Koh Chang/chang Island

[Beardog]

I spent 4 days with my honey in Koh Kood. There is basicaly no infrastructure to speak of there. No Atms. Talk of a future airport up to 10 years away (according to the locals). They got a LOOOONG way to go before billing this as a top resort destination. I don't see it happening for aquite a long while.If your into deadness & solitude yes- But lets face it how many people go on a vacation that has scant more than solitude to enjoy. After 3 days I was ready to go back to Koh Chang & party again. Although Koh kood is Very Beautiful. The way it is now if you need more cash you have to pay 600-800 baht each way to get back to Koh Chang to get some more Baht- Similar to Cambodia's wonderful ATM system.(non Existant if you use a debit card & not a real mastercard or Visa- not the electronic emblem. At least if you brought a real credit card(not from Thailand) You can get cash in Cambodia. Koh Kood forget about it,

Unless within the last year they found an individual to put in an atm machine somewhere on the remote Island!

[kedawi]

I spent 4 days with my honey in Koh Kood. There is basicaly no infrastructure to speak of there. No Atms. Talk of a future airport up to 10 years away (according to the locals). They got a LOOOONG way to go before billing this as a top resort destination. I don't see it happening for aquite a long while.If your into deadness & solitude yes- But lets face it how many people go on a vacation that has scant more than solitude to enjoy. After 3 days I was ready to go back to Koh Chang & party again. Although Koh kood is Very Beautiful. The way it is now if you need more cash you have to pay 600-800 baht each way to get back to Koh Chang to get some more Baht- Similar to Cambodia's wonderful ATM system.(non Existant if you use a debit card & not a real mastercard or Visa- not the electronic emblem. At least if you brought a real credit card(not from Thailand) You can get cash in Cambodia. Koh Kood forget about it,

Unless within the last year they found an individual to put in an atm machine somewhere on the remote Island!

Youare in for a surprise in the very near future....

The first airstrip may be only months away!

The flat topography makes it ideal for quick installation of infrastructure - but when did infrastructure ever bother developers in Thailand????

[sweenytodd]

I spent 4 days with my honey in Koh Kood. There is basicaly no infrastructure to speak of there. No Atms. Talk of a future airport up to 10 years away (according to the locals). They got a LOOOONG way to go before billing this as a top resort destination. I don't see it happening for aquite a long while.If your into deadness & solitude yes- But lets face it how many people go on a vacation that has scant more than solitude to enjoy. After 3 days I was ready to go back to Koh Chang & party again. Although Koh kood is Very Beautiful. The way it is now if you need more cash you have to pay 600-800 baht each way to get back to Koh Chang to get some more Baht- Similar to Cambodia's wonderful ATM system.(non Existant if you use a debit card & not a real mastercard or Visa- not the electronic emblem. At least if you brought a real credit card(not from Thailand) You can get cash in Cambodia. Koh Kood forget about it,

Unless within the last year they found an individual to put in an atm machine somewhere on the remote Island!

i was on ko kood about 4 or 5 years ago and there is a road and a bridge(s) (we had to duck to get under a concrete bridge as we arrived) amazing place, swam at the big waterfall and had amazing thai food at a restaurant in a lagoon. no english spoken back then, i won`t be back if they put an airport on it as i prefered the remotness.

[kedawi]

There are big BIG plans for Koh Kood.....juyst look at the place...

4th biggest island in Thailand

Nice and flat

Plenty of interior for services - there is FAR MORE SPACE for development on Koh Kood than Koh Chang

AND

#

SPACE FOR AN AIRPORT!

Koh Chang will dwindle into insignificance compared to Koh Kood.

[Beardog]

I spent 4 days with my honey in Koh Kood. There is basicaly no infrastructure to speak of there. No Atms. Talk of a future airport up to 10 years away (according to the locals). They got a LOOOONG way to go before billing this as a top resort destination. I don't see it happening for aquite a long while.If your into deadness & solitude yes- But lets face it how many people go on a vacation that has scant more than solitude to enjoy. After 3 days I was ready to go back to Koh Chang & party again. Although Koh kood is Very Beautiful. The way it is now if you need more cash you have to pay 600-800 baht each way to get back to Koh Chang to get some more Baht- Similar to Cambodia's wonderful ATM system.(non Existant if you use a debit card & not a real mastercard or Visa- not the electronic emblem. At least if you brought a real credit card(not from Thailand) You can get cash in Cambodia. Koh Kood forget about it,

Unless within the last year they found an individual to put in an atm machine somewhere on the remote Island!

Youare in for a surprise in the very near future....

The first airstrip may be only months away!

The flat topography makes it ideal for quick installation of infrastructure - but when did infrastructure ever bother developers in Thailand????

