9 Feb - Koh Chang Update

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.)

Two modern houses for long term rent in Kai Bae. One at 25,000 baht/month ( pictured left) and the other at 30,000 baht. Both quiet locations, both on 1 Rai or more of land (1600sqm+), both built during the past 18 months to a good standard - basically, the best quality house rentals you'll find at the moment on the island. Photos and info will be online next week, in the meantime if you're interested email me.

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 . . .

+++

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

++

29 Jn - Koh Chang Update

29 Jan - Tip for travellers, if you're arranging to meet at the treehouse - get the right one. I picked up a couple by the road in the south east of the island who had gone the wrong way, realised their mistake and were trying to get round to the west coast to the Lonely beach branch.

In response to numerous, more than one but less than three, emails asking about the absence of a discussion board on this site. I had thought about it but I really can't be arsed at the moment. Therefore, you're best off posting on the TripAdvisor Koh Chang forum if you want to hear from people who've visited KC before and also want the opinions of the very helpful Local Expert for Koh Chang who goes out of his way to help those in their time of need. It's a kind of a Mother Theresa position, providing some rays of hope and/or comfort for those who've booked at resorts they really shouldn't have bothered with or weaning unsuspecting Americans off their painful addiction to Let's Go guides. the main difference is that it can be done from home rather than the slums of Calcutta.

Question of the week came from one of our guests who'd just arrived here and obviously wasn't involved much in planning the holiday "Which way's Koh Chang?" she asked There's only one answer for this type of question, but as I didn't feel I knew her well enough to enquire as to what type of drugs she was on, my reply was limited to "Err, over there." and pointing north, adding "You'll find a map on the table." hoping she'd manage to find the table by herself.

In case you missed it, the Thai Justice Ministry is currently overhauling it's laws to make them fairer fair to women and improve Thailand standing as a modern, almost first world, country. The marital rape law has long been a bone of contention as it allowed husbands to rape their wives with impunity. The Ministry had a tough choice, abolish the law to make this illegal and so be equal to both sexes or, and here's the good bit, make it legal for wives to rape their husbands and so ensure equality of the sexes. Guess which option they went for?

Last week we heard from Mr Kampon Jaroenkajornkul, head of Trat tourism business association, who came out with the statement ''After the bombings <>, around 10% of visitors to Koh Chang decided to leave the island for fear of their safety.'' - a sentence which is must be some kind of anagram formed from a far more sensible statement. This week another local power broker with a desire to be seen as a safari-suited mover and shaker has come up with a solution to Koh Chang's water woes according the the Thai News Agency.

'The Deputy Chief of Koh Chang has proposed to use Reverse Osmosis, a system used to distil sea water to fresh water, to control the water shortage on the island.

Mr. Sakprasert Charoenprasit, revealed that Koh Chang will face water shortages from January-May every year. Five-star hotels and resorts will not encounter water shortages as they have their own underground water pumps. However, small hotels and resorts have to buy fresh water. As for the long-term plan to prevent water shortage, reservoirs will be constructed on the island and RO system is expected to be installed.'

Whether he prefaced his announcement with "Baldrick, I have a cunning plan . . ." isn't mentioned. However, imagine there was an island in Thailand, far further offshore than Koh Chang, and which had well over 2.5 million visitors per year, dozens of world class hotels and a serious water problem, one so severe that even the best 5 star hotels had to ration water at times. So, wouldn't Samui have had a huge reverse osmosis plant by now if it was a viable option? It hasn't, although some resorts do have their own small scale RO plants. I wonder if Mr Sakprasert will address the problem of where the huge plant for Koh Chang will discharge tens of thousands of litres of super concentrated saline waste water every day. Also nice to see that his position as Deputy Chief of Koh Chang gives him the authority to decide to build reservoirs in water catchment areas, all of which lie in the National Park.

On the subject of bright ideas that faded fast under the glaring light of 'real life', let's not forget that by 2007 motorists were to be banned from bringing their cars onto Koh Chang and tourists were to be ferried from beach to beach by boat whilst the main form of transport on the island was going to be the humble bicycle and Whitesands was to be transformed into an overdeveloped sea of drab, uninspiring shop units to become the architectural equivalent of Valium. OK, so the last aim came true, but previous examples of totally un-thought out thoughts that pop-up in the minds of politicians when a reporter is anywhere in the vicinity can be found in the News Archives.

