“Elephant Island”, between Phuket and Ko Samui is Thailand’s second biggest island.
Khlong Son, near Koh Chang’s northern tip, is the largest settlement on the island. Even so, there’s not much here: a health clinic, a few small noodle shops, a monastery, a post office and a school. Many of the other islands within the national park have villages and a fair amount of land, particularly around the coast, has been cleared for agriculture – mostly coconut plantations.
Koh Chang is now well on its way to being another ‘international resort island’ similar to Phuket. Local tourism operators have expressed their enthusiasm for the plans, tempered with concern that this type of centrally planned development may only benefit big businesses from Bangkok, etc. All of the outer islands have now experienced some sort of development with numerous luxury resorts appearing where before there might have been just the occasional cluster of bamboo bungalows. Some of the islands are very small, so it does raise the question of where the resorts get their water supply from and how long the demands of five-star resort guests can be satisfied.
Ao Khlong Son is at the northern tip of the island. Further south on the western side is Hat Sai Kaew (White Sand Beach), a songthaew to this beach costs ฿฿50 from the pier. Hat Khlong Phrao, 5 km south of Hat Sai Kaew, and 2 km long, is spread out each side of the mouth of the Khlong Phrao canal and is a beautiful beach but the water tends to be shallow.
At Ao Khlong Makok there is almost no beach at high tide and just a couple of bungalow operations which are virtually deserted in the low season . Ao Kai Bae is the southernmost beach on the west coast. It is beautiful but swimming is tricky as the water is very shallow and covered with rocks and dead coral in places.
Haad Tha Nam (Lonely Beach) is an attractive stretch of coastline and much more quiet and relaxed than the more accessible northern stretches. However, most of the well-run, cheap operations have been pushed out to be replaced with awful bungalows or dull generic resorts – it may be best to pass this beach by. If you do want to visit though, songthaews from the pier cost approximately ฿฿80. A short songthaew ride south of Lonely beach is Bailan Bay, another relaxing, peaceful spot where people come to get away from it all. Songthaews from the pier cost about ฿฿100.
Ao Bang Bao and Ao Bai Bin are lovely beaches on the south coast of the island. The bay dries out at low tide and it is virtually inaccessible in the low season when the accommodation tends to shut down.
Although there is a scattering of bungalow operations on the east coast, very few people choose to stay here even in the high season. The only beach is at Sai Thong.
Than Ma Yom Waterfall is on the east side of the island. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) visited this waterfall on no less than six occasions at the end of the 19th century, so even given the Thai predilection for waterfalls of any size, it counts as an impressive one (in fact there are three falls). To prove the point, the king carved his initials (or had them carved), on a stone to mark one of his visits. Rama VI and VII also visited the falls, although it seems that they didn’t get quite so far – they left their initials inscribed on stones at the nearest of the falls. The falls are accessible from either Ban Dan Mai or Thaan Ma Yom, both on the east coast and getting to the first of the cascades involves a walk of around one hour; it is around 4 km to the furthest of the three falls.
Khlong Phu Falls, at Ao Khlong Phrao, are perhaps even more beautiful than Than Ma Yom waterfall. There is a good pool here for swimming as well as a restaurant and some bungalows. Because this is a national park it is also possible to camp. To get here, it’s a 10-minute taxi or motorbike ride from Hat Sai Kaew; you can also travel to it from the road by elephant for ฿฿200 or for free by walking just 3 km.
Koh Chang’s forest is one of the most species-rich in the country and while the island’s coast may be undergoing development, the rugged, mountainous interior is still largely inaccessible and covered with virgin rainforest (around 70% is said to be forested). There is a good population of birds, including parrots, sunbirds, hornbills and trogons, as well as Koh Chang’s well-known population of wild boar, although the chances of seeing any are slim. It is advisable, however, to take a guide for exploring – Jungle Way bungalows organizes guided hikes for ฿450 including lunch....
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