A Return To Koh Chang
A Return To Koh Chang
For those of you living outside Thailand Koh Chang is on the eastern coastline of Thailand is in the province of Trat and is the largest of all of the eastern islands.
It is probably only in the last five or six years that the island has been attracting international tourists. However tourism has certainly now taken off and Koh Chang is attracting a complete cross section of tourists. On this visit amongst others I met backpackers from Latvia and Israel restauranteurs visiting from Italy and a couple who clearly had more than a few bob in the bank.
The hotel industry and the locals have done well to provide accommodation for such a large range of tourists. I actually heard from a local; he was actually from Wales a long time ago that room rates range from a tad under B500 US1=35.5Baht per night all the way up to B35000!
Having decided to go to Koh Chang for a long weekend on my birthday; I am one of the lucky ones whose birthday always falls on a public holiday October 23rd the memorial day of Rama V otherwise known as King Chulalongkorn Day I headed to Ekamai bus station.
This time I selected the correct bus company Chedchai Tours bought my B275 one way ticket to Trat. Cherchai Tours have the blue and white buses. Do not take the blue and white buses with the red paint job. The latter stop everywhere and anywhere and generally take up to two hours longer than Cherdchai Tours!
Five hours later I was dropped off in a small town near to Trat where you are met by the friendly people from Orange Taxi who mainly run surprise surprise orange pick ups. They provide you with your transportation to and from the ferry to Koh Chang and also the return ferry ticket as well.
The ferry ride is excellent offering an outstanding view as you arrive on Koh Chang. There you are met by a bevy of pick ups which take you and nine other fellow passengers per pick up to approximately where you want to go. On this occasion I was heading to White Sands beach which is the first of many beaches on the western coast of the island.
Dropped off at the Paloma Resort I was met by my friend Khun Oy who took me to her bar for a few beers some local food and of course a few games of pool! I have been told that the Paloma offers firstrate accommodation but I prefer to stay at the small bungalows that still exist on Koh Chang despite the construction of more modern hotel/resort complexes. A reasonable bungalow with aircon cable T.V. and hot/cold shower costs around B750 per night.
Koh Chang offers a complete range of activities. Island hopping fishing diving snorkeling and kayak trips elephant trekking guided walks to some fairly impressive waterfalls chilling out on beautiful beaches to name a few!
My activity of choice this time was the off road ATVs or All Terrain Vehicles. Brilliant fun providing a reasonable adrenalin rush and also offering some superb views. ATV Tours can be found at Chai Chet near to Klong Prao beach. Apologies to ATV Tours but I have lost your number! However their leaflets can be found all over Koh Chang.
If gastronomy is one of your favorite pastimes then Koh Chang will not disappoint you. You name the food style you can find it there! My favorite place to eat is called Thai amp; Isaan Food. It may have a more formal name but that was all I could translate from the sign outside the restaurant. Dont expect comfortable surroundings from three shophouses combined into one large eatery. However the food is outstanding has Thai and loosely translated English menus and is exceptionally reasonable priced. Sufficient for five people we chose sweet amp; sour snapper prawn green curry an incredibly spicy Isaan yam salad vegetables and much more. With a couple of large bottles of beer Leo the cost was just around B700.
The eatery can be found on the southern side of White Sands beach going up the slope with KCTV Koh Chang TV on the left Thai amp; Isaan Food is another twentyfive meters on the opposite side of the road. Happy eating!
As usual a big hello to my friends at the Thailand Web Zone www.thailandwebzone.com which is a new Thai social networking and Thailand community site. Share information in Thai forums and Thailand articles meet people share photos music and video find amp; submit information on Thailand travel. Make new friends from all over the world! For those readers who have not visited TWZ go have a look now!
About the writer: Maggie Nguyo is a Kenyan who is well versed with most Kenya travel aspects. She is also the editor of http://www.mykenyaguide.com a website that is invaluable to travellers to Kenya. Written in a simple and personal manner this website gives you insights and tips to help you to plan for your most memorable holiday in Kenya.
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