Lonely Beach, Koh Chang

Bangkok to Koh Chang

The island of Koh Chang is a 5-6 hour drive from Bangkok. If that is too much for you, you can also fly from Bangkok to Trat in an hour and take local transportation to the ferry from there. Minibuses run from Khao San Road and the prices were saw were around 300 – 600 baht one-way. We took a regular bus from the Ekkamai Bus Station in Bangkok to Trat and paid 220 baht each. From Trat, we took a songthaew (pickup truck taxi) to the ferry. Ferry tickets were 80 baht each. The iamKohChang website has a great list of timetables and schedules.

A six hour drive sounds like a lot but it was okay. I had my ipod loaded with podcasts and Micheal can sleep anywhere so he slept through most of it.

The going rate for a songthaew from Dan Kao Pier to Lonely Beach is supposed to be 100 baht but after sundown the drivers get a bit cheeky and start to ask for much more. Our driver started by asking for 300 baht each but eventually relented to take us for 150 baht each if the songthaew was full. The roads are quite steep and winding when you get closer to Lonely Beach and I found myself closing my eyes and holding on for dear life as the driver whipped around the sharp turns.

It was fully dark by the time he dropped us off at Lonely Beach and we had not yet booked accommodation. This didn’t matter because there were multiple individuals from the various beach huts waiting for new arrivals. One of them said the magic words of “air conditioning” and “wifi” and after a quick price negotiation, we found ourselves being led to the Seaflower Resort.

After seeing the inside of these newly built bungalows we tried to negotiate for a weeks stay at the same price but it was impossible because he said that prices were going up that week as peak season was starting and they were almost fully booked so we only got two nights at the discounted price. If you are not on a strict budget, I would recommend Seaflower as I think the peak season price was only around 15 euro a night and they are really lovely little bungalows. Our bungalow had a sunbathing roof which is not my thing but the shaded front porch was nice and we were only steps from the water (a rocky part of the beach, not the swimming area).

Today we will have to go in search of new accommodation. I will post more photos after we get settled in to the new place.

It is still low season here on Koh Chang and we often have Lonely Beach almost to ourselves.

Our Garden Bungalow

We moved into a new bungalow with a lovely garden view. There is no air conditioning but with the windows open, there is a nice breeze and it is very comfortable inside. There are tiny frogs living in the water barrel in our bathroom. The wifi works most of the time and when it doesn’t, there is a cafe a short distance away. It costs 300 baht a night in low season.

I’m sad to say that the owner of these bungalows has not been the most pleasant. After staying for one night, we took the owner up on her offer of getting one night free if you pay for 7 nights in advance. We were really happy with the room and thought this was a good deal. Yesterday, I was taking a shower and had just set my shampoo down on the sink, when the entire sink collapsed. The wood was rotten from the constant exposure to water. We called the owner over and she quickly moved us to a new bungalow and then presented us with a bill for the sink! What could we do? If we refused to pay for the sink, we would lose what we had paid for the room and would have to go in search of new accommodation. In the end, we talked the amount down a bit and decided to stay and try to not let the incident ruin our trip. The owner has been very unpleasant after this and refuses to look at us in the face. I read the reviews on Trip Advisor and charging guests for pre-existing damage looks to be a common practice.

The Beach

Greedy landlady aside, we are loving every second of our time here on Koh Chang. Every morning we wake up happy and go for a leisurely breakfast at Stone Free. The early afternoon is spent working online at a small coffee shop on the main street. After that, it’s time for a swim! Micheal bought himself a snorkel set but I’m happy to do nothing but float on my back with my eyes closed. The sea is as warm as bathwater and the water is crystal clear. There is something very cleansing about salt water. All the stress I had been feeling over the sale of the bar and our future has melted away. Things seem easier, our path is more distinct.

Restaurants on Lonely Beach

There is a good variety of cheaper restaurants in the Lonely Beach area. There are several Thai restaurants, a Mexican and of course there are the backpacker staples like banana pancakes and pizza. If you want more variety, or something more high-end, you will need to go back toward White Sand Beach or Kai Bae Beach. We found a great Indian place near Kai Bae.

Exploring Koh Chang

Taking a songthaew taxi from Lonely Beach to one of the other beaches was expensive. Most people we saw chose to rent a scooter. The roads are often steep and have sharp turns. I would not recommend it for inexperienced riders. That said, we tried it anyway rather than pay for a taxi anytime we wanted to go somewhere.

The scooter rental place gave Micheal a quick 10 minute lesson and then we were off, with me on the back. I’m sure that my cursing and gasping did not help Micheal’s concentration but we survived the experience. We saw more than one person wipe out along the road. Fortunately, the injuries seemed to be minor cuts and scrapes but be very careful around the sharp turns.

Koh Chang means Elephant Island and there is elephant trekking on the island, which is something that I choose not to support. We saw this sweet baby penned along the side of the road. There are also non-elephant jungle treks available but I am still getting used to the heat and prefer to spend my time on the beach. We did explore some of the other beaches but none of them are prettier than Lonely Beach. They do have larger hotel resorts and better restaurants but I’m happy where we are.

After sunset, we decided to go for dinner in the Bang Bao Fishing Village. Somehow we got very lost and missed the turn to the pier. We rode around in the dark, trying to avoid running over scorpions the size of your hand before deciding to head back to Lonely Beach. We will have to try again during the day.

I think that I could stay here happily for several months but we have a friend to meet in Cambodia and will be leaving for Sihanoukville in a few days. But I know that we will be back one day.