How do you know you've made it in Thailand? When you can drive your Ferrari to Koh Chang and if there isn't enough room in the boot for your suitcases you can get one of your staff to bring them in your Hummer, as an expat guest staying at the Amari did last week.

Coming soon, eco-friendly sea transport, ideal for anyone feeling guilty about blowing their personal carbon allowance for the year on the flight to Thailand. (No, it isn't a yacht.)

15 Jan - Koh Chang Update

14 Jan - A room with a vista fit for Thai nobility at the aptly named 'Siam Royal View'.

Thrillseekers can now parasail on Koh Chang courtesy of Rung Rueng Parasail, Kai Bae. Get dragged skywards by speedboat for 600 baht. Head to Coral Resort, Kai Bae or contact any tour agency or resort in this part of the island for info.

Down in Bangbao there have been sightings of a foreign visitor engaging in unnatural activities on a regular basis. Apparently he's taken it on himself to pick up garbage out of the sea. Restaurateurs have been told repeatedly not to instruct their staff to throw garbage into the sea early in the morning before any tourists are around, but this still occurs. Whether this one person's actions will leave any long lasting impression of the wealthy individuals responsible for the majority of garbage that gets dumped directly into the sea remains to be seen. Probably not if the hotels who continue to burn their day's garbage on waste land not too far from Klong Plu waterfall are anything to go by. There's nothing like the smell of smouldering plastic at sunset to remind you that you're in Thailand.

Big property update. Info on the compact and bijou Baan Talay Thai development on the quiet east coast added for anyone looking for a peaceful life by the sea. Photos and details here. Other good stuff on the way when I have time including plots of land ideal for housing. 13 nicely sized plots from 852sqm - 2,432sqm, with Chanote title, access road, electricity and water on site, from 1.45 million - 3.8 million baht. Lovely, quiet back to nature location in a valley, jungle clad mountains around you, 1km to the local village, and only 10-15 minutes drive to Whitesands Beach. Also more condo units on sale soon from 3.8 million baht for an 82sqm 1 bedroom place.

Live Music update - The Irish Pub on Whitesands are currently advertising for Folk Singers. Keep an eye out for the Thai equivalent of an old bearded guy in a fisherman's smock, with his finger in his ear singing an acappella tale of how rough life was for those involved in building the Manchester ship canal in days gone by.

According to guests who stayed at Tropicana Resort over Xmas & New Year the management managed to seriously screw up a lot of bookings with at least 30 people being double booked and getting sent off to stay at another less desirable and far less popular hotel for all or part of their stay. Klong Prao Resort was another place that came in for a fair bit of criticism for unfriendly staff and crap management by guests who stayed over New Year and shared their thoughts with me.

If you've ever wondered why Thais aren't great explorers, this sign in Lonely Beach may provide the answer. South-west is the direction you head to for Italy, Nepal and Cambodia apparently. A few more photos of Lonely Beach added so you can see how the young people of today live when they are on holiday. (I don't know why they choose to live in a shack either when there's a perfectly good 3-star just along the beach. It must be a phase they're going through.) Lonely Beach photos

Another wedding on Klong Prao beach last week, the moment I heard the grooms utter his vows "Without you Angie I can't function." (That was his vows in their entirety.), I knew that as soon as the bloke presiding over the ceremony and who pronounced the happy couple man and wife 'by the power vested in me by the General Manager of Klong Prao Resort and the Lord God Almighty' I just knew that Angie and hubby's first song would be Robbie Williams' 'Angels' . . . and so it was.

Sangtawan restaurant has now replaced Cookies as my favourite eatery on Whitesands. Not sure what's happened to Cookies in the past few months, they're getting complacent and it isnt as good as it was. However, Sangtawan, adjacent to Cookies, on the beach with the white lanterns in the tree, has been excellent the past couple of times we've been. The cocktails are also worth a mention as they're cheap and taste like cocktails should rather than over sweet fruit punch.

