9 Feb - A nice beach for anyone looking to get away from the crowds. No need to trek too far to find a bit of privacy if you find Whitesands, Klong Prao or Kai Bae too touristy. Instead, head down to Bailan Resort where you'll find the beach below. Brand new, AC Bungalows on the beach for around 1300 baht/night and fan bungalows for around 700-800baht. Part of the beach is also rented by 'Mangrove', which has well designed but simple bungalows aimed at flashpackers rather than their scruffier backpacker brethren. In a new section entitled 'Biggest disappointment of the week', I'll be covering the sad tale of a guy who left Koh Chang glum faced after visiting the 'By Hand Club', in Klong Prao, opposite the gas station, only to find that not only was it staffed by a couple of middle-aged women but that it merely sold handicrafts and nothing more exciting than that was available. Next week, it's the turn of www.kohchangtv.com, but if you're expecting a site for local cross dressers you'll be wasting your time.
Psst . . . wanna invest in a once in a lifetime opportunity. See www.royalsiamtrust.com, land bankers on the mainland, southeast of Trat. You too can invest in over 100 acres of prime grade mainland beachfront in a location that currently receives about 150 visitors a year all of whom have got lost trying to find the Koh Chang ferry piers or have stopped to rest on their way to the casino on the Cambodian border. Anyway, according to a report in the Singapore Times, the equivalent of 4 million baht/rai will buy you a very small slice in the prospector's pie then all you have to do is wait for someone with even more money to burn to come and take it off your hands As a guide, you can pick up beachfront around here for a couple of million/rai or less easily. Without wanting to use the word 'dodgy', it does seem a bit 'd-d-y' as far as worthwhile investments go.
I've had a few banana shakes in the past week, so, for anyone's who's a bit of a connoisseur of all things fruity, the results of my unscientific, subjective taste test follow: 1) Paradise Resort, Koh Wai - 50 baht Actually had three there in the past week when I've been out on the boat, can't fault the shakes and the restaurant is a great place for people watching 2) The cheap Thai restaurant opposite Alina Resort, Whitesands whose name I can't remember at the moment - 30 baht, if they can do a great shake for 30 baht why cant more places? 3) Salakphet Seafood, Salakphet - 40 baht, probably joint second but edged out on the extra 10 baht price. 4) Buddha View, Bangbao - 60 baht, tasted fine but not blended enough, still a bit crunchy.
The new telephone office will open soon on Pearl Beach just behind the Post Office. No longer will you have to trek into Trat to apply for a phone line and be told to wait 3 months, or be told that "the internet is full" when you apply for your ADSL connection. Those services and other reasons to queue, will be available here by the end of the month.
Dhevatara Cove, Samui . . . take a look . . . how nice are those pool villas? On Samui one will set you back a cool million - US dollars not baht. But what if you could buy an almost identical style of villa, complete with a private pool, on a small private beach on Koh Chang for well under half the cost of one on Samui . . . how nice would that be to own? Fear not house-hunters . . .More info on the way just as soon as I get round to adding it.
Bamboo Bungalows on Whitesands do Italian food on the beach and it's pretty good. I usually avoid eating western food on Koh Chang unless someone else is paying for the meal . . .and this occasion was no exception, but I'll be back again and maybe even pay myself next time. The pizza tasted like pizza and the pasta tasted like pasta - that might not sound like much of an achievement, but if you've visited Thailand before you'll know that it is. It's not in the same league as Invito, the best of the Italian restaurants on KC, but it'll do me.
The March edition of Thailand Property Guide will include a 3-page feature on the paradise island of Koh Chang . . . including colour photos no less. I know this because I've just finished writing it.
A couple of serious investors, each with with 50 - 80 million baht on hand, have contacted me recently and they're both looking for a profitable small resort on Koh Chang to buy. The key words here are 'buy' i.e. not lease for a few years and 'profitable' i.e. really makes money and offers a good rate of return on the selling price, two criteria which rule out quite a few places I can think of. But if you're a resort owner or know anyone who has one and is interested in selling let me know. (And if you want to buy a 38 Rai, 150+ room, well-known, west coast resort for 560 million baht, let me know too.)
It's always fun to receive emails from some Eastern Europeans as they're often pretty excited when you actually reply, and you can't help but invoke images of Borat . . .
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Subj: Hello from Latvia!!!!!!!
Hello Ian!!!!!!!
Thank You very much for contakt with ##### diving center, Everything is ok ,I find my friends.....
Best of the Best regards from the Latvia
Have a nice times
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