I think I will wait till 2018 or so when there is some liveliness on the island. Or at least till the roads are paved somewhere to the level of Koh Chang. It is an awesome Island though well worth a couple day visit especially if you want to get out of the hustle & bustle of Koh Chang or Pattaya. I think maybe I am too young to enjoy the solitude. Bang Sare is removed enough for me!

And your 100% correct on Thailand ever being bothered by infrastructure, but they do really need 1 ATM machine on the Island somewhere.

[kedawi]

2018? - It has taken KC less than 5 years to occupy virtually all the available flat land on the isle. It is now going into secondary and tertiary phases on many properties...and they are encroaching on protected" land.

Do you really think it will take 10 years to do that on Koh Kood, which is FAR easier to build on and develop?

[Beardog]

2018? - It has taken KC less than 5 years to occupy virtually all the available flat land on the isle. It is now going into secondary and tertiary phases on many properties...and they are encroaching on protected" land.

Do you really think it will take 10 years to do that on Koh Kood, which is FAR easier to build on and develo

Don't have a clue on their timetable but 10 years from now maybe i would enjoy the solitude of Koh Kood. It was just to dead for me. Zero nitelife no music Everyone sleeping by 8pm -9 pm.

Koh Change I went to sleep at 1 or 2 am & had a lot of fun talking & partying with other people. I think according to the locals we were talking with it will take a long time for them to actually get it off the ground as most people that go to Koh Chang are there for the party not the solitude. The locals indicated in the last 20 years not much changed. Siam huts owns most of the resort(on the water) part of the island along with 2 other companies. Nothing has changed in ownership for many years. Since there was not much to do there & you can cycle around the island in 30 minutes ,we spent the majority of our time eating the awesome fruit & eating coconuts- while my girl got the skinny on the Island. We also looked into purchasing some land. Thats when we found out real estate near the beach has not changed hands. and the land we found available was hot & sweltery rubber tree property at a bloated Pattaya style price & away from the beach.

one thing for sure is they will definitely have to develop the roads before tourism will flourish there as many expats or even backpackers will want to get beat to death going to their accommodations on the beach. It took Hana on Maui in Hawaii close to 20 years to finally develop the roads to Hana & I don't see Thailand moving any quicker to develop the backroads.

From what Alisa was telling me the locals we talked with were saying, there isn't much help from the government to jump start the island.so it would just be some or many investors taking a big chance they can turn a remote area into a thriving paradise. And if they do the charm of a place where those who do enjoy the solitude will be lost. Koh Chang would still be hard to compete with at any rate. Most people that go to Koh Chang seem to enjoy the night life & the partying.

That and from what i understand is the What Chinote if you buy anything. As far as we could tell maybe someday the government will issue a Chinote. The three properties we looked at had none & the owners could not say we ever would be able to get a proper title to the property. For the Island to flourish I think they will have to overcome this main obstacle.

Not to many people would be to interested on a handshake Chinote deal. It is a very nice island though & worth a look see at least once within your journeys to Koh Chang if you go every year. Koh Samet road towards the back of the island is very tame compared to the rut ridden roads to get to your destination.

[kedawi]

"The locals indicated in the last 20 years not much changed" - one thing is certain; they weren't locals there 20 years ago!

Sorry but there's hardly I thing you've p[osted I can agree with.....you seem to have missed thpoint about how debelopment in Thailnad works altogether.

“The locals indicated in the last 20 years not much changed. Siam huts owns most of the resort(on the water) part of the island along with 2 other companies. Nothing has changed in ownership for many years.”

Yes but now it Has changed – the govt is changing its policy...the beach fronts etc may not be “owned” by the people you are talking to….and the Navy has a stake in this.

Before Cambodia was seen as a potential threat but this is now regarded as unrealistic.

The land on KC was “owned” by locals but it took about 12 months to prise any good real estate out of their hands.

“Since there was not much to do there & you can cycle around the island in 30 minutes [You must have one hel_l of a bike! –it’s over 20 km long], we spent the majority of our time eating the awesome fruit & eating coconuts- while my girl got the skinny on the Island. We also looked into purchasing some land. That’s when we found out real estate near the beach has not changed hands. and the land we found available was hot & sweltery rubber tree property at a bloated Pattaya style price & away from the beach.”

...and why do you think this was so? Because they know what is about to happen and others actually CAN”T sell the land they occupy because they don’t have concrete ownership or deeds....the real estate on Koh Kood could prove much more valuable than on KC.

