much easier to park and take photos like this.
It does look very nice, until you get down to road level.
But
the actual beach, whilst getting more like Benidorm by the year, is still
very good.
Dodgy Land
I had a guy forward me a load of emails that he had traded with
someone selling land here. Basically, if you are
offered any land on a 99 or 999 year lease it's bullshit.
You'll even be told that because the 'sales' contract is
witnessed by the local headman this makes it legal - regardless
of the fact the actual Thai law says it isn't. (The
signature of an old local farmer over-rules the Thai Civil &
Commercial Code round these parts.) It wouldn't be
so bad if the land was dirt cheap or well located, but it isn't, it's
just remote farmland being marketed to suckers who will buy it
but then never be able to sell it - unless they can find someone
even more gullible than they were.
Lights Out
On March 28th Bangkokians are being asked to turn their lights
off for an hour in order to save the earth. On Koh Chang a
similar thing will be tried only in order to increase the
savings motorists are being asked to follow suit. This ties in
with the many eco-friendly initiatives already being applied on
Koh Chang. For example, landlords here were some of the
first to adopt paperless contracts. After being told
repeatedly that rental contracts weren't worth the paper they
were written on, landlords did away with them entirely and opted
for tree saving verbal agreements.
And in preparation for an influx in Thai visitors to the island
over the upcoming Songkran holiday, signs are being erected
advising how to dispose of garbage. Plastic, glass, empty
food containers, bags, packets etc are to be separated and left
as designated points. Plastic bottles and bags bearing a
'7-eleven' logo can be left by the roadside anywhere on the west
coast of the island. Glass bottles and cans should be
piled under palm trees on beaches where someone, should they
feel the urge, can pick them up and recycle them later. Other waste
such as styrofoam boxes, crisp packets etc can just be dumped
out at sea during a snorkelling trip as it'll all be removed
during the annual underwater cleanup.
This week's major sporting event . . .
The prestigious Klong Son Cup football tournament is currently
underway. With teams from as far and wide as the north and
south sides of Klong Son village taking part, this is sure to be
a football tournament Klong Son residents will be talking about
for days to come.
But bad news for tennis fans. The umpires chairs have been
delivered but the tennis courts themselves are still a few years
from completion.
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17 March
- Stop the Press.
Joey Boy, Thailand's first, and only, rap superstar is on
Koh Chang and has been flying his para-motor around this
morning.
Finally finished my first attempt at a site using Wordpress.
There's no real point to it other than to give anyone who's
planning to visit Koh Chang, or who is missing the place a new
photo taken somewhere in, on or around the island every day.
Anyway, if you're interested, see:
KohChangPhotos.com
Better in every way though, apart
from it only being in in Thai language, and therefore at first
glance not much use to
99% of foreign visitors, is a site that focuses on the Salakphet
area of Koh Chang. However, it does have loads of very good photos of the south east
of the island. See
salakphet.com
or
click here to go straight to the Photo Galleries.
Should be enough to convince you to make the effort to go there
if you visit Koh Chang.
Klong Prao Pizza
A new take-away pizza place,
called 'Pizza & Baguette' recently opened in Klong Prao,
directly opposite the entrance to the temple. Nothing too
fancy or pretentious, just tasty, filling pizzas from 150 baht up. They also have a delivery service so you can
get it delivered to your sun-lounger by the pool in time for
sunset.
Tel: 085-367-0214.
So near and yet so far...
Top marks the the Trat Tourist Association having the idea to
put up numerous maps by the roadside so that visitors can get a
handle on where they are. I often wonder if people
have bright ideas and then someone else deliberately sabotages
them, as the implementation always seems to render the original
good idea fairly useless, Zero marks for a) employing someone to
write it who probably hasn't ever been to Koh Chang judging by
brief bits of info on the map and b) not using some of the advertising
revenue to pay for someone to proof read the thing first, or
even pay a five year old to teach someone in Tourism HQ how to use
the MS Word spellchecker.
It starts out innocently enough
with the Boot Police but before you know it they'll be checking
sandals, flip-flops and Crocs too. If
anyone wants to have some fun, just print out a few 'You are
here!' stickers and place them randomly on the maps.
New Boutique Hotel open in Trat
For anyone who's ever been to Trat that's
probably a headline they never thought they would live to see, as Trat town isn't synonymous with
anything that could even remotely be described as 'classy'.
But this new place looks very good value if you happen to be
marooned in Trat for a night. Only 1 minute walk from Trat
department store in downtown Trat. 800 - 900 Baht/night. The
owner is
Khun Tu. Tel: 081-8617181 or 039 -
524 919 E-mail: <
rimklong2008@hotmail.com
> You're probably wondering
what it looks like, it's looks very nice. But I've accidentally deleted the photos, so you'll have to take my word
for it.
On the subject of 'boutique'
places. Is Warapura Resort the nicest small resort on Koh
Chang? I reckon so.
Things you missed last week
Blues Cha Cha in Kai Bae
re-opened under new ownership.
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Koh Chang Paradise Lost (Or is
it?)
I
keep reading things online about Koh Chang being a 'Paradise
Lost' basically meaning that is has evolved from being an island
inhabited by a handful of friendly fisherfolk who would welcome
you into their 50 baht a night beachfront huts into one covered
in quick dry concrete and quick burn tourists. But was the
paradise
that Koh Chang lost more paradisacal than that lost by
other islands? Or is the level of paradise that is still
visible today greater than the amount of measurable paradise
still found on other islands? According to Google, in
reverse order:
6.Samui
Paradise Lost - 12,400 results
5.Koh
Tao Paradise Lost - 13,400 results
4.Koh Chang
Paradise Lost - 16,300 results
3.Phuket Paradise Lost - 26,600 results
2.Phi Phi
Paradise Lost - 31,300 results
1.Pattaya Paradise Lost - 87,400 results
So, when it comes to trashing
islands the developers in the south are still the champs. But a
bit disconcerting to see that Samui's paradise hasn't been
eroded as much as Koh Chang's or it is
possible that people never considered Samui to be a 'paradise'
in the first place?
Big, expensive bit of land for sale
Almost 3 Rai, Chanote title, on White Sand beach, 70 metres roadside frontage.
Good form condo, resort of shopping complex. The only
undeveloped plot on White Sand beach.
Photos & info
Smaller, cheaper bit of land for sale.
The
only undeveloped plot in the centre of Klong Prao village.
492sqm, Chanote title, with frontage on the main road. Good for shophouses
or something similar.
Photos & info
Koh Chang & Beyond
The website for Koh Chang & Beyond tourist
magazine is getting a makeover. See
www.kohchangbeyond.com.
(Nothing there as of the time of this update but I'm told it
should be shortly.) Any business owner on Koh Chang &
surrounding islands can advertise their
services for FREE on this new site.
Twitter
The point of Twitter is lost on me. If
anyone wanted to know what I was doing right now they could call
me. If they didn't have my number then I'd probably not be
interested in telling them what I was doing right now. And if a
total stranger called up and just say 'Tell me in 140
characters or
less what you are doing right now', I'd think I had a stalker.
But Twitter is different and it's cool, because celebrities use
it. So for those of you killing time waiting for Jade
Goody to die . . . follow me and numb your brain further by
discovering just how exciting life on a Thai island can be:
So, R U?
I'm guessing 'No', if you are reading this on a computer in an conditioned
office somewhere.
Silence is golden
So what price for a silent partner in your business? An expat
based elsewhere in Thailand has 2 million baht to invest in a
good, well managed business that may need help during these
difficult times. He will not be involved in any day to day
running of the company, but will expect a decent ROI. If you
have a viable business, i.e. not a nail salon, bar
in a shop unit, tour agency booth or anything run by your
girlfriend and are interested, let me
know and I'll pass on his contact details. He'll be on Koh
Chang next month.
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7 March
- Another long gap between updates as I ended up having an idea
for another website and decided to play around doing that for a
day, then got a bit carried away decided I need to learn how to
use Wordpress and so it's taking longer than I
planned. But it's a simple idea, of interest to anyone wanting to
come to Koh Chang. A site to spend a while on if you are
a first time visitor to it, but also something with new content
everyday so you will keep coming back. But when you do, it
will only be for a brief look to get your Koh Chang fix for the
day as you slave away in your drab office counting down he days
until you can be here on holiday.
Coming some time. . . .Baan Rim
Nam 2.
It was a tough choice spend a huge amount of money
I don't have on buying a soulless shophouse on the main road or
spend a far smaller amount of money that could be scraped
together by emptying piggy banks and various dormant bank
accounts and finally, after about 5 years of trying, buy this beauty.
OK. So it's need a lick of
paint and a few essentials such as such as a floor, walls and
roof, and there's also the matter of not having any cash to do
that at present. But eventually, possibly next high
season, or the year after, it will be for rent. Possibly as
a two bedroom house for families as this doesn't exist on Koh
Chang at present. Possibly as
something similar to what we have now but slightly more upmarket,
it may even have a hot water shower as I have heard they are all
the rage nowadays. But its
overwhelming attraction is that it's right next door to us
and so we have about 40 metres of river front for boat moorings
which, one day when people can afford boats with engines again,
will be worth something.
Dining Out.
A plug for Phu Talay restaurant,
as it's out near neighbour and I can't remember mentioning it
recently. If you want a restaurant built on the water in an
'Olde fisherman's style' but can't be arsed trekking all the way
down to Bangbao for experience, then Klong Prao is the place to
be. Take the turning next to Ramayana Resort, on the main
road and head down to Phu Talay. Good, but not great, food
with sensible prices and a nice atmosphere. Avoid holiday
weekends as the place gets packed out with Thai visitors from
Bangkok. Go during the week and you'll have it to
yourself.
