I am planning to move to Koh Chang

any Member of this Forum is living on Koh Chang ot in Trat and wants to exchange his Experiences and Knowledge wit me?

would be much appreciated

Cheers

Closest Tesco, BigC, Robinsons, Tops, Chanthaburi

Closest Villa, Pattaya or Bangkok

Closest Home Pro and Global, Rayong

Trat has a Bangkok Hospital though.

Closest Tesco, BigC, Robinsons, Tops, Chanthaburi

Closest Villa, Pattaya or Bangkok

Closest Home Pro and Global, Rayong

Trat has a Bangkok Hospital though.

Actually closest Tesco is Trat with quite well substantiated rumours that a tesco express will be on the island soon

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The Good

Nice place to live. Thankfully, none of the large chains on the island at the moment other than 7-11, although as mentioned Tesco Express are rumored to be locating in Klong Son.

Nice beaches, plenty of good places to eat; Lonely Beach, Bang Bao, Whitesands and Kae Bae all have lots of restaurants. There's Indian, Mexican, Brazilian, Italian, Japanese, German food places to list a few. The obligatory Irish pub in Whitesands, and a few late night party places in Whitesands and Lonely Beach. There are also some really peacful places to sit back and relax - and a few interesting places to explore of the beaten track - including a waterfalls, jungle treks and going out on a boat to some of the nearby islands.

V-Mart Supermarket in Chai Chet, Anna in Whitesands and Sing Tong in Klong Prao will cover most western food requirements for your food shopping.

Check out iamkohchang website and also The Koh Chang Guide for good information on what's on the island.

Not that many good rental houses available, but there are a few and will likely be more coming into the low season.

The Bad

The Ferry

The cost of medical treatment if you are not on a Work Permit. Tourists seriously get screwed over at the International Clinic.

Taxis on the island - where do I start

Flights - good in high season for frequency, crap in low season for frequency. Price in high season also ridiculous - get a Trat Privilege Card with BKK airways to get a discount.

The roads on Koh Chang are dangerous, particualry when wet - motorbikes are lethal.

The Ugly

The explosion of Russian tourists wearing budgie smugglers in public areas.

Emmmmm...Budgie Smuggleers with a patatao or a sock in it.

Compared to Phuket or Pattaya, the is absolutely no comparison, in favor the KC.

emm, When did Tesco open in Trat?

Emmmmm...Budgie Smuggleers with a patatao or a sock in it.

Compared to Phuket or Pattaya, the is absolutely no comparison, in favor the KC.

emm, When did Tesco open in Trat?

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About 6 months ago, maybe a bit more. Its by the traffic lights close to Bangkok Hospital. Exciting times for Trat!!!

People always say the roads on KC are bad but to be honest I have never had a problem renting a bike and driving and I am far from a super-duper motorcyclist. I just get the click and start ones and don't drive like a nutter and yes they're twisty turny but never had a problem. Nice little drive. Does it link up in a loop yet?

All that resistence to fast food on White Sand and what do they open ... bleedin' Chester Chicken of all things

Well there you have it, you dont ride like a nutter. Be careful in the wet though. I think you would have to take extra care riding a bike up or down that hill, if you suddenly come across a situation and have to brake it could be hairy.

I dont know what it's like to live there but at the end of the day that ferry would be the killer. In the low season the place is pretty sleepy.

Well if you are coming for that Tesco express its gonna be in Klong prao, just so you are not looking for it in the local Russian village aka Klongson!

But my guess is you are not moving to the island because its so full of convenient stores and big chains...and if you are, well you'll be disappointed

and yes the roads are dead traps in the making when it rains, its actually ok when it has been raining for some time, worst case is when the roads are just getting wet, its like iceskating!

Euh correction Tesco Lotus express will be in Coconut plaza Chaichet, they've officially started building.

App. they're building 4 Tesco Lotus express shops! White sand-Chaichet-Klong Prao-Kai Bae.....bound to be one near you

When are they done? Where's the White Sand one going to be?

When are they done? Where's the White Sand one going to be?

No clue when done, they are building at all four at once, the one in whitesand is gonna be close to the Indian restaurant [sorry, not in white sand often!] on the left hand side. There's a sign up saying they're building a Tesco.

It starts with the 7/11s ... then the fast food ... now this

The one in Chaichet is finished now.

Closest Tesco, BigC, Robinsons, Tops, Chanthaburi

Closest Villa, Pattaya or Bangkok

Closest Home Pro and Global, Rayong

Trat has a Bangkok Hospital though.

Actually closest Tesco is Trat with quite well substantiated rumours that a tesco express will be on the island soon

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Home pro is also in Chanthaburi

All four Tesco Lotus express shops are done, no clue why four, since the all sell the same [just about nothing and way overpriced...] and all less then a mile away from each other...

And another new seven eleven in Chai Chet, all selling the same rubbish. Would have though that Tescomwould have been a bit creative in what they are selling, as they will miss out in getting the holidyay maker market.

