INTRODUCTION

Thailand's second largest island and about 8kms off the coast of Trat Province on the Eastern coast of Thailand. Koh Chang is part of the Koh Chang National Park comprising of an archipelago of 52 islands What special about Koh Chang is the white sand coves and lush tropical forest. There are few residents on Oh Chang and there are virtually no good roads and the only form of transport is by shared songtail (converted pick-up). Koh Chang is a divers' paradise. Koh Chang can be reached by bus either from Bangkok or Pattaya. First travel to Trat and from there take a tuk tuk to the ferry pier at Laem Ngop, where the Trat TAT office is located.

EAST TO TRAT ONWARDS TO BAN HAT LEK AND CAMBODIA

The town of Trat is 400 kms east of Bangkok and is the stop off point for Koh Chang rapidly growing in popularity as the new beach destination for diving. But for those looking for a remote escape, explore the coast line beyond Trat towards Ban Hat Lek 95kms away and the boarder with Cambodia. The road to the boarder is well maintained and used more by traders heading for the market at the boarder rather than foreign tourists. Along the Route 319 there are signs for resorts at Laem Sok and Ban Chun Beach, powdery white clear blue water but no one speaks English and food served is more for the local rather than the foreign tastes.

There are several combined Police and Military road checks along the road who are more interested in who is coming from the boarder rather than going to it. In most cases that make a notional glance into the vehicle to check that Cambodians are not entering the country.