Chilling Out.
So you've built a luxury hotel.
You pride yourself on aiming to be the best of the best and yet
you wonder why you never get any phone calls. Until this
week The Chill had the number for another resort listed as
theirs on their website. I noticed when I tried to
call the hotel to arrange to go and meet a couple who had
invited me to knock back some wine at Ocean Villa,
the best room in the place (view below), and had the receptionist
from Chang
Park resort answer the phone.
Words of Wisdom.
Every time
I go out paddling my canoe and see the local guys bobbing around
in their small fibreglass longtails I am reminded of the old
proverb "Give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day.
Teach him to fish and he will spend all day on his boat drinking
beer with his mates."
Lounge Bars.
Just as every
'Resort' is now a
'Resort & Spa' every other bar appears to be transforming into a'
Lounge Bar' WTF is a Lounge Bar? I remember pubs in England used
to have a Lounge. This was where the women supped
on halves of sweet cider and black and discussed Gail Tildsley's love life whilst the menfolk bonded over pints of
larger top
and jokes about Sam Fox's tits
in the adjacent Bar
Yet, somehow, that didn't seem to fit what I had observed on Koh
Chang. Google would know. The first answer to 'What is a
lounge bar?' in Google is 'A place which serves beverages and
little sandwiches. Sometimes there is a grand piano in such
places . . .' Hmmm, maybe the guy at Google needs to
get out more as in all the results there is no mention of a
lounge bar being an open walled shed with a pool table and half
dozen bored hookers in attendance practicing well-rehearsed innuendo regarding
"balls
in pockets". So, if anyone can explain the
difference between a bar and a lounge bar, feel free to
enlighten me.
Unsolicited ads.
A few weeks ago I noticed
that this website was being used to advertise a couple of homes
for sale in Klong Son. The strange thing was that they weren't
actually listed on this site. Anyway, I've now and added
some details as that only seems fair as the owner has put up
loads of signs along the roadside like the one above. They are
1 bedroom and have frontage onto a small river and are already
fully completed, so no worries about buying off plan. (And
no, I'm not involved in building them or anything like that as
it's pretty obvious these are designed and constructed by someone who has never
been to, or heard of, Ikea.)
House Photos
Sticky the Stick Insect.
I found this little guy this
afternoon. I've seen a few stick insects here, but this was one
of the largest.
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The Pursuit of Peachfulness.
In the wake of The Thai Tourism
Authority announcing that what was really needed to lure
visitors back to Thailand wasn't cheap airfares or discounted
hotels but the 'Siam Sunray', a national cocktail, the powers that be on Koh Chang
have taken a leaf out of the same book and decided to simply invent a
word that sums up the island. And that word is . . . .
"Why? Well why not?"
enthused Tourism Spokesperson Sarinya Thammachat in a
manner that only a former 'Miss Koh Wai Island 2005' can.
"New words are invented daily in the English language.
That's the beauty of it. For example, my Grandfather invented
the word 'Bungalow'. 'Rhododendron' was another of his. However,
for Koh Chang we needed a word that implied the essence of a
peaceful beach and, by combining these two words and another
word ending with '-ness' thus 'Peachfulness' was born."
Within 3 months Sarinya expects
the word to have entered into common usage and is targeting
entry into the 2011 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary as
the ultimate goal. This will be accomplished through
advertising hoardings, such as the one above, the bastard son of
an unholy threesome between Tampax advert, grammatical
error and police state. Plus glossy print
ads promoting 'Peachfulness. See it. Smell it. Touch
it. Taste it. Only on Koh Chang.' These
campaigns are designed to attract a larger slice of the
younger, hipper, devastatingly good looking, visitor segment who
have money to burn; want to play frisbee on the beach or go
horse riding no matter
what day of the month it is; and who won't accept any accommodation that
doesn't come with a Jacuzzi and dock for their Iphone. "Our
demographic is simply based on the type of visitor that you see in all
the adverts for luxury resorts."
confirmed
Sarinya, before adding, with a tinge of desperation in her
voice. "Or just
shit loads of Russians, they've still got cash. Haven't
they? I hope so, I'm on commission"
(But seriously, either no-one in
the asylum that runs Koh Chang has dreamt of employing someone
who can use the Microsoft Word spellchecker or they just like to
piss me off with their blatant ineptitude. 'peachfulness',
come on, what were you smoking?)
Name that snake.
This 1.5 metre long beauty
slithered up onto the deck of a house in Klong Prao. However,
it's bark (if it had one) is worse than it's bite as this coolly named 'Copperhead Racer' is pretty harmless and
non-poisonous. It is a type of rat snake and enjoys dining
on small
birds, geckos etc. It also enjoys walks on the beach
at sunset, a glass of Aussie Cab Sauv and selected works of
Ernest Hemingway.
Ring road. Coming soon.
Maybe.
More meetings last week in Salakphet about completing the
ring road. The locals there are all for it and are pushing
for it to go ahead in the near future. But expect the Bangbao
mafia to be firmly against it as Salakphet Bay is a far better
place to moor boats / yachts than Bangbao but until now has been
too inaccessible for the majority of visitors.
The other big 'Will it, won't it'
is the arrival of Tesco on the island. A plan for a store in
Klong Son was refused a couple of years ago but apparently, as
there's been a change of local government leadership on the
island, the plan has been resurrected and Klong Prao looks like
being the site of a store in the not too distant future.
The same small handful of local families are still trying to
block it. Not on any grounds of environmental impact but
simply because they run small the wholesalers and over-priced
minimarts that would see their business collapse as soon as a
non price gouging store arrived on the island.
Beachfront land.
Don't listen to
your bank manager, that's they guy who told you to invest in
Iceland. Remember him? You can still afford to live by the
sea on Koh Chang. If you are in good health and have
several non essential organs or even a child, that you aren't emotionally attached to,
then it's high time you logged onto E-bay China, as you'll only
need to raise 3.5 million for a 600sqm plot here.
More photos & details
Rant for a Mouth.
Email Request of he Week: From a
Russian guy enquiring about land for sale. 'If I buy this,
will the owner take payment in Traveller's Cheques?' The
land cost over US$100,000. Anyone need any laundry doing?
Nice chopper.
You know you are either very rich or have very
big debts
when senior bosses from Kasikorn Bank fly in
by helicopter
to meet you on Koh Chang. (Psst . . .Don't tell your
shareholders. They think you took the bus.) Anyway, they weren't coming to meet me.
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 21 Feb -
The return of the Pathetic Sharks
If you happen to notice your Dive
Instructor getting all gooey eyed and seemingly in a permanent state of
arousal it isn't because they overdid the buckets of Vodka-Redbull-Viagra
the night before. More likely, it'll be due to the return of the 'The Whale Sharks'
to the waters south of Koh Chang.
In layman's terms these very large fish are the big girls' blouses of
the shark world, totally harmless - unless they sit on you.
But they are an impressive sight.
Scuba Evolution got a very good video up on YouTube last week
and, such is the 'Wow Factor' and allure of Koh Chang as a dive
destination, that a whopping 85 people worldwide, or 83 if you discount the
two times I clicked on it, have already viewed the footage.
Skip the opening 90 seconds which is just of regular fish and enjoy the
remaining few minutes. Have a box of Kleenex handy if you get
easily excited by the sight of a 7-metre long fish.
Since then other dive schools have also
offered trips allowing visitors the 'once in a lifetime' chance to annoy Whale Sharks
in person.
Coincidentally, a host of new items are rapidly appearing on the menus of the
island's seafood restaurants too.
Meanwhile,
away from the fish themed fun. The image below is an entry to this
month's 'Avoid
looking a twat during the dusty dry season.' photo competition.
Proudly
sponsored by Klong Prao Car Wash.
Cutbacks
Elsewhere on the island
the credit crunch spectre is looming large over the ambulance
service which seems to be cutting back on the number of emergency calls it
will attend. Injured residents are now being asked to huddle by the roadside and share the daily ambulance.
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FOR SALE. Backpacker Hut Resort on
Lonely Beach.
.jpg)
Well established, 15 ensuite fan bungalows,
plus large restaurant, 6 bedroom & 3 bathroom staff and owner accommodation.
All set on 2 Rai of hillside land with sunset views. 30 year, land lease
contract already in place. The resort is recommended in popular travel
guidebooks and online. All fixtures, fittings,
equipment etc included in the sale.
Price: 5,000,000 baht. Photos & more info
Road Rules
Next time you step into a
minivan for your transfer to the airport or hotel, pause a moment to enjoy the
signs on the sliding passenger door. Not all vans have these but sometimes
the drivers like to advise passengers on what is acceptable. Here you have a list of things not to
bring into or do inside the vehicle. No Smoking. No Alcohol. No Dogs. No
Durian. No Farting.
Island Inventions
Does the burning sun get you down? Are you sick of returning to your car
and having the the vinyl seats meld to your nether regions? Sometimes a regular
sun visor just isn't up to the task of fighting off the intense tropical
sunshine. You all know how convenient it is to be able to park under the
shade of a coconut palm, but ideally situated palms are getting harder to find
on this rapidly developing island. Fortunately there is now a simple, affordable
solution, 'Port-a-Palm'. Port-a-Palm uses nature identical palm fronds to
create intense shade over an area 100% larger than the best selling sun
visors can manage. Despite appearances, each fold out Port-a-Palm frond
weighs in at a mere 47 grams and can fold into the size of a box of matches.