7 Jan - Koh Chang Update

7 Jan - Think you'll be bored on holiday? Think again, Koh Chang possesses watersports facilities to compete with those anywhere in Thailand. Inflatables now come in three colours and are available to rent from all good beach vendors. Expect a yellow airbed to be added in time for the 2007-08 season.

The Ultimate Battle of the Ultimate Guides. Koh Chang now has three different 'Ultimate' guides to the island. Perhaps one should rebrand itself as the 'ultimatest' guide? See the giants battle it out for e-supremacy, bragging rights and advertisers cash at www.kohchang-thailand.info & www.whitesandsthailand.com whilst www.koh-chang.com is only in it's ultimate form in print.

Then there's this site, 'The ultimate penultimate guide to Koh Chang' - written by someone with time on his hands and nothing better to do for people like you, those with time on their hands to read it and nothing better to do.

The Ultimate Day Out - Pattaya's Siam Sailing Co. have been cruising around on their 'Supercat' for the past week. You know it's a supercat because it has 'Supercat' written on the side in metre high letters. It ain't subtle, but there again neither are a pair of panda fur speedos. This waterborne penis extension can be yours for a mere 45,000 baht/day - max. 8 guests, including accommodation, food, drinks and a variety of nibbles. Bling optional.

The Ultimate Web solution . . .need a new back end? Want to stand out on the online crowd? Or simply need to know how to pronounce 'MySQL' correctly? If this is all geek speak to you, contact Alexis at www.kcdarsana.com, for your web related requirements or call in to their corporate HQ on the road to Klong Plu waterfall.

The Ultimate Act of Caring . . . Thai TV showed photos of government ministers visiting those injured in the NYE bomb blasts, those lucky folks all received polythene wrapped gift baskets (Potato chips, energy drinks, shampoo, tins of condensed milk and more!) from the ministers, whilst families of those who died were given a whopping 10,000 baht. This is more than enough to compensate the family for the earnings the deceased would have accumulated during their working life. It is based on a complex calculation which factors in the deceased emigrating to North Korea on 1 January 2007 to take up a job in an asbestos mine at Work Camp 4, on the outskirts of the Pyongyang nuclear test site, and then taking an evening job as a nerve agent test guinea pig at 17 Won per hour.

The Ultimate Job on Koh Chang (not really but it pays for your beer) . . . An English teacher, preferably a native English speaker with some experience, is required for a private student working for a property developer on Koh Chang. 2 hours x 2-3 classes per week in the evenings. Hourly rate to be confirmed. If you're interested email Carsten at Anchana Language School, Whitesands < kco@medos.net >

The Ultimate Cover Up . . . According to hotel staff, a young child on holiday with his parents from Europe, drowned in the pool of a 4-star resort last week. Hotel staff were instructed by the GM not to tell anyone, except people they meet in the market and like to gossip with.

The Ultimate Minibus Ride . . . Sonja & partner are looking for anyone wanting to share a private transfer from Koh Chang - Siem Reap on 25 February. If you're going that way and want to share the expense let me know.

The Ultimate Afternoon Stroll . . .there's a nice little walk across Koh Wai which is worth a look if you're visiting the island on a boat trip, have more than 30 minutes to spare and want to get away from the snorkelling masses. A few photos and more info here.

The Ultimate New Trend . . .Herbal Saunas. The original Herbal Sauna is in Bailan and, as with all successful small businesses, it has been copied. Now there are at half a dozen Herbal Saunas dotted along the west coast. The original is a unique hand made, purpose built adobe style sauna. Nearby, on Lonely Beach, this copycat uses a converted septic tank or possibly a reconditioned grain silo, as a sauna.

The Ultimate Confidence Boost . . .The khaki clad Defence Minister of the ruling military junta in Thailand was reported on the BBC News website as saying that it was "highly likely" the NYE bomb attacks in Bangkok were carried out by "men in uniform" by which he didn't mean subversive supermarket shelf-stackers and grudge bearing valet parking staff. Sleep safely Bangkok.

