Korat-Koh Chang: Hellish Journey

[Ratsima]

I started scuba diving again recently and was hoping for a place to dive not too far from my home in Korat. I decided to give Koh Chang a shot. There is a Cherd Chai bus that goes from Korat to the Koh Chang Center Point ferry landing at Laem Ngop.

Huge mistake.

That bus has to be one of the worst inter-provincial buses in Thailand. The journey to Koh Chang from my home took almost nine hours, door to door. The bus was slow, stopped everywhere and was only marginally comfortable.

The return journey was even worse; almost 13 hours, door to door. The bus was so crowded that they made five people sit in the toilet stairwell and had another 20 (I counted) standing in the aisle. Even in this cool weather it was hot and stuffy. There was simply no way to get to the restroom. Because the bus was so overloaded it was incredibly slow.

Aside from driving your own vehicle, there must be a better way to get from Korat to Koh Chang.

[craigt3365]

Wow...bummer about the ride. I can't help you there, but how was the diving?

[Ratsima]

Diving was fun. Not great, but good enough. The depths at the sites close to Koh Chang are in the 15 to 20 meter range. Visibility was variable from very good (20+ meters?) to fair. Some strong currents, but not problematic. Coral in good shape. Lots of sea life. No big stuff, but plenty to keep you busy on an hour long dive.

I'd certainly return if I could find a better way to get there.

[craigt3365]

Great...thanks!

[wintermute]

Interesting you had such a bad experience with Cherdchai they used to be a good bus company that was never overbooked. I guess they really slid downhill in the past few years unless you booked the cheapest tickets. Always ask for VIP buses in Thailand.

[Ratsima]

The Cherdchai service from Korat to Bangkok is excellent. Assigned seats, a snack and several servings of water/cola along the way, wet towels at journey's end. I'm very satisfied with the service on that route.

AFAIK there is no VIP option on the Laem Ngop bound buses.

I don't know about the buses to Trat. I guess you could take a VIP bus to Trat, disembark at the turnoff to Laem Ngop and get a sontaew from there to the ferry.

Another option would be to bus to Bangkok, fly to Trat and get a minibus to the ferry. But, that adds quite a bit of expense to the trip.

Another option is to dive in Phuket. I can get from Korat to Karon Beach in about 7 hours via bus and plane.

[h90]

And what was the problem on the bus ride?