This is achieved by using pioneering space age technology found, until now, only
in space. Available
island wide at all good auto accessory
shops.
Mystic Koh Chang
Local folklore
tells of an ancient tree deep in the jungle which can read the mind's of those who make
offerings to the spirits that live within. As I'm a bit of a sceptic I decided to put this to the test one lunchtime last week.
Apparently some kind of sign appears within the branches of the tree spelling
out your deepest, hidden desires. Initially there was nothing. But
no sooner had I decided to write off my offering of a bottle of red Fanta and 10 baht bag of deep fried bananas as a tax deductable loss,
than I began to tune into an
almost subliminal message. Then, as the vision became clearer, my initial thought
was to misquote Samuel L. Jackson
"Goddam, now that's one accurate motherf@%king
bitch
of a mindreading plant."
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|
12 Feb - Just another dead
Cambodian
A body of a Cambodian man was found in
the undergrowth just off the main road in Klong Prao a few days ago.
It had been there a while and was only discovered when someone went to
take a look to see what was causing the odour that was drifting across
the road. Two theories as to how he got there 1) Someone dumped the
body. 2) The deceased was busy admiring the
natural beauty of Koh Chang's flora and fauna when his heart gave
out - simply due to the shock of being in a place as wondrous and
perfect as Koh Chang.
Local police appear to be going with the second theory
as a dead Cambodian doesn't affect tourist figures one way or the other
and the paperwork involved in murder case is a real bitch.
(If it seems odd to you that there are
the words 'BURN OUT' written on a rescue vehicle/makeshift ambulance,
you probably aren't living in Thailand.)
Songkran Sailing
It's
only a couple of months until Thai New Year and if you are looking of a
way to spend Songkran that doesn't involve being soaked by beered up Eastern Europeans on White Sand
beach, the Annual Songkran Flotilla, organised by Gulf Charters, might be for you. Last year 17
yachts and 88 crew took part in the 4 day cruise around the islands
south of Koh Chang. This year the event runs from 10-15 April and
promises to be bigger and better than ever. Anyone with an
interest in sailing, from novices, to those wishing to hone their
skills, to hoary old seadogs are welcome to participate. Find more
details on the
Gulf Charters Thailand website. Last year's flotilla was
featured in 'SEA Yachting', South East Asia's most read sailing
magazine. A report of 2008's event, in PDF format, can be downloaded
here.
War Games
One
of the photos below is of an ex-Koh Chang expat resident. The other is
of the member of staff from a luxury hotel. One is carrying a real
gun, as the photo was taken in Afghanistan last month. The other is
carrying a BB Gun, as the photo was taken at the
BB Gun battle field on Koh
Chang last week. But which is which?
Crash Landing
From
a story in the Bangkok Post this week:
A successful Koh Chang businessman charged with illegally running a
private airport on the island turned himself in to police to fight the
charges on Saturday night.
Complete article
This story concerns the ultralight
airstrip in Klong Prao and mentions that the owner Mr Pisut Ratanawong,
a.k.a. Sia Toy, also owns the largest shrimp farm on Koh Chang.
But what the journalist missed was that way back in 2005 the same
newspaper carried a
report on the
shrimp farm and how it was illegally built in what was a mangrove
swamp. Quote from a National Park official at the time:
''The land department surprised us by
granting 12 title deeds to the farm owner. This brought our
investigation to an abrupt end. I wonder how those title deeds could be
issued in a mangrove area."
The other thing the shrimp farm and the airstrip have in common is the
actual owner of both is reportedly CP Company, one of Thailand's largest
conglomerates.
3 Bedroom House for longterm rent
.jpg)
The owner of this 200sqm family home
wants to find someone to rent it on a longterm contract as soon as
possible. It's located in a quiet area, less than 5 minutes walk
along a paved road to the shops, restaurants and beach in Kai Bae and
sits on 1,600sqm of land. ADSL Internet & cable TV are connected.
Monthly rent is 24,000 Baht. If you're interested, let me know. |
Private Education
For years
foreigners on Koh Chang
have been bemoaning the lack of a decent school for their
children to go to. The schools on the island don't cater for
kids born abroad or not having at least one Thai parent.
Therefore, migrant workers had little choice but to educate
their kids at home. However, as they were often working all day
this meant letting their kids play in the dirt outside the
family home for hours on end. The children may learn to
differentiate between the types of bugs that inhabit the area
but, other than that, probably learn little else of use.
Realising the plight of these
kids, a Dutch couple, Ben & Kriszti, obtained sponsorship to finance the first private school on
Koh Chang through their program 'Proudly
Open Minded / Study Buddies', which has also seen them
set up similar schools elsewhere in the world. The principal
sponsors of the Koh Chang school are Sharon & Steve Bakker and
their company BAS Group based in Amsterdam.
However, before
you rush to enrol your little darling in the island's newest
centre of excellence, bear in mind you have to
be Cambodian to qualify.
The school has just opened and is located in what's
basically a slum area of Koh Chang, hidden away from the main
road and out of sight of tourists who are relaxing in their 5
star beach resorts only a couple of kilometres
away. But this community of
corrugated iron shacks and is where an estimated 2,000 Cambodian
workers and their families live.
As most of the workers don't have
any legal papers their kids can't go to a Thai school and will
stay at home for 12-14 hours a day whilst their parents are
working for wages that are far lower than any Thai workers receive. 'Proudly Open Minded/Study Buddies' provides these children with a school they can
attend for free. They have provided:
-
A school building for over 50 children,
as a start
-
Electricity,
water, toilet and all basic facilities
-
A teacher for children
and parents
-
Basic Thai & English language and general education
classes
-
Classroom equipment such as chairs,
desks, books and
pencils
-
A playground
-
A Vegetable garden
-
And a safe place for the kids to stay
after school
A free lunch for the kids is also
provided, thanks to additional contributions from Brian and the staff at
Evolution Tour, Koh Chang. Also well deserving of a mention is Khun
'Aun', who also knew Ben & Kriszti from their first visits to Koh Chang
several years ago and who oversaw the construction of the school.
If you'd like to donate any school
supplies, or contribute financially, please contact Ben & Kriszti through their site
- 'Proudly
open Minded / Study Buddies' or if you are on Koh Chang,
I'm sure Brian can let you know what else is needed.
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|
1 Feb - A bit of a belated update
as I had a few days away from sun-kissed Koh Chang.
Big in Borobudor
If you happen to be
passing through Indonesia this month don't forget to pick up a copy of
'Intasari' magazine. In which you'll find a 4 page spread about our
guesthouse and also Koh Chang in general. Also don't forget to learn how
to read Indonesianese.
It's not size that counts . . .
Astudo, who run some very nice boutique
resorts in Thailand (Under the X2, Le Bayburi and Away brands) , are
planning to open a resort on Koh Chang this year. In possibly totally
unrelated news, there's a high-end boutique resort nearing
completion on Salakphet Bay. What I guess will be a stunning
waterfront restaurant has a moat-like aquarium surrounding it.
Expat Life
One of Koh Chang's favourite expatriate haunts
has
introduced a new breakfast menu, served from 10.30am onwards.
'Others' includes a Sangsom &
Cornflakes combo for non-beer drinkers who have a dislike of exotic foreign
dishes such as Chicken Fried Rice.
Jobs Offered! - Bikini model wanted by
Property Developer . . .
. . . as there seems to be a shortage
of talent in the East of Thailand. (Maybe they're twins.)
From a company in Rayong
From an unrelated company on Koh Chang
Just one more thing
. . .
You know how it is when your wife sends
you off shopping. It all starts with a simple "Can you
just pop to the market and get some garlic, a couple of stems of
lemongrass and a not too insect ridden lettuce." You hop on your
motorbike, arrive at the market and no sooner you park up, your
mobile rings. There's just a couple more items she needs.
Two minutes later there's another call. And another. And another. Next thing you know
you're driving home like this guy . . .
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A contender for the coveted,
but longwinded, title of 'Best plot of land currently
available for a private home or small resort on the west coast
of Koh Chang.'
1.4 Rai (92m x 26m), Chanote
title, frontage onto river estuary, 100 metres from the
sea on Klong Prao beach, sunset sea views, quiet neighbours,
100 metres from the main road. Private water supply.
Electricity, cable TV, phone easily connected. Price: 9
million baht.
More details and photos like the one below.
This is the view from the land towards the sea
Treasure Hunt
Any fool can bury a small pot of
gold and get GPS clutching, trowel wielding adventurers to go chasing around
hunting for clues as to it's whereabouts. I've made things
a bit trickier. Somewhere on the eastern seaboard, not too far
from Koh Chang, I've placed a 60 year old Thai naval frigate.
All you have to do is find it, without your satnav. It's 90 metres
long and isn't well hidden, so you'll know when you do
stumble across it.
Banksy Does Koh Chang
Was it him? Or was it an
imposter? Either way surreal, spray-painted, red elephants
have been popping up in the past couple of weeks in several
locations on the island.
Koh Mak from the air.
An expat & longtime reader of
this site took a flight in a light aircraft over Koh Chang & Koh Mak
recently and
was kind enough to send me some photos. This is the beach at Koh Mak
Resort.
FUKCing obvious
My latest 'make a million' brainwave.