The Ultimate Method to Beat the Thai Drink Driving Test . . .I had to drive to the ferry pier to pick up some of our guests a few days ago, the police had a checkpoint set up looking for people who still might be over-enjoying extended New Year celebrations. The boys in brown were stopping all the cars and questioning the drivers. In the absence of any breathalyser equipment, a cunning line of questioning was used in order to weed out any drivers who had been imbibing prior to getting behind the wheel:

Police: Hello. Have you been drinking alcohol?
Me: (Making a point to look at the clock in the car.) It's 10.30am, I had a small Beer Chang last night, does that count?
Police: OK, you can go.

2 Jan - Koh Chang Update

2 Jan - The show home at Siam Royal View housing development is 90% complete and it's . . . . orange. The workmanship is good; the design is pretty nice, especially the high ceiling in the living/dining area at the front of the house which gives the room a very bright & airy feel, but why is the exterior tangerine?

With jovial backslapping and seemingly endless "See you next year!" quips out of the way it's time to get back off the holiday spirit and into the humdrum world of life on a Thai island again.

It looks like a very well known, well established bungalow resort owned by a local family will be available for lease soon. This place is in all the guide books and is in a prime west coast location. The family need to take a break from running it and spend time raising their kids, so are looking to lease it. Annual rent will be around 1 million baht. The contract will be for 12 years. Photos and more detailed info coming in the next couple of weeks.

** Important to note that as this resort will be leased from the owners themselves and not from a third party - e.g. an expat who's previously leased it, as is the case for most of the small resorts that are available on Koh Chang. So there's nothing else to pay - only the annual rent. A common theme running through resorts to sublease from western lessees is the fact they all ask for several million baht to "sell" the property that they don't actually own. They ploughed their savings into it, after 1 or 2 years it didn't work out and they didn't get rich quick and so now it's time to sell it on and cover their losses. Avoid these types of places unless you have successfully run resorts before.

Dec 31st was the busiest I've ever see in it out at the snorkelling islands around Koh Rang. Speedboats were queuing to find a mooring space and there were a couple of huge ships who deposited hundreds of non swimming Thais into the water. People watching was half the fun, I wish I had a photo of the woman swimming with mask, snorkel and wide brimmed sun hat.

Deaths - Peter Williams, long term English resident of Kai Bae passed away on New Year's Eve. Funeral was on 1 Jan. Described as a typical English gentleman who enjoyed his cricket and also a beer, he'll be missed by those fortunate enough to have shared his acquaintance over the years.

Also a couple more tourists killed riding motorbikes and apparently a policeman deliberately mowed down by a car just over a week ago.

Elsewhere in Thailand 3 people died as bombs went off in Bangkok last night and NYE celebrations were cancelled. Western embassies put out the obligatory advisory message against non-essential travel to Bangkok. In light of the 180 people who died in road accidents in Thailand over the past 3 days . . . have any western embassies issued warnings against non-essential road travel in Thailand? I think not. Unless you're Iraqi the odds of getting caught up in a bomb blast or terrorist incident in Thailand are much lower than in your own country. Not a cause for panicky holiday cancellations but be sure to report any unattended hand grenades to the relevant authorities.

Announcements . . . The Treehouse, Koh Chang's backpacker's mecca has a new website www.tree-house.org. It's a hippy-trippy Flash driven site which features the font used on the 'Spangles' packets from the 70s. Kai, the webmaster, would also like me to tell you about the great New Year's Eve party that they will be having . . . but actually took place a couple of days ago as I didn't update the site in time. Consider this plenty of advance notice for NYE 2007 when I'm sure they will also be having a party. If you've got an event of any kind you'd like plugging for free here or on the Koh Chang page of 'Untamed Travel' magazine - let me know.

Is Koh Chang attracting a different kind of visitor this year? A couple of people mentioned that to me over the festive period. I cant say that I've noticed the change myself as far as the guests staying at our place go but from the emails I receive I think the island is starting to get a higher percentage of package tourists with expectations of a livelier, more upmarket, Samui-esque island. Which is a pity for those of us who enjoy peace and quiet. What I have noticed is that our little area of the riverbank is changing, it looks like a couple of fisherman's houses will become restaurants on the opposite bank and nearby some locals have sold up and builders from a large resort are beavering away on something or other. Interesting to see that the roof is actually been painted in camouflage colours so it blends into the mangroves when viewed from, say, Google Earth or a passing helicopter.

