Woody Woodpecker Posted November 10 Share Posted November 10 Let's take a virtual trip around the island of Koh Chang, in a clockwise direction, from the southwest to the southeast. Koh Chang is the third largest island in Thailand, just slightly smaller than Koh Samui, about 30 km long and 18 km wide with about 5,000 permanent residents. The topography is mountainous and about 70% of the island is undisturbed rainforest. I haven't physically done this the same day, but I can splice together different segments from dozens of visits. The journey might take about an hour without any stops. 🏍️ Places we'll visit: Bang Bao Lonely Beach Kai Bae Khlong Prao White Sands North Side East Side BANG BAO Bang Bao is a long pier, about 350 meters. It's a former fishing village that's been transformed to a tourist attraction with seafood restaurants, souvenir shops, inexpensive accommodations, and a place where you can get boat connections 🚤 for scuba or snorkeling 🤿, or transportation to/from the nearby islands of Koh Mak and/or Koh Kood (aka Ko Kut). They have their own small hospital to treat all the tourist motorbike injuries from the hairpin turn at Lonely Beach (more about that later). For nightlife, they have a pool hall. 🎱 I spent one night in a room with a fan and mosquito net, just to check it off my bucket list. It was very quiet, and I could hear the fish feeding off the surface at night. When island hopping, you can save significant time by taking a speedboat to Koh Mak and/or Koh Kood, as opposed to returning to the mainland on the ferry. However, one thing you'll notice is there are no life jackets 🛟. Hopefully, this has changed by now but TiT. Normally, it's not a problem but you may wish to consider if there's a rough sea unless you're a good swimmer. A more serious concern with me is arriving late and having to sit in front of the boat without protection from the sun About a kilometer from Bang Boa you'll find the Rasta View, with a Bob Marley motif, good place to stop for a coffee. A kilometer in the other direction and you can get "wasted away" in Margaritaville. NEXT: LONELY BEACH 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 Between Bang Boa and Lonely Beach is the Mercure Hideaway, where I once booked this Pool Villa for around 4,000. The pool was too small for swimming, but you can imagine other things to do with a lady with an 8-foot wall for privacy and there's also a jacuzzi in the small courtyard. Here's the hairpin turn near Lonely Beach I alluded to earlier, the scene of many motorbike accidents. LONELY BEACH Lonely Beach is the backpacker area, for visitors on a tight budget, and is also known as party central 🎉. I've never stayed here but I drove through during covid when there wasn't anyone around. NEXT: KAI BAE 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 Kai Bae Kai Bae has become my Go2 place on Koh Chang. They have the best bars, restaurants, and resorts on the island IMHO. For about 350 baht, you can rent the Happy Hippy House, but you'll need transportation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 For accommodation, there are three resorts I really like, all next to each other in the middle of town, the Chill, the Awa, and the Gajapuri. The Chill is a boutique resort, only 38 units I think, and it's expensive. Only the end suites have a sea view but the ground level units offer direct pool access from your balcony. I don't mind walking down one flight of stairs to save some money. The beach is too rocky for my taste at these three resorts, so they all have excellent pools. Best breakfast on tne island. It's not a buffet but ala carte, and you can order all you want. I like the Gajapuri for all the WOOD, but expensive to maintain with all the rainfall on Koh Chang. I spent a week here during covid when I was their only guest. My unit looked a bit like the Unabomber's cabin. The resort is divided into two sections, one for families and one for adults only, no one under 16 allowed. Both sections have nice pools. It's like two separate resorts sharing a common dining area. The Awa is the value option. I booked 6 nights here last month for 9000, and it wasn't their cheapest room. I could have had a sea view for 200/night more, but passed this time. Best thing is the long happy hour. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 (edited) For eats in Kai Bae, I recommend Mordi & Fuggi for French and El Barrio for Mexican cuisine. Burger Staion have huge burgers, but Thai beef. Bananas for a beer and bratwurst. Seafood pizza carry-out from Little Italy. Papas Bakery for a morning coffee and croissant. Local Thai restaurants are really good too. Edited November 10 by Woody Woodpecker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 (edited) Kai Bae Walking street has surpassed the bar area at White Sands (called Little Pattaya) as the main bar area on Koh Chang. It's on the edge of town on the border of Kai Bae and Khlong Prao. It's dead during the day but comes alive at night. Most of the girls seem to be from Korat. NEXT: KHLONG PRAO Edited November 10 by Woody Woodpecker 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinoydave Posted November 10 Share Posted November 10 Brilliant photos…… brings back lovely memories 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantalizeme Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 A splendidly illustrated guide to Koh Chang, whetting my appetite to visit. Thanks for this contribution, brother Woody. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 11 Author Share Posted November 11 2 hours ago, tantalizeme said: A splendidly illustrated guide to Koh Chang, whetting my appetite to visit. Thanks for this contribution, brother Woody. Thanks for your comment, but it's only half done. KHLONG PRAO Khlong Prao used to be my Go2 place on Koh Chang before they closed the Emerald Cove Resort last year, and they've been slow to rebuild, but I keep an eye on the progress. Otherwise, the places you want to go are more spread out in Khlong Prao so it doesn't have the village vibe of Kai Bae. Three doors down from the Emerald Cove is the Dewa, a sister property of the Awa in Kai Bae, and only slightly higher priced. The pool has a swim-up bar, I love these. They put the swim-up bar adjacent the Kid's pool. Kids have it so easy these days. Unlike Kai Bae, they have sandy beaches here. ...and some beautiful sunsets. My favorite place to stay is the Santhiya 🌴 Tree Resort because of all the WOOD. I've never stayed in the original building on the river, at night it looks a bit like the Musnter's residence at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. I've only stayed in a Garden Villa. They have some really funky bathrooms. Like at the Gajapuri, I stayed here for a week during covid and for three days I was the only guest at the resort. The main disadvantage is the remote location. It's a twenty minute walk to the main road, although they operate a free shuttle service three times daily. While hiking it, I came across these monkeys 🐒. One of the elders didn't appreciate the paparazzi and charged me. I thought it was going to bite off my toe. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Woodpecker Posted November 11 Author Share Posted November 11 (edited) My favorite place to eat in Khlong Prao is Jae Eiw Seafood. 🦀 I ordered a kilo here for the market price of 600. Maneerat Special Massage used to do an awesome full body Tantra Massage, but that was 10-20 years ago. Since then it just seems like a typical rub and tug shop, I wonder if there was a change in ownership? A worthwhile place to visit is the Khlong Phlu Waterfall. Park your vehicle and then it's a 25-minute walk. Whenever I'm in the brush I make enough noise so the pythons and cobras 🐍 are aware of my presence. The last thing you want to do is surprise them. NEXT: WHITE SANDS Edited November 11 by Woody Woodpecker 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drifting clouds Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 Nice series again. I visited Koh Chang last year and stayed at Khlong Prao Resort. Nice 4-star resort with beautiful beach. El Barrio at Kai Bae really nice mexican food indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3WileyCoyote Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 9 hours ago, Woody Woodpecker said: My favorite place to eat in Khlong Prao is Jae Eiw Seafood. 🦀 I ordered a kilo here for the market price of 600. Maneerat Special Massage used to do an awesome full body Tantra Massage, but that was 10-20 years ago. Since then it just seems like a typical rub and tug shop, I wonder if there was a change in ownership? A worthwhile place to visit is the Khlong Phlu Waterfall. Park your vehicle and then it's a 25-minute walk. Whenever I'm in the brush I make enough noise so the pythons and cobras 🐍 are aware of my presence. The last thing you want to do is surprise them. NEXT: WHITE SANDS Good report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now