French Connection went from being just another clothing store into a
global marketing phenomenon simply because someone in their Hong Kong
office noticed that faxes from the UK said 'FCUK' on the header.
Therefore, all that I need to do is to come up with two words beginning with F & U to
describe a fun, unique, frequently underrated, fairly unvisited,
fashionably unknown island such as 'Koh Chang' and my t-shirt printing presses, if I had them, would
be ready to roll.
(** If you want to find the land
locked Thai naval ship, turn off Highway 3. about 10km east of Klaeng,
at the junction with road '3162'. Just follow the signs to 'HTMS
Prasae Commemoration' - it's a pretty cool sight.)
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|
19 Jan - Here's an interesting
website www.kohtaxi.com
- a seaplane service, that doesn't exist, for Koh Chang but with contact
details in Roskilde, Denmark.
Read all about it! Posh & Becks visit
Koh Chang
I had an
email this week from a newspaper in London who are doing a bit on
Koh Chang and wanted to know if any celebrities visit the island. I
guess that if they don't then it isn't worth mere mortals, i.e.
their readers, making the
effort to come here. But in a bid to boost visitor numbers to the
island I felt obliged to drop a few
names of people who, off the record, may have visited (or may not - if
you're a pessimist) Looking back through some old photos, that
does look uncannily like Robbie Williams on the balcony of a penthouse
site at Cookies Hotel, White Sand beach. The camera never lies.
(20 Jan -
The article is here. Scroll down to the last line for my
input. Angie/Leo if you're reading this - catch up with you for a
beer next time.)
Another restaurant for you to try.
'Friend Seafood' has been in Kai Bae for
several years and until last week I had never eaten there. This is
probably due to the part of may brain that still thinks like backpacker
when it comes to choosing restaurants and wants to avoid anything
that appears overly touristy. You
know the type of places. Large wooden boat piled high with seafood at
the entrance. Menu in five languages, none of them the local one.
Bland but well presented
Thai food. Passable Western dishes that almost look how they should, yet
always lack one key ingredient that you just cant put your finger on. Waiters who speak
better English than those in most 4 star hotels and use it to chat up
your wife, mother and/or daughter. Plus a bill that includes various
extras you didn't realise you had had or had to pay for. Such as
those cold towels you get put in front of you before your meal and don't
really know what to do with. Do you rub your freshly showered
hands with them? Wipe the sweat off your brow? Blow your nose on
it? Or do all three?
But my 'Food Nazi' instincts proved to be
wrong. it turned out that it was pretty good. Excellent
seafood, from the wooden boat out front. Very nice Thai food. Good service from waiters who speak better
English than those in most 4 star hotels. And sensible prices with
no unexpected extras.
There were even a couple of Thai groups amongst the sea of suntanned
Europeans dining there. The only thing to avoid, as usual, is the wine -
unless you like drinking chilled red vinegar. You'll find Friend
Seafood by the roadside in Kai Bae, midway between Chang Park Resort and
the 7-eleven minimart. Worth trying if you're staying down that
way.
Land for your recession proof, don't-break-the-bank
island home.
Two adjacent plots, Chanote title, river
frontage. Klong Son area. Located in a quiet area only 10 minutes walk
to shops. Access by paved road, water and electricity on site. Cable TV &
phone line easy to connect. Quiet, residential area only 10 minutes
drive to White Sand beach Price: 1,365,000 and 2,119,000 Baht each
More details and photos
Siam Royal View Buyers
There's a website for owners at Siam
Royal View developments to share their thoughts.
SRVHomeOwners.com was
put together by residents at the Pattaya development. Not a lot of
activity on this new site yet but having it is a good idea as it enables
those who aren't in Thailand to keep up to date and in touch with the
latest news & opinion from fellow buyers they may not have met in person
before. Only one post on their from a buyer at SRV Koh
Chang. Interesting.
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Last Stop Before Heaven
(Number 1)
Last Stop Before Heaven
(Number 2)
If you are going to have a
motorbike accident and wind up as a spray painted outline on the
road, try to have it outside the International Clinic on White Sand
beach, as this guy did.
Building Tips
This week we look at the oft
asked question "How do I know if my luxury island home was
built by a local who doesn't know what foreign buyers want but
thinks he does?" There are several methods ranging from
mentioning the words 'Interior Design' and watching as the words
fly over his head; to being told that the reason there is no
grass, only concrete in the garden is that concrete is easier to
maintain and therefore, obviously, better.
But my
preferred method is to check to see if every available surface, including exterior walls, have
been tiled and those tiles are all different patterns and colours. I couldn't get the steps in the shot
below, or the
interior walls & floor, but if I had you would have seen seven
different patterns and colours of tiling. As it is, here are a
mere four. Classy. And I think I deserve a bonus point for
getting a green mock wood, concrete garden table in the
background too.
The Joy of Giving
The joy of receiving is sometimes another
matter. Emailers occasionally ask if
there's anything they can bring me when they visit Koh Chang. If
my wine cellar is running low then I'll ask them to stop off at the Duty
Free on the way to Thailand and pick up a bottle of cheap drinkable red. Or
possibly white. Maybe even a rose. But until now I have
never had a bottle of blue. This is from China 'Made with the best
grapes in the world and modern electronic technics' according to the label.
It's called 'Binglu' and is produced by a chemical factory in Flungdung
Province.
It's 5% alcohol (& 95% anti-freeze).
River View 'Villas'
More a large studio with a kitchen
and bathroom unless the Romans had this in mind when they coined
the term a couple of millennia ago. But if you're looking for a place to rent
long-term these River View Villas are pretty nice. Around 120,00
Baht/year. The big plus is the slipway which allows you to put a
small boat in the water easily. If you're interested talk to the
people at Magic Resort, Klong Prao. To find the villas
turn off the main road next to Ramayana Resort, then turn off
down the narrow access road just before you reach Aana Resort.
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6 Jan - Today, I went out with
Josh from
Kayakchang.com for a paddle around the islands that lie of Klong
Prao & Kai Bae beaches. They'll be offering guided kayak trips in
the very near future with an emphasis on safety. You don't have to
be super fit as they use 'sit inside', rather than 'sit on top' kayaks
which are imported from the UK and designed for use on the open water.
Safety is a priority and novice kayakers will receive training before
they set out. In addition you'll be kitted out with the same standard of
equipment as you'd get if you were on a kayaking trip back home -
a rash guard shirt to protect against the sun, a sprayskirt, a PFD
(i.e. a life vest designed for kayaking), adjustable carbon fibre paddle
etc. They'll even provide snorkelling equipment as you will get
the chance to see a few reef fish during the trip. I took the photo
below on the island of Koh Yuak.
If you are on KC now and are interested
in a bit of an adventure call Josh on 087.673.1753.
Car stickers and their relation
to the driver's personality
Analyse these
stickers I saw on the back of a pick up truck and see if you can figure
out what message the driver is trying to convey.
(The appearance of) Safety on Koh
Chang
Following the the Great Fire of VJ Plaza a couple of week's
ago the authorities leapt into action and in an instant made the island
a safer place for visitors to visit. This was accomplished by hanging a
white sheet with 'Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center Koh Chang
Municipality' written on it in front of a small shop unit that
houses a roadside laundry. So whilst you are waiting for your
disaster to be mitigated you can top your motorbike up with gasoline
from one of the bottles for sale on top of the oil drum, or get your
bloodstained/fire damaged clothes washed. Sometimes the simplest
solutions are the best, often they aren't.
Small plots of land for sale
.jpg)
Two adjacent 400sqm plots
with Chanote title and river frontage. Scenic, convenient location for
anyone wanting to build a quiet house that's within walking distance of
shops etc. (We recently bought land near here for a house in the future
when the novelty of living
in a river, as opposed to being by it, wears off.)
More details
Unlucky
A young
Thai couple holidaying on Koh Chang died last weekend when a coconut
tree fell on the tent they were sleeping in at a campsite near
Salakphet. In response to this, and in a bid to prevent
unnecessary tragic deaths in the future, the old woman in the laundry at
the 'Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Center Koh Chang
Municipality' issued a warning for all Thai visitors to check the
expiry date of their lucky amulets. Temples on Koh Chang are also
now offering free upgraded blessings for purchasers of 'Lucky Buddha'
brand 12 karat gold amulets that, in addition to including protection
from fire, drowning, drink drivers, bullets and AIDS also offer
protection from falling coconut palms. For a limited time only,
they come with an affordable option to extend coverage to close
friends and family. All amulets sold with a 'Money back if you
die'
guarantee.
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In search of the Holy
Grail
Since time began miss-spellings
on menus in restaurants in Thailand have been providing a
seemingly endless supply of anecdotes to be relayed at dinner
parties back home. A couple of recent examples that I've
seen are 'Vermin Cell' instead of 'Vermicelli'; 'Papaya salad
with crap' which might be correct but I think it should be
'crab'; 'Prawns in crack powder' a.k.a. very addictive Prawn
tempura.
But the granddaddy of them all,
the typo that's existence has often been doubted, thus leading
it to have a near mythical status, has now been spotted lurking
on a roadside menu on White Sand beach, Koh Chang. Since the
early 1970s this innocent error has been used by comedians
plying their trade in the Working Men's clubs of northern
England during routines about "Them Chinkies what talk funny
like". Yet, despite it being commonly referenced,
actual, confirmed sightings like this one are extremely rare.