22 Dec - Koh Chang Update

22 Dec -

It's that time of year when our thoughts turn to one man. A man who's actions benefited mankind and who, from humble beginnings, rose to lead a legion of followers whom eagerly waited his every move and his every word. I am of course talking about Bono. Professional Irishman, all round musical genius and I-pod salesman. Bono has an I-pod, he even has a nice brushed aluminium limited edition line with his own name on them. I don't. He also goes out of his way to help charities, even those that go to the aid of unpopular causes where the victims aren't particularly photogenic. And, errr, I don't.

So in a a bid to put me in Bono's good books, it's time for the IamKohChang.com 'Dig deep and give' Christmas charity appeal with all proceeds going to charity, in case that wasn't blindingly obvious by the time you reached the end of this sentence.

Deciding how to raise cash wasn't easy, collecting half a ton of bottletops that can be smelted down and sold to Mick the metal merchant wasn't an option, neither was a 'Bring & Buy' sale, so I opted for the online version of the begging bowl - Paypal.

Having done that narrowing down the nominees for Charity of the Year wasn't easy. Nominations ranged from 'The Association of Koh Chang East Coast Hoteliers' a barely known minority group frequently shunned by foreign visitors to Koh Chang and in need of all the financial assistance they can receive, to the 'A bargirl isn't just for Christmas Appeal'. Set up to ensure that long after their Xmas flings are over, Koh Chang's bargirls will receive a new Nokia phone and gold bracelet to lessen the emotional pain of separation. As their spokeswoman said when contacted for a comment for this site "Some man no good, promise money but not send, buffalo sick, mama papa need new house, no have phone, sister baby in hospital, many problem in my life, but no complain. I alone in a big world. You have good heart, you like Thai girl?"

Persuasive as both of the above are they didn't make the cut for the final two options. Those of you who enjoy reading this site and are sitting at home with Christmas bonuses burning a hole in your pocket read on. Have your kids really done enough good this year to justify the expense of a new Nintendo Wii? I doubt it. Does your spouse deserve that slap up festive meal or could they do with skipping the dessert and donating the saved cash to a worthy cause? (OK probably not, I'd go for the Toffee Banoffee pie over a pock marked Darfurian child too - but you get my drift.)

Here are two Paypal buttons. They accept credit card and Paypal donations. On the left is the 60GB Ipod that I'll squander any money you give to me on. On the right is a cute kitten. He's alive and well and lives at our house. If he gets sick the only guys who can treat him are Lisa and Carla from Koh Chang Animal Foundation. The Foundation exists entirely on donations and there are a growing band of pet owners on KC who are very thankful for the efforts of Lisa who set up the foundation and who has ploughed over US$90,000 of her own money into keeping it going for the past few years.

For more info on I-pods see: http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html & For more info on Koh Chang Animal Foundation see: www.kohchanganimalfoundation.org. Having weighed up the pros and cons of each option . . . it's time to whip out the plastic.

Choice 1: Buy me an Ipod or some other impulse buy gadget that I'll only use when I'm in an airport Departure Lounge. For no reason other than I'm probably the only person on the planet without one and even though I'll probably lose it or break it in 6 months it'd be nice to have. Ahh, the joy of giving . . not nearly as good as the joy of receiving.	Choice 2: Save cute kitten's (or puppy's) life, make the world a better place and book your spot in heaven . . . or your money back! Give a few pounds, dollars or euros to the Koh Chang Animal Foundation and I personally guarantee you'll have a warm, fuzzy feeling throughout the holiday season. Plus there's a free beer from me for anyone who donates something to this worthy cause.

Weather - There's been a strong cold NE wind blowing for the past few days which means all snorkelling trips and speedboats trips have been cancelled. The forecast for the next 2-3 days at least is more of the same. If you see white capped waves when you cross over to Koh Chang on the ferry, you wont be going diving or out on a boat for a couple of days at least.

Coming soon . . . is Koh Chang ready for ultra modern, million dollar villas? One German developer thinks so and has 19 of them planned on Koh Chang's newest luxury development 'The Edge Village' near Bangbao. More info and photos coming in the New Year.

