The other Koh Chang

Not many people know about it but there are two islands in Thailand which are called Koh Chang. One, the best known, off Trat and the otherone, more confidential in Ranong province, near the border with Burma (or Myanmar if you prefer). I recently spent three days on the second one.

Except for the name, the two islands are not alike at all. If Koh Chang on Trat side, popular island a few hours from Bangkok is welldeveloped, with a nice road, piers for ferries ,7 Eleven shops, WIFI everywhere, souvenir shops … ect, its more discreet sister does not have all that. It is an pretty undeveloped island and it is all the charm of Koh Chang Ranong. The cars on the few little cemented  roads some are very rare, there is no ATM on the island , no songthaews hoping to take you on board, stores are rare and are just minimarts, places with WIFI can be counted on the fingers of one hand and when they have several users at the same time they are so slow that you will resign to stop hopping to connect to the outside world. Even network for mobile phone is not available in many places. At Long Beach , I only could connect around Cashew Resort .

Koh Chang Ranong is an island where tourism development was done without changing the island a lot. Because it is not a desert island. It lives from rubber planting, certainly, but also from tourism and has dozens of complexes qith quite similars types of bungalows : basic bungalows or more spacious, beautiful and comfortable ones. All without air conditioning or hot water, or television and other electrical equipment. Which is quite normal since the electricity the solar panels accumulate during the is only powered for a few hours each day. From sunset to 10 or 11 pm. So, do not expect to find restaurants or bars on the beach with loudly music and light balls like on White Sand Beach in Koh Chang Trat. Here it is more quiet and zen. You are here to relax, read, swim, walk on the cemented roads, or trek in the forest especially between Context Beach and the Moken Village, a walk we recommend, take a nap in the hammock in front of your bungalow… You can even spot sea eagles with red plumage rotating in the sky or toucans. It is near Hornbill after Context Beach that you will have the most chances to see them in the trees.

Your resort will probably be your canteen and supplier of bottled water as between the beaches and the “village” there are several kilometers and no motorcycle taxis to take you there . You may be unfaithful one tile or two just to see if the food is tastier and cheaper at the neighbor resort. In short, you will have a relaxing and restful stay with good hours of walk in the forest seing some interesting birds if you love nature or kayaking around the island. It is the ideal destination for those seeking the peace of a little island with few tourists and quiet tourists and want to be cut from the rest of the world for a few days. I’m not saying, you xon’t eventually get bored after a while but still…

Koh Chang 2 ( the return of the revenge) has beaches although when the tide is low, there may be a little vase in the sea on the first meter. The longest beach of the island is Ao Yai, about 3 miles of sand and sea. This is where you will find most bungalows and will watch the sunset from your hammock in the evening. Otherwise it is not exactly the postcard type beach like in Koh Tao as but it’s nice anyway. Especially because there are very few people.

There are no project to transform Koh Chang Ranong into an island for mass tourism or build luxurious resorts. This Koh Chang is modest and intends to stay that way. The only way to access it is the longtail boats that depart three times a day from Ranong (200 THB) and drop you on the beach near your bungalow. A bungalow costs between 250 and 500 baht. All the rest, bring by longtails from Ranong will cost more than on the land but prices are still reasonable. 60 to 80 baht for Thai food, 30 baht for a  big bottle of water for example.

Koh Chang Ranong is one of the few islands of Thailand among a few others like Koh Jum or Koh Wai who have kept their identity and nature despite tourism development. We hope it will stay that way…
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