27 Jul

27 July - Google Earth has updated their high resolution photos and the northern section of Koh Chang can now be seen in detail, rather than a blur. Even down to zooming in on individual houses - such as the red roofed house in this photo which is mine. Well worth a look if you're planning a trip to KC, but the photo used is over 18 months old, as our footbridge was built in Nov 2004 and doesn't appear on it. Also everywhere south of our place isn't in high resolution.

Here's a very good deal for anyone wanting to have a business on Koh Chang. Forget about renting a little shop unit or taking over a restaurant or internet cafe and rent yourself a resort which was built under a year ago. 3 Rai (4,800sqm) of land with 15 ensuite fan bungalows, a 300sqm restaurant, quiet area on a hillside above the main road in Lonely Beach. Bars & shops are only 5 mins walk away. Land rent paid until May 2007. 11 years lease remaining. Price: 2.2 Million baht - including all kitchen equipment, all bedding, two phone lines & a website. Annual land rent is 110,000/year - fixed for the next 11 years. All you need do is hire a couple of staff and you're up & running. (This is genuinely a very nice little resort with great views, I've been recommending it to people who email me looking for quiet, clean, good value, conveniently located backpacker huts.)

The Larry King Award for insightful questioning this week goes to, ironically, a CNN producer who stayed at our place last week. Using his searching journalistic mind to discover what really makes 'Baan Rim Nam' tick, his leading question was "So, where does the dog shit?" It had been playing on his mind for a while apparently, and the idea of the dog taking himself off down the footbridge to the coconut field hadn't been considered as a possibility. Taking another leaf out of the 'King of Talk's' book, we then spent the next half hour discussing the plight of those caught in the middle of the Israeli shelling of Lebanon - featuring the story of an IDF gunner who tripped over a spent shell casing and twisted his ankle, leading him to miss his brother's Bar Mitzvah the following day. Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.

Another week, another warning/threat email from an expat living on Koh Chang saying that I shouldn't mention any businesses or any specifics about Koh Chang "Just talk about the island" because "30 baht of gas and a match later...Think about it, people have time on their hands during low season" Fortunately that was countered by just over 100 emails this past week from people thinking of visiting the island, all of whom seemed pretty happy about what they've read on the site.

14 Jul

14 July - I've been back in Bangkok again for well over a week or so, enjoying such delights as KFC, Starbucks and traffic jams.

Back on KC now for at least a month or so as we're pretty busy with the start of the summer holidays in Europe and guests who are looking to swap the summer sun back home for cooler, damp days on KC.

On Koh Chang, the road widening scheme is nearing completion and will probably be almost complete for a few more months. An additional 1.5 metres of best Cambodian grade concrete has been added to the width of the road south from Whitesands to Kai Bae. What it's actually for is anyone's guess: parking? an extra lane for traffic? an area for stallholders to set up shop? a dedicated bicycle & motorbike lane? a footpath? or simply a combination of all of these. (I'm going for the latter.)

Coming soon, some nice land on Koh mak for sale - only 4 rai, with a maximum of 2 rai per buyer for 950,000 baht/rai. 200 metres walk to the beach, views out to sea & across the island, has a Chanote title. Much better value than anything you'll find on Koh Chang.

For the benefit of American readers . . . this week's state sponsored colour coded Terror Alert warning for Koh Chang is . . . 'Lilac'.

Next update when I've got more time, I'll be adding some info on hassle free transport from Siem Reap or Phnom Penh to Koh Chang. A lot of people choose to combine a trip to Angkor Wat with a beach holiday on Koh Chang and the internet is full of horror stories about scams relating to overland travel. So, at present the only way you can travel to & from Koh Chang, assured of not being ripped off, is to fly in & out of the country. An expensive and also very inconvenient option as it means going via Bangkok. I'll have an alternative which is far cheaper than flying and also comes with a money back guarantee that you won't be scammed, duped, lied to, deliberately delayed, taken to any unknown hotels, dropped off at restaurants in the middle of nowhere several times during the trip, made to pay to fill in unnecessary forms etc etc.

"Is Koh Chang home to the some of the ugliest 'ladyboys' in Thailand?" That poser was posed by an emailer last week & I'm entitled to agree with him. A bloke in a frock is a bloke in a frock, regardless of the amount of make-up he has applied and how well his wedding tacked is tied back and there are more than enough blokes in frocks, or more often miniskirts & hotpants on KC.

It's deja vu all over again, last year several expat business owners complained when I wrote in a tourist mag that it rained quite a lot in the rainy season on Koh Chang. This year I've had a few emails from people who have far too much time on their hands now that there aren't many tourists around, here's this week's example in a new 'Green (NOT Rainy) season' feature entitled 'Disturbing Email of the Week', complete with original typos. I deleted info about the sender's businesses on KC, but bear in mind his businesses aren't mentioned on this site at all:

"who the FUCK do you think you are, to talk about +++++ the way you do. you call it a +++++, I have a +++++ there, yes I have a +++++, I can not find your office or adres on this site. so I love to meat you and I whant to see your face. so if your a big boy come over and tell me why you advertise like this!!!!"

Needless to say, when we spoke on the phone we agreed to differ as to whether I should be allowed to put my own opinions on my own website or whether my opinions should automatically change to reflect those of anyone who disagrees with me.

Take this site for what it isn't: it's not an advertorial filled tourist site full of platitudes for anyone who hands over a few baht. But a few thousand can buy a lot of love, as evidenced by impromptu plugs on this site for the Koh Chang Asbestos Co. Ltd., 'The asbestos 9 out of 10 toddlers prefer!'