Couple of good articles, one fun & one with a message
Santa visits Koh Chang
&
Life as a volunteer at Koh Chang Animal Foundation
A picture is worth a thousand
words
Especially when it'd take at least double that
number to describe the many many ways in which this new house,
currently under construction on Koh Chang, is indescribably
wrong. (Yes, those branches are concrete.) Apparently the
house now has a windmill on top too. Yet another example
of the inverse relationship between good taste and personal
wealth.
The 1924 Palace Law of Succession
If, like me, you have a habit of finding yourself on Koh Chang
pondering whether the offspring of Queen Saowabha and Queen Savang
Vadhana really should be given priority over the royal lineage stemming
from Queen Sukumala then help is at hand at City Law, Klong Prao.
Bangbao's Big Night Out
The
Directors and staff at
Tranquility Bay Residence held a BBQ party on 30 December for owners
in Phase 1 who were spending their first Christmas & New Year at their
new condo on Koh Chang. The guys behind the project - Nat, Simon
and Pep, are pictured below.
Simon welcoming the stars from Charlie's
Angels (Thailand) to the party. Tough job but someone has to do
it.
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31 December - Will Koh Chang make it
into the Guinness Book of World Records? (Deep down, you know the
answer to that already, but read on.) From the
Thai Govt. Public Relations Dept:
Biggest postcard in the world from
Koh Chang
Thai and foreign tourists participate in
writing New Year greetings on the world’s biggest postcard in Koh Chang
Island.
Post Office Chief in Koh Chang Thaweesak
Wongwilat said that the province, in collaboration with the Trat Tourism
Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand Trat Office, organized
“Koh Chang Countdown and Seafood Festival 2009” at Hat Sai Khao beach in
Koh Chang district. During the festival, the participants wrote New Year
greetings on the biggest postcard of 18X13 meters.
The festival would last until the last
night of 2008 and the Koh Chang post office would send the postcard to
Guinness Book of Records for approval.
Somehow, my sixth sense - the one that
tells me that anything organised by the TAT will be pointless - guessed
that no-one would have bothered to check the record for the world's
biggest postcard before embarking on an attempt to beat it. If
they had spent 10 seconds Googling it would have revealed a
Russian
postcard sent in 2007 that was over 400sqm in area.
24 December - The Christmas spirit
seems a little subdued here with barely a santa hat in sight. I went out
looking to see what the resorts had done to put a Jesus-like smile on
people's faces. A few have token trees and a bit of tinsel in the
lobby but the only one that made an effort to put something by their
main roadside entrance was Kacha . . . .feeling festive now? Or just
even more depressed.
Traditional yuletide dog in a daft hat
photo
Cooking on Koh Mak
Something
else I forgot to mention a while ago . . . Leng, who used to run the
cooking school at Blue Lagoon and also the nearby Pumpkin Restaurant
relocated to Koh Mak to open the island's first cooking school at Pano
Resort. Price 1,200 Baht. Email: <
smilekohmak@yahoo.com > or
Call her on 081.901.9972
If you prefer to eat fancy food and have
someone else make it while you are on Koh Mak, 'Pasta e papaya' at
GoodTime Resort is the island's first Italian/Thai bistro complete with
European chef.
Hanging by a thread . . .
or is it a noose?
As unintentional metaphors go, this one
representing the real estate business is pretty apt.
But it isn't just Koh Chang that's
suffering. CB Richard Ellis, seen as having credibility in the property
world and winner of 'Best International Agent' award for 2007 &
2008 at the corporate love-in known simply as the 'Thailand Property
Awards' came up with this statement in mid October: "Thailand’s
property market is well insulated from the global financial crisis"
How these presumably well paid, well educated folks figured that
Thailand isn't part of the 'global' is anyone's guess.
In November, the Chairman of CBRE
Thailand, said " . . the Thai political situation may be messy right
now, but this is not new and will not result in the market crashing".
And yesterday, the MD of CBRE (Thailand)
stated "Thailand’s property market cannot be expected to recover from
the present slump until 2011" Why 2011? Well, why not?
Maybe Thailand will be re-insulated from the world by then? A mere
six weeks from 'Nothing to worry about' to a slump? They don't provide
any reasoning in their press release which lends the casual observer to
think that they really don't have any more of an idea than you or I do,
but they just hope people have short memories and don't actually read
everything the PR Dept churns out.
As I have said to a some emailers in the
past few months, if I had a decent amount of cash on hand I'd be waiting
for property prices to go down further in Europe & US in 2009,
especially if you are from the UK as the exchange rate isn't in your
favour now. A house on an island is a nice dream, but remove
sunshine from the equation and, as much as I'd like the commission,
buying at home makes far more sense at present. Look for desperate
sellers in 6-12 months from now. Things should bottom out within this
time with house prices beginning to stabilise as economies gradually
improve. Wait a couple of years for the feel good factor to come back to
the middle classes and then you sell your property for a tidy profit.
Then use this money to buy in Thailand. So next boom here will be
in 3 years in Q4 2011, and on a Tuesday, if my calculations are correct.
Now, where can I buy my 'Thailand Property Award'?
On a personal note, it looks like my
dreams of yacht ownership will have to wait a while. |
The Great Fire of Koh Chang
I got a phone a call at
4am:
"There's a big fire at VJ Plaza".
"How big?"
"Very
big, lots of people here."
"Where are you?"
"In the car
driving to my friend's house."
"Did you take some photos?"
"No."
"Turn round and go back then."
With the benefit of hindsight, I
should also have mentioned, check you know how to use 'Night'
mode on your phone cam before taking any pictures.
It was quite a large blaze and
destroyed several shop units. According to gossip, the
fire may, or may not, have started in the only unit that was
insured by it's occupier. Which around these parts is more
than enough to apportion blame. It could also be that only one
person was sensible enough to take out insurance for their shop
unit, something that would seem sensible, rather than
suspicious. Helpful link:
Commercial property insurance in Thailand
Island logic thus runs something
like this . . . when you check into your hotel, ask if they are
insured against fire damage. If they are, don't stay there
as the owner will inevitably plan to torch the place sooner or
later.
The Great Koh Chang Fire Sale
I've noticed quite a few more
businesses coming up for sale. For example, a very large
restaurant with lounge bar for 20 million baht. Been
established 5 years, covers over 500sqm on two floors and the
owner is moving to Indonesia according to the advert.
Doesn't say which restaurant it is but I'd hazard guess that
it'd appeal to someone who knows their way around an upmarket
Italian menu. Nearby you could get a rental contract for five
old fan bungalows by the roadside for a mere 2 million
baht per year, but that doesn't include a license to print
money, which you'd need in order to turn a profit.
In Kai Bae, a single payment of 2
million would buy you one of the island's longest established
dive schools, and that might not be such a bad deal. On
Pearl Beach a small supermarket that has been in business since
the last business occupying the premises went bust, is a snip at
1.25 million, which gets you shelves lined with stuff that
obviously isn't selling very well.
The moral of all this is, if you
have got cash on hand wait till after the 'High Season', which
is what we used to call the period between now and March, and
you might be able to pick up some turnkey businesses for a good
price i.e. far less than the examples above, providing of course
they haven't burnt down.
Klong Son Henhouse
This is built to a better
standard than half the backpacker huts on the island. Look
closely and you'll see that there is also a little stool
near the entrance so the chickens can hop inside easily.
Koh Chang has a public library
More accurately, a closed shop unit
with a sign saying 'library' on it. Now if only the kids could read,
then they could make use of it. 'Having a little knowledge can be a
dangerous thing, so better to have none.' (Motto of the Koh
Chang Education Dept.)
Special price for you, sir
(Relatively) Cheap deals on rooms at the five star, Amari Emerald Cove
after New Year. Superior = 4,400 Baht/night Deluxe = 5,900 Baht/night.
Booking
enquiries.
Not everyone is deterred by the downturn.
The spot of land that is probably the most ideal for a luxury resort on
Koh Chang will soon become home to, unsurprisingly, a luxury
resort. Plans are being drawn up for a five star resort that will be
built on the site of old Thale Bungalows on Klong Prao beach.
Check your notes
There are a
lot of fake 1,000 Baht notes around at present. I haven't heard of
any on Koh Chang yet, but it's big news on Thai TV and in the papers.
Money taken out of ATMs will be fine but avoid changing your Dollars or
Euros for a good rate with some bloke in a pub. |
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15 Dec - Caught by the
Fuzz.
High Season only truly starts when the
critical mass of visitors is such that it's worth the effort for the
police to start setting up checkpoints to stop motorcyclists who
aren't wearing helmets. In the past couple of weeks I've seen a
few of these. The places to be on the lookout are on top of the
hill between Klong Son & White Sand beach. At the southern end of
White Sand beach between Alina Resort & the 7-eleven and at the north
end of Klong Prao beach at Paradise Resort. If you are riding a
bike in these areas and notice Thais wearing helmets or locals just
sitting on their bikes by the side of the road, you can be pretty sure
there's a checkpoint ahead.
Coming soon - professionally guided sea
kayaking trips around Koh Chang and outlying islands. Keep an eye
on
www.kayakchang.com for more details.
How quiet is it now?
This photo
taken at 4.30pm yesterday on Klong Prao beach. Perhaps everyone
was on a snorkelling trip? But our guests who were on one
yesterday reported only 12 people on a boat that can hold over 50.