Anyone following the financial markets will have seen Thailand stock market soar over 10% in a single day. (Ok, so this was after it plummeted over 15% the previous day.) The reasons are the military government's cunning new plans to stop evil foreigners bringing cash into Thailand and tricking banks into selling them their entire stash of baht at dirt cheap rates. But this ruling has a big effect on anyone wanting to transfer money into Thailand to buy a condo freehold . . . as those buying freehold condos, will see the Bank of Thailand retain 30% of foreign funds remitted, interest-free for one year. (So you need to transfer 130% of the purchase price.) BUT, under the new rules, foreigners who want to buy a leasehold property in Thailand will have no problem doing so if they can bring in Thai baht for the purpose.

Visas . . . if you're living on KC and doing the 30-day visa runs and expecting to get 3 consecutive visas and then head off and get a 2 month tourist visa from a neighbouring country in order to stay longer, bear in mind that some people who have just got their third 30 day visa have also had a note written in their passport saying that once it expires they cant re-enter Thailand for 90 days - at all. If this happens your options are to try to get a new visa in Malaysia, if they decide not to give it, bearing in mind the written note in your passport, then getting a new passport before coming back into Thailand is your only 'Plan B' option.

Merry Xmas etc

Jan 6 2006

6 Jan - Jeremi you're on the website! You slept thru New Year, what you gonna do???

Thinking of travelling from Koh Chang to Siem Reap? From a recent post on the Lonely Planet discussion board . . .

"Despite warnings in the LP for Cambodia, we inadvertently ended up paying 1000 baht from Koh Chang to Siem Reap in Cambodia. (We bought the tickets from the Treehouse, a supposedly backpacker friendly place, who are also part of this rip off). We were taken to a restaurant near the border at Poipet where a guy in what appeared to be the embassy gave us the visa forms to fill out-we didn't realise that this cost an extra 200 baht each, and that this was not in fact the border at all just another rip off. Everyone in the place fell for this, it was so cleverly done. Then we herded (eventually) on to an old crappy bus that took hours to get us to Siem Reap -obviously so that we'd all be so tired that we'd have to stay at the guest house they conveniently dropped us at at 11pm. DO NOT buy any bus tickets from Koh Chang, do this trip yourself - it is a joke and so easy to fall for."

It isn't entirely fair to blame Treehouse for the rip off, but if a resort is doing business with a tour agent it'd be nice to know that they do care a little about the service an agent provides in addition to simply counting the commission they receive.

As one response commented: "Many people handle the border just fine without any scams at all. The one thing they all share in common is that none purchased a transport to Siem Reap from a guesthouse or travel agent in Thailand."

If you're straying in the Klong Prao / Kai Bae area then you'll see five small islands located between a few hundred metres and 3 kilometres s offshore. Here's a few photos from a recent paddle around the islands of Koh Yuak, Koh Suwan, Koh Man Nai, Koh Man Nai and Koh Pli by sea kayak.

Forgot to mention Cookie Restaurant reopened on 31 December. Worth a visit if you're on Whitesands.

Jan 1 2006

1 Jan Photos here are from New Years Even at our place and in the canoe on New Year's day . . . it's a hard life

** Per Tommy - your email address is incorrect , I cant reply to you.**

Dave visited KC recently and took his life in his hands by hiring a taxi from outside Bangkok Airport direct to Laem Ngop pier. Much quicker than the bus, and at only 3,000 baht, cheaper than the cost of a couple of one way flights. If you're feeling adventurous, why not try it?

Speedboat services - another new one . . .

From Bangbao to Koh Wai, Koh mak, Koh Kood, there's a new service from Ao Phrao Speedboats now running using a twin engined speedboat. Leaves Koh Chang at 11am daily.

Small plots of land on Whitesands, around 300 metres from the beach and accessible along a public track will be up for sale soon - they'd be excellent for housing. Plots will be half a rai (800sqm) each and a total of around 6 Rai will be sold or leased. Prices will be very affordable. This land is owned by the Thai military, so the situation will be similar to that on most of Koh Samet.

Land can be bought, sold and leased by private individuals but at the end of the day it still actually belongs to the military. Therefore, in the advent of a war, they could take the land back for war time use. (This is highly unlikely, unless the Cambodians obtain nukes.) I've been promised a copy of the plot plans and prices in the next week or two, so email me if you're interested.