Kool Koh Chang Travel - What to do in Koh Chang Thailand

Victor Paul Borg reveals the Thai Island’s rising style stakes in Fah Thai – March/April 2007 with permission on March 14, 2007. Part 1 of 2.

Thirty years ago, Konchai Thanasrikul was the first one on the Koh Chang beach at Had Tha Nam, and he immediately envisioned its potential, purchasing a cheap plot of beachfront property and building the Siam Beach Resort’s cluster of rustic bungalows.

“There was nothing at the time,” says Natrapee Somnam, the manager of the Koh Chang resort and Konchai’s confidante. “no road, no water, no electricity, and no cold drinks. Koh Chang guests had to come from the mainland on a long-tail boat that docked on the beach.”

And come they did: Western escapees seeking virtual exile on a tropical island, enchanted by this one’s strips of brilliant – Koh Chang white sand, towering coconut palms, and inviting sweeps of blue sea. The Westerners changed the beach’s Thai name – which means “Beach Pier Water” – to one that was truer to its character, Lonely Beach, a name still in use today.

“Konchai realised that Koh Chang would be as successful as Phuket,” adds Natrapee. Not quite another Phuket, at least not yet, but not far behind now either. Still one of the quietest beaches, Had Tha Nam now boasts five resorts, and last year, Koh Chang’s Siam Beach felt compelled to adapt to the times by tearing down the rustic bungalows and rebuilding swankier residences complete with air-conditioning, TV and parquet floors. The island of Koh Chang was on the up – both in terms of visitor numbers and in style of accommodation.

The Rising Tide of Koh Chang

Elsewhere on Thailand’s second largest island (after Phuket), the real estate development has proceeded even faster. Koh Chang – whose Thai name translates to “Elephant Island” as it is shaped like an elephant’s head – is the largest of an archipelago of 52 islands which were designated a National Park in 1982. At the time, it was home to a few thousand fisherman and a rugged backpacker’s hideway; rapid growth in tourism only came in 2001 to Koh Chang when the government tramaced the road that sirts almost all of its coast and improved the ferry service from the mainland.

The introduction of Bangkok Airways flights a few years later made it all the more accessible – flight time from the capital is just 40 minutes to Koh Chang – and the proximity to Bangkok ensured that it became a viable weekend getaway for city slickers loking for some fun in the sun. Visitor numbers to Koh Chang have climbed to around 800,000 annually, and the transformation from a backpacker’s escapade to an upscale destination resort is now almost complete.

This new influx of higher-budget tourists spurred the construction of several plush Koh Chang resort on some of the west coast’s beaches – best of which are the Amari Emerald Cove Resort and Spa; AANA Resort and Spa; Ramayana Resort and Spa, Aiyapura Resort and Spa, Panviman Resort, and the SPA Koh Chang. All come kitted with luxuries set among tasteful designs and boast impressive spas offering all types of exotic therapies – traditional or modern massages as well as many rejuvenation treatments.

More new Koh Chang resorts are sprouting up with at least two openings expected in March; The Dewa, from the same owners of the upscale Ramayana, and the swanky Princess Resort Koh Chang by the Dusit chain, whose 96 rooms are a study of sublime Thai contemporary design.

Now, the island of Koh Chang is also due to get another first in the form of two separate private luxury residential developments – Tranquility Bay Residence near Bang Bao and Siam Royal View in Khlong Son village – to be sold as holiday or retirement homes, both complete with private yacht marinas.

Something for Everyone in Koh Chang

Not all resorts are high-end in Koh Chang, but different types of visitors will find something that suits their tastes and budgets in the three main beaches. Broadly speaking, these house expensive designer resorts at Had Kai Bae; cheaper backpacker bungalows at Had Tha Nam; and mid-range accommodations at Had Sai Khao, the longest beach in Koh Chang.

Yet, all these beaches hold the three quitessential Koh Chang experiences: a Thai massage under the coconut palms right in the sand, a dinner of fresh grilled seafood on tables set up on the beach and shows by the famour fire jugglers.

It is also possible to choose from a multitude of water-based activities such as snorkelling, or diving tours to explore coral reefs filled with barracudas at a cluster of offshore isles from Koh Chang in the south or fishing trips to reel in a variety of marine life, including the night time catching of squid.

Emerald Island, Koh Chang

Everywhere else, Koh Chang largely remains gloriously natural. The new developments are limited to small pockets along the west coast. Every vista is dominated by the interior spine of Koh Chang’s mountains, which meet the clouds at the higher summits, and are covered in impenetrable old growth jungle.

Indeed, the island of Koh Chang is one of Thailand’s greenest spots, and it is a joy to explore on a moped and make fascinating little discoveries –waterfalls and lagoons, tranquil creeks or streams, and a handful of quiet undeveloped beaches. The tastes of nature are all around: fresh watery wind, massive trees looming overhead, birdsong in the mornings, cacophonies of toads at night, short-tailed macaque monkeys dashing across the road, and cobras hissing in the grass.

The easiest way to get closer to the forests of Koh Chang is on an elephant at the elephant camp called Ban Kwan Chang in Khlong Son village. The camp’s 10 elephants and 10 mahours (elephant masters) – one mahout for one elephant – all hail from Surin, the northeastern province where mechanical tractors have yet to supersede the trunked workers in farms.

“We buy all the elephants when they are old and no longer strong enough for the farm,” explains Somsri Saiyot, who runs the camp with his mahout colleagues on Koh Chang island. “Elephants typically live until about 80 years old, and we only have females here, as males can be violent at times.”

The docile giants are playful with Koh Chang tourists, joyfully frolicking and trumpeting when fed, and splashing in the river like excited children during the treks that take Koh Chang visitors up the river and into the virgin jungle on elephant back.

Part 2 Continues Here.