23 Nov

23 Nov - Phase 1 of the new Tranquility Bay development is now on sale. If owning a fully furnished, luxury low rise condo or beach villa with superb sea views and easy access to the islands south of Koh Chang sounds like an enticing prospect . . .that's because it is. Leave Phuket, Samui & Pattaya to the masses and consider Koh Chang for a second home in paradise a.k.a. Thailand. Click for Photos, plans, information and gentle persuasion as to why you should buy a place here.

Tip for anyone thinking of getting married on Koh Chang, bring your own music. Whilst the couple who had their ceremony on Klong Prao beach recently may have been lost in the moment, onlookers were forced to put up with dirge such as 'The Power of Love' , 'Take my Breath Away' and other 80s synth & drum machine driven romantic ballads. These give anyone within earshot - (or was it only me?) - flashbacks to a night of embarrassing fumbling and fondling at the 6th Form disco. So, have some consideration for other beach users and bring your own CD of decent tunes, preferably those which illicit fond memories in the mind of listeners and not flashbacks of teenage angst.

The weather has been great, the sea is calm, avoid the weekends and the tour boats aren't busy. (Avoid the tour boats and you'll have islands to yourself.) The Marine Department had their big boat from Bangkok out the other day surveying boat captains to see how many people were on the boat, how often they took people out, how many people visited the snorkelling islands per day etc.

What are they watching? A) Tom & Katie sunning themselves whilst honeymooning on Koh Chang? B) A troop of sea gypsies who play impromptu jazz concerts for passing boats in return for loose change? C) A showing of the James Bond film 'Moonraker', that's being projected onto a cliff face as part of the Koh Chang International Film Festival D) Something else.

It isn't A), as eagle eyed readers will have spotted Tom & Katie are in disguise and on the boat. You think that's a grey haired woman who really should know better than to wear a bikini at her age. Think again. B) As this photo was taken on a Thursday - the traditional day of rest for sea gypsies of Burmese descent - this cant be the correct answer. C) A trick question, as, having won the Best Foreign Film category for the past 26 years, 'Moonraker' wasn't entered into this year's celebration of celulloid due to fears of possible explosion of immorality on KC caused by exposing Thai youths to the wily western charms of 'Dr Holly Goodhead', which only leaves D). See the new 'Day on the Boat' Photo Gallery for the answer.

Down in Bangbao there's a very nice fisherman's house for sale in excellent condition and for a very sensible price. See the photo to the right. If you've ever fancied a dive school or simply a house where you can walk out of your living room and into your boat then this is it. The asking price includes all furniture, fixtures & fittings including AC unit, satellite TV, phone line etc

Paulo and his girlfriend are looking for anyone who's interested in sharing a private hire minivan from Siem Reap to Koh Chang on 5th January. If you'd like to share the cost, please email Paulo direct as soon as possible at: < Paolino.Tona@ifp.fr >

Finally, a nice story from a family who took a tour organised by their hotel to see how local people live. They were packed off in a minibus with a young Thai woman who they assumed must be a fellow guest at the hotel as she never said a word to them. It was only half way through the day that it clicked that she must be the guide. So with that misunderstanding out of the way the family went off to see how local people fish. This entailed spending 3 hours on a small boat bobbing around in Klong Son bay. Needless to say the novelty wore off and so they asked the guide "Do your customers ever get bored doing this?" The reply was "I don't know, this is my first time here." The moral of this story is not to automatically expect your guide to have any knowledge about where you are going other than what they have been told by their boss. Also don't assume just because you're paying a small fortune for a room that the guide provided by the hotel isn't a tourism student from Bangkok here for their work experience.

3 Nov

3 Nov - Got a new pet, Bob the stick insect, who I found clinging onto the dog's tail last night. If anyone wants to give Bob a home, let me know before the cats make a meal of him.

I can hardly believe it's been a year since I last wasted an evening night playing endless games of Bingo and winning more packets of dried noodles than I could count on a tombola. Pay 10 baht for a ticket & you're guaranteed to win a prize worth 5 baht every time. (Makes no sense to me, but if I mention that I get accused of not entering to the festive spirit.) All this plus betting my last 10 baht on which numbered hole a rat would run into when released from under the bucket - a game of skill and judgment if ever there was one. But tonight it's time to do it all over again - whether I like it or not - as the annual Klong Prao Temple Fair is on for the next three evenings.