Well my investigation into the Tesco Lotus express shops taught me that they sell a nice variety on veggies and fruit and that that is waaay cheaper then the local vegetable stalls/shops, due to the tesco selling by the government price. Sooo thats ok, for the rest they sell holiday maker orientated stuff and a large range of pet stuff [litter box sand?!] and a nice isle of baby products...dont buy fabric softener 52 baht is the cheapest one, now that can be bought for half that price or less in just about any local mini mart.

CP Group sold its shares in Tesco Lotus in 2003,

i just got back and tesco lotus are all over as are 7/11,open all night too.its gearing up for some up-market developement soon so go now or you'll miss it. there is a hospital on the island,the trick is to be insured and stay overnight or get signed for an overnight then it dont cost(a few baht for the doc)

What's the internet connection like for those living there? Is it pretty quick or on/off and unreliable?

What's the internet connection like for those living there? Is it pretty quick or on/off and unreliable?

Unstable and unreliable on Koh Chang

I am in Koh Chang for 3 months now, in Bang Bao.

Some information about the Island for the ones who are planing to move there.

I was staying in Pattaya for 3 years, when I came here I really enjoyed and now I am staying probably 1 year.

Internet, Electric

If you are doing some computing for work, I suggest to use 3G as a backup. the 3G in Koh Chang is damn speed (12MB/12MB) yes you read well, 12MB in upload!!! And 3G is working even without electric, so your tablet of mobile phone can work in any circumstances. Koh Chang is well deserved everywhere, and there is fiberoptics coming in many places!

Internet ADSL is doing about 2MB/512kb in average, so forget it if you want to download movies. For normal use, Skype, email, Facebook, it is enough.

Electric is stable but can be subject to some spikes or short cuts... it is a good advice to have an UPS to protect your electronic and not loose your job.

We had a long shut down when a tree fall on an electric line one month ago. It was a very big thunderstorm. They restored the AC in about 8 hours, but it was quite a big job, as they had to cut the tree, and re-install the broken cables.

Food

There are plenty of excellent restaurant everywhere. I found better food than in Pattaya and less expensive. You can find a wide choice of farang food, german, russian, english breakfast etc... A lot of chief are coming from BK restaurant to establish themselves. Some are working in big 5* hotel and have their own restaurant so you can enjoy a 400 bath meal at 50 bath if you know the place!

Girls

There are some bars but it is far from what you can get in Pattaya. Most girls are nice, middle aged locals or from Cambodia. Bars are nice and relaxed, girls are not pushy. But the choice is not very large.

The Nature

The place have everything one needs (bars, disco, beach, restaurants...) but the nature is the most incredible part. Yes there are mosquitoes and ants, but you are basically staying in the middle of the jungle. Fruits are everywhere you look at. On the opposite side of the island have huge fruit trees exploitation that are making mangusteen, mangos, bananas, ananas you name it. They do not use too much chemical and the vegetable / fruits from the Islands are absolutely delicious. There is also a lot of local fishing, and a huge shrimp farm close to long beach. Shrimp on the Island costs the same chicken of porc, that's the reason why.

The Island has 3 mountains (2 have 650m and 1 is 750 meter high, creating a very special climate. You can often see raining and lightning on the mountains while you are swimming in the sunshine.

Rain is very torrential and can last a day without interruption. The island stop working until the rain stops....but that's also why the nature is so green.

Koh Chang is the island of Lost if you want the feeling.

Driving

Driving in Koh Chang is very dangerous. I do Bang Bao -> Lonely Beach 6 time / day in average because of my work, rain or night, and I never got any problem.

However I have seen many accidents, almost daily. Usually they are small accidents with just some scratches, but it can be more serious in case of collision.

The main reason of it are

- the crazy taxi drivers, that I suspect drunk sometime. They just cut the road and I usually try to be very cautious as soon as I see one. If one is driving behind me at high speed I will let him pass and not try to catch with his speed.

- the rain. If it is raining too much, some roads are quite slippy. Some people with bad maintained scooters have problems and can fall.

I have a well maintained PCX, I change the tires regularly and I never ever had a little loss of control.

So if you plan to stay long time in Koh Chang, do not be cheap with the scooter, it might save you days in hospital and months of recovery.

If you never used a scooter, or you are scared, simply avoid it. Some road slope are very dangerous and the bigger risk is to have fear and panic.

Conclusion

Many people will tell you not to come. That there are no long term accommodation. It is wrong. People don't want the little gem to be spoiled by farang tourists and protect it.

In fact it is easy on chai Chet for example to find accommodation for 8000 bath/ month all included (internet+electric) in small concrete houses. But you have to spend sometime to search by yourself in the small roads. You will find nothing on Internet.

Im about to move to Trat to teach at one of the public schools there. Just looking for advice on general Trat city stuff (not so much the islands since that gets enough coverage). Thinking about apartments, places to hang out, nice things to look out for, standard amenities and conveniences, and stuff i likely dont know to even ask about. Amyone live there, or just moved from there that has the skinny on it? Would love to hear about it. Gonna be there around the start of the second week in May i think.

Bump for the trat fans! (and because im catching the megabus there tomorrow). Ill be the idiot with the massive nitro wheelie snowboard bag Obviously ready for my winter snowboarding on the great mountains of ko kut.