Last night we went to Kai Bae with
a plan to try a restaurant we hadn't tried before. Drove through
the village at 7pm and the busiest restaurant by the roadside had four
customers. We drove back again at around 8.30pm and although there
were more signs of life, but most restaurants only had a couple of
tables occupied. The restaurant we ended up in was 'Rock Sugar', near
the southernmost 7-Eleven. It's a nicely laid out place, in a 'U' shape
with bar and kitchen on either side and big TV / stage for live band at
the rear plus seating in the centre of the 'U'. It's a bit of a
tourist trap and the prices reflect this as it's no cheaper to eat here
than in a good beachfront restaurant. The food itself was OK; the
BBQ kebabs were very nice, pizza was acceptable but some seafood
definitely wasn't as fresh as it should be. This could be a place
for a good night out if it were busier and didn't have the cartoon
channel playing on the big screen TV, but probably not a place I'll
visit again.
What does Koh Chang smell like?
Find out here. Given that the laundry is located next to large
seafood restaurant in Bangbao, I reckon it is slightly fishy with a
whiff of eau de toilette.
New Year Fun.
With many resorts now having
rooms empty over New Year, business owners donned their festive
thinking caps to come up with an attraction so attractive it
would attract the attention of thousands of attraction addicts
and lure them to the island. The end result of their
deliberations is the
'Koh Chang New Year Countdown and Seafood Festival' which
will be held from 29-31 December. As far as I can gather this
means that you can eat seafood at a beach restaurant and
on 31st they will have some fireworks and a band or two
somewhere. I may be jaded or perhaps this concept
isn't too far removed from the Loy Krathong Seafood Festival,
the Songkran Seafood Festival, the Queen's Birthday Seafood
Festival or the 'Let's try to make money from selling
overpriced Tiger Prawns to tourists' Seafood Festival which
is always eagerly anticipated . . . . by restaurant
owners.
Pretty pictures
Here's a PDF to download from 'Koh
Chang - The Magazine' Some very good photographs for anyone
planning a visit but unfortunately coupled with no real
practical information and cloyingly sycophantic 'interviews'.
Toning down the saccharine just a touch would add an
element of believability to the text. So like most things in
Thailand it's very nice to look at but lacks any real substance.
However, all is not lost as it does include some gems such as
'You
don't have to be in the Caribbean to experience a Maldives-like
vacation.'
Geographic quibbles aside, what's more worrying is that this
was describing Bangbao, which only has one thing in common with
The Maldives, and that is that they are both full of Russians.
The authors of the more practical, but
less colourful, Lonely Planet & Rough Guide to Thailand were on Koh
Chang last month to update their guides, so only a year to wait until
the 'Up to date' versions come out.
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Money Saving Guide
You
may be able to afford the flights but once on Koh Chang many
visitors will be looking to stick to a budget and not splash out
as much as normal. This has affected British tourists the
most with the pound now about as desirable a currency to hold as
the Zimbabwean Dollar. What that means in reality is that
a family of five from the south-east of England now have to
remortgage their house to afford a snorkelling trip. With that
in mind, a few ideas to help kill time on a budget . . .
Wreck diving for beginners.
Want to amaze and astound your friends back home with photos
like this but don't want to spend a couple of thousand baht on a
dive trip or even more on actually learning to dive in the first
place? No need to hand over all your hard earned cash to a
tanned Scandinavian divemaster, simply look for remains of old
boats lying in river estuaries at low tide. This could be
the hull of a 17th Century Spanish Man o' War, or Uncle
Somchai's fishing boat circa 1998 - your friends will never know
Cheap drinks.
Bailiey's Irish Cream is popular Christmas tipple.
However, a bottle of 'Meiji' brand coffee flavour milk, some
crushed ice and a measure of white rum makes a very acceptable
alternative. (This is the voice of experience talking.)
Take time to enjoy the
views.
Try sitting motionless staring at a point in the distance for as
long as you can. You'll be amazed at just how quickly the
minutes, hours and, in this guy's case, the days fly by.
For best results do this on a beach populated by backpackers as
they will think you are doing something spiritual and you aren't
simply crazy.
Be at one with yourself.
Another zero expense way to kill time is to practice Yoga on the
beach. Again it helps if you are doing this in an area populated
by impressionable travellers. But if not, try dressing in
white linen and wearing a few wooden beads. You may not
have a clue what pose you are striking but no-one else need know
that.
Koh Chang Motor Show at Kai
Bae viewpoint.
Here visitors can see the newest
eco-friendly models from Koh Chang's largest car manufacturer.
This fully varnished sportster is made entirely from sustainable
wood, buffalo parts, blood, sweat and tears. It even comes
with a handy bottle opener and splinter removal kit as
standard.
Almost Forgot . . .
The
all new refurbished, renovated and more relaxed
Funky
Hut
is now open on the East of Koh Chang. If you want a
peaceful getaway or simply a quiet spot for lunch whilst touring
the island, then Julian & Cheryl look forward to welcoming you
to their little haven.
 |
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4 Dec - (In)Security
Update
Some of the tourists are on the plane, they think
it's all over. It isn't yet . . . . more protests of
some kind are expected in Bangkok next week. Especially as all
protestors, and their leaders, managed to evade police and
disappear into the night, pausing only to give press conferences
to the world's media. Thus leading to exactly zero arrests
being made in connection with the hijacking of one of the
world's largest airports - but hopefully they have learnt
their lesson and won't do it again. As Monty Python once
said "You're not mafia, you're a naughty boy."
Australia warns it's citizens to
"avoid non essential travel to Thailand" because they
will surely die if they do come here.
Thai Airways sues the
demonstrators for 20 billion baht in losses i.e. just
under double its entire profit for 2007. (The majority
shareholder in Thai Airways is the Thai government and they
aren't happy bunnies at present.)
But who really cares about all of that when
the real news of the week was that Venus, Jupiter and the moon aligned to
make a smiley face in the sky over Thailand. (This is a real photo, not
Photoshopped.)
Eco Friendly Koh Chang - you never
know it could happen.
ChangSpirit.com
Learn more about our island and how we
are trying to protect it. Join the gang on the 1st and 15th of the month
at Big Elk Restaurant & Resort, Klong Prao. Good Friends, Good
Atmosphere, Good Music and Good Food. Save money on your trips and tours
with discounted tickets on sale that aid the Chang Spirit Fund. Free
transfer for groups of 8 people or more. For more information, please
call Khun Pittaya on 081.919.3995
T-shirt slogan of the Week
You
see a lot of English language t-shirt slogan's around, for example a
couple of years ago no waiter in a beach bar would be seen dead without
having 'Fuck off wankers'
emblazoned on his fake punk t-shirt. But this old one, worn by a teenage
Thai girl eating with her family in a restaurant in Kai Bae last week,
made me smile: 'I'm not gay but my boyfriend is'.
Beachfront Land For Sale
1,600sqm, Chanote title, with 40 metres
of beachfront, yours for 5 million Baht. More photos
Khao Rakham Reservoir
15
minutes or so drive inland from the mainland ferry piers is a large
reservoir. The last time I went there was a couple of years ago and the
purpose of the detour we did last week was to take a few photos and say
what a nice place it was to rent bikes and ride along the shore, picnic
at etc - which was possible in the past. But unfortunately the
main entrance is a huge construction site and you cant get to the water
. . unless you follow some dirt tracks nearby and just keep driving
until you end up in a bemused fruit farmer's back garden by the water.
Like we did.
Local Politics a.k.a. Spitting
the Dummy
There were local government
elections on Koh Chang a month or so ago, the incumbent mafia
were voted out and replaced with a new group who hadn't yet had
the chance to line their pockets. What always happens is
that the losers now have to try to garner sympathy and paint
themselves as victims. The large poster, below, appeared at Koh
Chang Ferry pier for only a couple of days before it
disappeared. Basically the losers posted this saying that
the new guys in charge were trying to force one of their friends
who was a good, honest guy, out of a job.
Another way to look at it is that
the losers had one friend who could still help them to milk
their cash cow and the winners wanted him gone too. Time
to spit the dummy and indulge in juvenile PR stunts to get some
attention.
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Pruebe algunos alimentos de
México durante sus vacaciones
Being from the north of England I
didn't grow up with any real desire to sample Mexican food or
come to think of it anything that hadn't been boiled for an
hour. However, I ended up spending a bit of time
travelling in Mexico years ago and sampling some good food
there. I vaguely remember 'Senor Frog's' burgers in Cancun, and
having a good 'Sopa de Lima' somewhere around Palenque.
But whilst in Thailand I have never had the urge to rush out for
a quick
Chimichanga.
It's probably similar
situation for you if you are holidaying on Koh Chang. You
want a change from Thai food but Mexican might not be considered
as you don't know anything about it and what to expect.
However, it is worth trying.
Last week we were invited to 'Zigamar'
Mexican restaurant in VJ Plaza at the north end of Klong Prao
Beach.
Run by Martin & Kate they make
authentic Mexican dishes as good as you'll find anywhere and
with key ingredients imported from Mexico. Martin lived in
the US and also Mexico for 17 years and it was there, rather
than England, where he developed his knowledge and love of
Mexican food. He also knows that most diners won't have this
type of knowledge of Quesadillas, Enchiladas and the like.
So, he'll happily talk you through the menu. But the best
option is to go for a sampler that includes several types of
Mexican favourites rather than pick a single dish from the menu.
Once you know what you like you can go back again for more of
the same. Western & Thai food is also available, so you'll find
something to suit everyone including the unadventurous.
If you are staying in the Klong
Prao / Chai Chet area then it is within walking distance of your
hotel. Try something new, you might be surprised.
I was.