One thing for sure is they will definitely have to develop the roads before tourism will flourish there as many expats or even backpackers will want to get beat to death going to their accommodations on the beach. It took Hana on Maui in Hawaii close to 20 years to finally develop the roads to Hana & I don't see Thailand moving any quicker to develop the backroads. “

RUBBISH!!! - Don’t underestimate the developers – the roads on KC are poor because of the topography – no such problems on Koh Kood.

“From what Alisa was telling me the locals we talked with were saying, there isn't much help from the government to jump start the island.”

They won’t get a thing – this is Thailand – the ownership will quickly pass into the hands of “big business” and their political allies.

“So it would just be some or many investors taking a big chance they can turn a remote area into a thriving paradise. And if they do the charm of a place where those who do enjoy the solitude will be lost. “

The penny is beginning to drop!!

“Koh Chang would still be hard to compete with at any rate. Most people that go to Koh Chang seem to enjoy the night life & the partying. – KH can out-strip that easily by nature of its topography....

Demographics change – the people on KC now have been joined 10 times over by others.....KC used to be like Koh Kood – 10 years ago!

“That and from what I understand is the What Chinote if you buy anything. As far as we could tell maybe someday the government will issue a Chinote. The three properties we looked at had none & the owners could not say we ever would be able to get a proper title to the property.”

EXACTLY!!!!!!! And who do you think is at this very moment getting hold of the land??

“For the Island to flourish I think they will have to overcome this main obstacle.

Not too many people would be too interested on a handshake Chinote deal. It is a very nice island though & worth a look see at least once within your journeys to Koh Chang if you go every year. Koh Samet road towards the back of the island is very tame compared to the rut ridden roads to get to your destination.”

I really think you are being very naive about the island and don’t seem to understand what happens to these places.....it’s not like the states or Europe where landownership is pretty well established....you should see the property maps!!!

...and when you say flourish....if by that you mean cover every square meter with concrete....well give it five years and it will be pretty much established.

Take what the Americans did to Hawaii – and they are meant to be a civilised and law abiding country.

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[kedawi]

Let me just add this - something your "Locals" failed to mention......

.....[The Nation: 25.4.06] – THAILAND'S Treasury Department plans to develop Koh Kood, which is part of the Koh Chang Archipelago in Trat province, into a haven for well-heeled tourists. Initial studies have found that the island has the potential to become an attractive up-market destination, according to the department's director general, Wisudhi Srisuphan.

The department owns 90 per cent of Koh Kood, which has an area of 10,500 hectares. About 74 per cent of the island is covered with forest and a population of some 1,800 makes a living from farming and fishing.

note also the island is forested - this will be another excuse to chop down a few valuable trees.

Edited September 4, 2008 by kedawi

[Razzler1973]

"I live in Dubai, Arabs seem to like Pattaya more than ideallic resorts, I find. Simple folk, give them a whore and some shops and they're happy !! "

your view - not mine but.......surely then that does NOT bode well for any future development on Koh Kood?

Depends how they market it to them, I guess, the more 'up markert' they say it is the more likely they are to be interested, make it nice and shiny, plenty of garrish gold stuff and it's a winner

[Razzler1973]

Simple folk, give them a whore and some shops and they're happy !!

So why don't they stay in Dubai ?

Change of scenary

Residents may well be wishing that soon, it'll be like Grace Hotel island !!

[Beardog]

Let me just add this - something your "Locals" failed to mention......

.....[The Nation: 25.4.06] – THAILAND'S Treasury Department plans to develop Koh Kood, which is part of the Koh Chang Archipelago in Trat province, into a haven for well-heeled tourists. Initial studies have found that the island has the potential to become an attractive up-market destination, according to the department's director general, Wisudhi Srisuphan.

The department owns 90 per cent of Koh Kood, which has an area of 10,500 hectares. About 74 per cent of the island is covered with forest and a population of some 1,800 makes a living from farming and fishing.

note also the island is forested - this will be another excuse to chop down a few valuable trees.

The locals did mention that & is most likely the stumbling block to obtaining a Chinote on land.

you go to Koh Kood & I will Party in Koh Chang.

Unless you are one hel_l of a salesman I think your point may be mute. It is still worth a small visit though.

And Hawaii is a lot better off than it was in the past. I lived there for 11 years & heard no complaints of an upgraded standard of living. The only people whining were the elders as the native Americans did lose some of their heritage replaced by wealth. I heard the story of the Sheik that was to purchase land to start a super destination in 2003 - still never happened. Kinda like the black hole theory or the pole shift theory. Could happen but I think I would rather go to a casino & bet the farm- at least within a lifetime you might make money or break even- True you can lose to. but I think there would be better investments. Issan has more to offer expats.

Bottom line is if it tickles your fancy go their I just don't think it is all that.

Edited September 4, 2008 by Beardog