Some new photo galleries added. Larger photos as I don't have to worry about uploading on a dial up connection now. For starters, some new photos from Whitesands, The coastline along the East Coast & Koh Mak.

Aficionados of Thai Country Rock music, energy drinks and Beer Chang TV commercials should whip out their diaries and make a note that the old revolutionary turned businessman / self-marketing machine, Ad Carabao, will be playing a one off gig on Whitesands Beach on New Years Eve. High tide permitting. Tickets are 400 baht/head from Sabay Bar.

Sunsail, the yachting people, will open a base in Koh Chang next year. According to the Press Release, the new base will offer both bareboat and skippered yacht charter that will allow Sunsail’s customers to cruise the beautiful grounds around the Koh Chang archipelago, which contains 50 almost untouched islands. Sunsail will be providing a fleet of yachts which will be available for charter on a daily, weekly, or fortnightly basis.

I went down to Bangbao to meet the developers of the new Tranquility Bay Residence. Very nice place, great views south towards Koh Wai & Koh Mak designed to appeal to western tastes. Units will be sold fully fitted and furnished, just bring your personal effects . . . and a check for a few million baht, and you can move in. Full details, interior mock ups, construction photos coming soon. Condos from 60 - 120sqm, and 300sqm beachfront villas, all with uninterrupted sea views and access to a private beach & pier.

24 Oct

24 Oct - It's a good time to go canoeing at the moment, very calm seas and very clear water off Kai Bae & Klong Prao beaches which makes it easy to spot the large jellyfish that are hanging around at the moment.

Head out in the morning when there are no people around and the sea is always calmest. Spend a nice hour or so snorkelling around Koh Rom & Koh Suwan, the two islands nearest Klong Prao beach. Although much of the coral is dead in places, you can see loads of fish and hard corals just off the south west of Koh Rom.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that golf on Koh Chang was limited to a new crazy golf course in Kai Bae. Seems I was speaking too soon as a real, full size golf course looks set to be built on the island.

The plans haven't been officially announced yet so I'm not allowed to mention the exact location but I'd recommend that anyone with money start buying land in the Bangbao area as this would be worth a fortune should a golf course be built in the vicinity. Also worth a look for investment would be the new Tranquility Bay Residence, 70 condo units and 10 villas, only a couple of kilometres from the golf course with leasehold condominiums starting at 5.7 million for 60sqm and villas priced around 30 million baht. On-site Sales office will be opening in a week or so.

The Financial Times are doing a report on the best properties for people with an interest in fishing to buy abroad. (I know it looks like they're running out of stuff to write about, it's not, it's a 'niche'.) The writer emailed me to see if I wanted to feature our guesthouse as an example of a fisherman's house in Thailand, and I said 'Yes' as I've never had my name in the FT before. So it'll be interesting to see what they write.

Also in the papers was Koh Mak, chosen as one of The Sunday Times''Worlds Top Secret Beaches' in the Oct 22nd issue: "Koh Mak is six square miles of pristine beach and coconut palms that make the famously “undeveloped” Koh Chang, 10 miles north, look like Manhattan. Koh Mak is not without its hotels, but as we’re only talking about a dozen, and as most of these have only a handful of rooms, it’s startlingly easy to find a stretch of chalk-white beach to yourself along the island’s 15-mile shore. Prices are disconcertingly cheap, and Koh Mak has some of the planet’s best budget-luxury beach hotels."

Need a hotel? If you've already tried finding a room you'll know that the better value hotels & resorts on Koh Chang are already virtually full mid December - mid-February. You can send enquiries to the online agencies which is time consuming and the replies aren't always as quick as you might wish for. Or you can use the new form in the Accommodation section of this site. Have a Koh Chang based tour agency contact the hotels on your behalf and get the prices & availability sent to you.

There's a new speedboat service from Laem Ngop (mainland) - Dan Mai (on the east coast of Koh Chang) - Koh Wai - Koh Mak. Departs Laem Ngop at 10am. Returns from Koh Mak at 1pm. Laem Ngop - Koh Mak leg is 450 baht. Koh Chang - Koh Mak is 600 baht, including transport from your hotel to Dan Mai. Book through Matching Tour on Whitesands.