Visa Hassles
With the tourist industry
thriving, the Immigration Dept. has decided to limit the length
of stay for anyone arriving overland from a neighbouring country
to 15 days from the current 30 days. This is
effective from today - 4 December - onwards. Those flying in are
still able to get a 30 day Visa on Arrival when they land in
Thailand.
Ideal Home
For some their ideal island home
looks like this. If you are wondering why there is no
yellow or purple paint, there is, around the other side.
For others who don't originate
from 'The Land that Good Taste Forgot', their ideal island home
might look something like this. And by pure chance, this
house on 50 metres of private beach, is for sale.
More photos here
If that's out of your price
bracket then there are some new 2 bedroom houses in Kai Bae
priced from 2.6 million. Also available for long term
rental. More
Details
The Koh Chang Wall
Our dog marks his territory by
peeing everywhere. This isn't always successful as whilst
other dogs may be able to sniff his odour for days after the
event, folks wandering down the beach can't and so find
themselves sitting on a nice tree stump where he emptied his
bladder less than 24 hours previously.
No such problems for the Thai
Navy though. They are in the process of marking their
land, not with bio-degradable bodily fluids but by building a
large wall to keep everyone out of their land. And to stop
anyone touching it or even looking at their land in a
disrespectful way. This wall is going up north of Centrepoint
pier on the east of Koh Chang and I'd expect to see another at
the far south of White Sand beach where land has been cleared
and a temporary fence erected.
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26 Nov - We were here,
live blogging, when demonstrators didn't take to the beach and
tanks didn't roll into Koh Chang during the September 2006 coup;
and are on the spot now when, yet again, nothing of interest is
happening here.
Bad News. Anyone who isn't
living in a box under a flyover in Harare will now know that
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok is closed and the
Thailand's status in the world has been reduced to that of
a Venezuelan daytime soap opera.
Good News.
Klong Prao airfield on Koh Chang is still open for sightseeing
microlight flights as normal. As is the new driving range,
located at the airfield, where 100 baht will get you a golf
stick and a bucket of 40 balls to whack with it.
Latest. Swedish
media is reporting that a Swedish PhD student is on Koh Chang
today, and . . .. errrr, that's about it.
Full story (in translated Swedish) Keep your head down Elin.
Hope you make it off the island safely.
27 Nov - Stranded tourists
being bussed to the "sex capital Penyata". Sympathise
with British tourist Harry Bedford
interviewed on BBC Radio
28 Nov - Bad News. Due to
the political chaos in Thailand, the Bt70 million Kpop concert
"SM Town Live '08 in Bangkok" featuring South Korean heartthrobs
Dong Bang Shin Ki and Super Junior has been postponed.
Here on Koh Chang, still nothing of interest has happened.
This is bound to lead to thousands of frustrated tourists who
will suffer the inconvenience of delayed flights and still not
have any 'I was there when the tanks rolled in', stories
to tell when they get home. Here's hoping for some action
today.
29 Nov - Bad News.UK's
Daily Telegraph gets a tad melodramatic when it lists
Thailand as one of the 20 most dangerous places in the world -
sandwiched between Sudan and Columbia. But there again,
you can't imagine those two nations allowing a bunch of
housewives and unemployed factory workers to take over their
airports.
Good News. Die Hard star Bruce Willis
is apparently in the airport's air conditioning system haveing
been in transit when the airport was taken over.
“Bruce really can’t believe he is in this situation again but he
is eager to help,” said police spokesman
lieutenant Sombat Sreephathep. “We will see if he can infiltrate
the PAD from inside the airport. On behalf of the entire Royal
Bangkok Police force, I would like to say, ‘Yippee-ki-yay,
Bruce.’
More on this story at
NottheNation.com Thailand's most trusted news source.
30 Nov - Good News.
Some flights are leaving U-tapao Airport near Pattaya. This old
military airfield is protected by soldiers but as the Bangkok
Post reports today 'U-Tapao's only other selling point was
when female employees from one enterprising Pattaya hotel,
taking advantage of the captive audience, put on a traditional
Thai dance performance.
The women later donned red and
silver dresses with feather boas, singing: "You'll fall in love
in Pattaya. There's no better place to be."
1 Dec - Guest comment on the
current political situation from the new government spokesman,
Mr 'V':
 "Voilà!
In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both
victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no
mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now
vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone
vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal
and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the
violently vicious and voracious violation of volition."
24 Nov - The world
of advertising is a complicated one. Designing an ad means
knowing your target audience and appealing to them in a subtle
but yet convincing manner. Let's put the art of advertising to
the test.
How many of you suddenly feel the
urge to buy a condo?
Ok, not so many. But how
about the new improved version?
Fair enough, you still might
particularly not want to buy a condo but if living your dream
also includes the chance of hopping into a hammock with a bikini
clad babe then pop down to Tranquility Bay Residence and enquire
about making a deposit on your dream (home).
If you're interested in what the
development actually looks like, and it does look very nice,
you'll find
new photos here.
Optimist of the week.
From an
AFP report. Bear in mind he's paid to talk things up and promote tourism
in the region.
"We will probably have a very bad high
season," said Oliver Martin of industry body the Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA).
"You're going to have it across the
board. It's going to be everyone -- from the luxury resort right down to
a small tour operator, a mom-and-pop shop or a restaurant," he added.
Thailand is suffering from what Martin
calls a "double whammy," as bloody anti-government street protests in
Bangkok also make the news worldwide, worrying potential holiday-makers.
Next week, Oliver 'Merchant of Doom'
Martin encourages visitors to consider selling a kidney rather than
cancel this year's winter sun vacation due to lack of funds. (Not that
Thailand's desperate for visitors or anything like that.) This simple
act will afford them the chance to enjoy their dream holiday and also
give hope to thousands of kids plugged into dialysis machines the world
over. Everyone's a winner.
Desperate time, desperate
measures.
The lack of
visitors had led to individual areas of the island doing their best to
attract tourists and also dissuade them from visiting or staying in other
areas of the island. Here's one new road sign I spotted in Bangbao,
the fishing village at the south of Koh Chang.
Preserving the past.
Some
people may not want to be reminded of their fashion disasters of
yesteryear but on Koh Mak Michael is busy archiving digital copies of
the old photographs in the possession of islanders. It's not all
flares and Hawaiian shirts though. The photos offer a rare insight
into life on a Thai island in the not too distant past. See the
first batch of 70+ photos to be
uploaded on Flickr.
Looking through the collection you will
notice how Westernised everyone appears. You might also be
surprised that islanders were busy snapping photos of themselves
partying 50 years ago. It's doubtful that the equivalent photos
are in existence on Koh Chang as the islanders here were mainly
relatively poor fishermen, rather than descendents of a wealthy traders
as on Koh Mak.
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We're not worthy.
I managed to avoid
Chester's Grill for 6 days, then succumbed to temptation.
But, at the risk of sounding like I have been paid to say this,
it is by far the best fast food franchise on Koh Chang. The
opening ceremony was presided over by Khun Jaran Chiavaranont,
second right, Honorary Chairman of CP Group Thailand. How
auspicious an occasion was it? The number of balloons at
the opening ceremony should give you a clue. To put it in
perspective, when Kofi Annan visited Koh Chang he had an archway
of 12 balloons, all the same colour.
Inside a range of delights are on
offer, everything from spaghetti to chicken sandwiches. What
more could a homesick visitor ask for? Actually, the
food isn't bad, especially when compared to McDonald's or KFC.
The management at Chester's Grill
have thought of everything. Computerised monitors on the
cash tills playing adverts and music videos while you queue are
just the tip of the technological iceberg. Outside, in front of
the restaurant there are signs that are only visible to certain
nationalities. For example when Scandinavians walk up it
displays 'Welcome. Shirt and shoes are optional. Our staff
will do their best not to smirk or look down on you in a too
obvious manner.'
When elderly Russian visitors
pass by a 'Don't worry we love our diners to be wearing only
speedos, saggy bikinis and a scowl. Feel free to leave a trail
of sea water and sand behind you as you enter.' sign
flashes before their eyes. (Photo not suitable for public
viewing.)
When English couples wander by
they see 'Feel free to use our toilet, but try not to make it
obvious that you aren't interested in buying anything here.
Just loiter by the door when you enter, then stroll towards the
counter, surreptitiously looking for the Toilet sign. Once
spotted by the staff, put on a bit of a mime with your partner
to indicate that you are just off for a pee and they
should peruse the menu and decide what to buy. Upon your
return, look at your watch, pretend you have an urgent
appointment and indicate by a faint smile and nod in the
direction of the staff that although you would really love to
eat there you simply have to dash. Turn and quickly walk
out without looking back. Once outside, congratulate yourself on
successfully using the toilet intended for paying customers only
and thereby getting one over on 'The Man'.
In this case 'The Man' being the 16 year old girl on cleaning
duty who will now devote the next 30 minutes of her young life
to ensuring that Cubicle 2 is fit for use once again.'
As a side note: The photo
of the ribbon cutting, above, was kindly sent to me by the GM of
Changburi Resort. The signature file on the email I received
looks like this:
Mr.T.Watt Seaside
General Manager
For the past couple of days the
one thing on my mind has been trying to figure if Mr "What
seaside?" is intentionally ironic or just plain ironic,
considering the hotel's location.
The tide is high.
Not much
more to add, the past week has seen some of the highest high tides of
the year, more will follow at Christmas. Beaches will disappear
under water but it makes our estuary look nice.
Man vs Monkey.
A battle
of wits ensued when a pet monkey got loose and made it's way to the
hotel breakfast buffet. He cunningly tricked hotel staff into
throwing him his bodyweight in fruit before allowing them to pick him up
and carry him back home.
Building the dream.
Koh Chang's Young Architect of the Year award is coming up. It's time
to look at the contenders. This four floor tribute to cubism in it's
most simple form was designed by Miss Nongluk Somsawat, aged six and three
quarters who used Lego as her inspiration and, quote, "My Daddy said it
combines modernity and simplicity in a manner not seen anywhere since the
demise of Stalinist Russia. And I like squares. My Daddy says his
builders can nearly do squares correctly and that uPVC doors and windows are
the gateways to hell."
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16 Nov - A belated update
as I've been away for a couple of days, it was a choice between
seeing the Christmas decorations at a shopping mall in Bangkok
or a 'Miss Koh Chang' beauty pageant at the Loy Krathong temple
fair. The previous day there had been a Miss/Mr Ladyboy contest
at the same venue so the ferry to the mainland the following
morning was full of contestants who had been brought in from
Pattaya for the occasion. And prior to that, on the first
night of the fair, it was the turn of the children.
A chance for parents to live their lives vicariously through
their oh-so-cute kids by having them parade on stage.
The beginning of the end (2)
The sign for Chester's Grill is now up and a branch of the not
particularly popular or good 'Chester's Coffee' chain will also
open in a corner of the lobby of Changburi Resort. If that
doesn't attract the high rollers looking for 5 star comforts I
don't know what will.
If I was a rich man . .
.
Last week we looked down on the type of people who
might be interested in what a miserly 20 million baht will get
you on Koh Chang. Now let's see what 59 million baht will
get you if you showed up, cash in hand and were looking to
retire or simply escape arrest warrants or the mafia back home.
You could be the proud owner of the nicest villa, actually two
separate houses, on the island and the only one with low tide
boat mooring in the sea at the bottom of your 1,000sqm
beachfront garden.
More Details
Chantaburi Detour
There are
tours to Chantaburi available for visitors staying on Koh Chang,
however the aim of these is usually to visit the dolphin show
and then kill some time at a temple, waterfall and/or gem
factory. This is a bit sad as Chantaburi, in particular
the Laem Sing area, has a lot of historical sites, ranging from
a 300 year old boatyard to fortifications built by the French
troops during their occupation long stay
vacation 100 years ago. Plus there are quiet beaches to
laze on and mangroves to explore by kayak. For more of
what the area has to offer see
www.laemsing.com and for a good source
of local info and lunch by the beach, pop in to see James at
Marine Cafe
www.marinecafe.net
Safety First
The latest police
directive, If you're planning a night out, get a guy called Don to take the
wheel.
Restaurant for sale
Located on the main road within easy walking distance of several
large resorts. Asking price -1,000,000 Baht (negotiable),
includes all fixtures & fittings. For sale as a going concern,
new owner can take over immediately.
More details
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Tourist arrivals up over *3,500%.
Things look like they are picking up on Koh Chang after a very slow start to
the tourist season. However, many small business owners already seem
resigned to having the worst high season since their memories began i.e. 2-3
years ago. Hotels across Thailand are reporting occupancy rates 20% or
more lower than last year with very few new bookings coming in at the
moment. This was a pattern I noticed. More people booking
earlier than normal, then a drop off in July/August and hotel enquiries and
emails in general went very quiet when everyone lost their life savings
thanks to Billy Bob in Hicksville, USA not repaying his mortgage in early
October. But since then the number of emails has bounced back to
normal and last week I had a lot of mail from people who look like they have
suddenly decided they need, and can afford, a holiday in December and are
now desperately trying to find rooms.
* The figure of 3,500% is the increase
in the number of South Korean visitors to Nakhon Nayok province, an hour's
drive northeast of Bangkok, from Jan-Jun 2008 compared to the same period in
2007.
They must have had a
convention or something as there's no reason to go to Nakhon Nayok unless
your company is paying you to go. On Koh Chang the actual arrival
numbers were down for this period, due to a 24% decrease in the number of
Thai visitors to the island.
Food & Drink and more drink
The past couple of occasions we've been out for a meal it's been to the
Texas Steakhouse, by the roadside near the northern end of White Sand beach.
To be honest, not a place that I'd normally bother with as I'm not a great
steak fan. So, the first time we visited it was because of the offer
of a free meal. It's nice spot, around 10 tables with open air &
covered seating on the first floor up above the noise down at road level.
And the steak and ribs really were very good. So no complaints about
the food, plus we noticed that they also offer a nice Thai food set
meal, which gives people the chance to try several Thai dishes that they may
not have tried before. A simple idea for visitors who can't tell their Pad
Thai from their Khao Pat or for anyone who isn't a pork/beef or chicken
steak fan.
The second time we went there was of
our own free will. But we didn't go back specifically for the food. We
went for the cocktails as the restaurant is home to Khun Mook, a middle aged
Thai woman who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of cocktails and can make all
kinds of wierd and wonderful concoctions that don't appear on the menu.
Go for the food, stay for the cocktails and you'll discover that sweet basil
leaves and egg white plus numerous types of alcohol can be combined to make
something rather special. Or if the desserts on offer don't take your fancy,
try the dessert cocktail instead. If you're on the island
longer, you'll be able to sample a cocktail that is made to order.
Until we had one a week ago, the last time she made this drink was 6 years
ago in Phuket. It has to be ordered well in advance as it takes about
a week to make. A process that involves fermenting a fresh coconut, adding
whisky & cherry brandy, apple pulp and various other ingredients on specific
days to make a beverage you shouldn't drink too many of unless you
have someone to carry you home.
Adopt a bulldog
I was at the
vet's last week and saw they were looking after a female bulldog, Nina.
This dog had been rescued from a Spanish guy living in Bailan who had
been using it as a sparing partner for his pitbull to fight. When Nina
was brought in she was covered in infected bites and open wounds but is now
fit & healthy and is a very affectionate dog although one covered in scars
and so doesn't outwardly appear cute and cuddly. Contact
Lisa the
vet if you can offer Nina a home.
Getting High
The fixed
wing ultralight is back at Koh Chang airfield so once the wind
settles down you'll have a choice of trike or small plane to
take your sightseeing flights in. They'll also be a
website -
www.ultralightthailand.com which is coming soon i.e. no
content has yet been written.
Royal funeral ceremony
headlines.
Two versions of yesterday's solemn occasion, see if you can spot
which is the official line and which is subversive commie
propaganda:
Whole nation plunges into grief as HM presides over cremation of
his eldest sister OR
Thais Instructed To Pretend They’ve Been Following Princess's
Life All Along
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5 Nov - The beginning
of the end
Koh Chang's first ever branch of a fast
food chain will open in the coming months. Chester's Grill
(a kind of healthier version of KFC.), is a franchise that has
branches throughout Thailand, and that caters to chicken
lovers. The Koh Chang branch will open at the new shop units
being built opposite Mac Resort on White Sand beach apparently.
You missed this
There
were a couple of great sunsets last week. I missed the
best as I was around on the darkside of the island, but the one
below, two days ago, wasn't too shabby.
The future of Koh Chang.
One developer's dream. One day everyone will be able to
afford a 24sqm studio apartment in paradise*. (*Paradise
subject to availability. Definitions may vary.) It
could be worse, not sure how though.
Shoot to Kill
Inside
Koh Chang's newest tourist attraction, the terrorist training
camp experience. Fun for all the family as you take on
members of Koh Chang's very own resistance movement in a life or
death battle by BB gun.
Probably only of interest to
people with no shares or mortgage.
New condominiums for sale on Koh
Chang. Construction underway and with prices from only 5,000,000
Baht for a home by the sea.
Perspectives, layout and prices
What can 20 million baht buy you
on Koh Chang? A question I don't often find myself asking
as I'm about 19 million short. But it could almost pay for
a couple of beachfront plots plus single house at Siam Royal
View. Alternatively, you could spend it on 6 Rai of
Chanote titled land + 3 Rai of mangroves + 2 fisherman's houses
+ safe boat moorings with easy sea access. All with
views over the luxury Siam Royal View. Ideal for your own 'Siam
Royal View' View development.
Photos etc
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Loy Krathong.
Next week see's the Festival of Loy Krathong
being celebrated throughout Thailand. From Wikipedia: 'Originally this
Brahmanical festival was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand as a ceremony to
honour the original Buddha, Siddhartha Guatama. Apart from venerating the
Buddha with light (the candle on the raft), the act of floating away the
candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and
defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot. People will
also cut their fingernails and hair and add them to the raft as a symbol of
letting go of the bad parts of oneself. Many Thai believe that floating a
krathong will create good luck, and they do it to honour and thank the
Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha.' Still awake? I know it
sounds dull, but it isn't as there is also lots of beer and fireworks and a
good old temple fair. Play inane games with the locals, eat too much,
drink too much and watch a bit of Likay or Thai dancing at Klong Prao
Temple nightly from 9-12 November.
Swimtastic
KC Grande's new lagoon pool. Very nice
& no doubt very crowded in high season. More good news, the resort's
new rooms nearby also come with a jacuzzi bath for two on the balcony. Bad
news is that until the foliage grows you wont get much privacy.
Up & Down
The road between Klong
Son and White Sand Beach as you probably haven't seen it before.
Hindsight, a wonderful thing . . .
Ever wondered what happens when you try to squeeze just one more truck onto
a ferry? (Thanks to Derrick for this photo.)
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