North Klong Prao Beach, Koh Chang: 2011-12 Update

All you need to know, and more, about the northern end of Klong Prao beach and Chai Chet. To be honest, the delights of Chai Chet are few and far between with not a lot to hold your attention unless you are looking for beer bars, a petrol station or a builder’s merchant. ( Here’s a pictorial guide to the armpit of Koh Chang.) , but there are some large, popular resorts and plenty of small shops & restaurants at the northern end of Klong Prao beach.

When travel reporters from visit Koh Chang the one comment that is always made is that Klong Prao will become the island’s equivalent of Chaweng on Samui or Patong on Phuket. Meaning that as Klong Prao has a long stretch of sand, plenty of beach front real estate still up for grabs and land behind the beach where a small town is beginning to grow; then things will gradually snowball and before you know it they’ll be resorts the length of the beach and the road will be a clutter of restaurants, workers’ housing, karaoke bars, motorbike rental shops and beauty salons.

White Sand Beach is currently the most touristy beach but further development is limited by the lack of usable land – i.e. any development on White Sand Beach is pretty much limited to a roadside strip. Unlike in Klong Prao where there is far more land available, and if the development of the island continues at the rate the government and local developers would like to see then Klong Prao will eventually morph into the main town on the island.

As you travel south from Pearl Beach you go over a rise and head past the Chai Chet stretch of roadside that is rapidly being lined with small beer bars plus a couple of resorts which offer longstay accommodation in addition to daily room rentals. The new garbage disposal plant – along the paved road heading inland , was intended as a big improvement on the old hole in the ground which was where all the island’s garbage went until a couple of years ago. You can still see this if you drive up the road and the gates to the disposal plant are open.  The plant originally had lots of automated machinery – this has all broken and never been fixed. (Some photos of how the island’s garbage is processed.)

Opposite this turning are some new spacious, cheap shop units set over 20 metres back from the road, plenty of parking space the the red dirt quickly turns to mud when the rainy season commences. These initially housed various businesses but most have been made into bars now which are all open from mid morning onwards in order to provide liquid breakfasts to their regular customers. Opposite these bars is the grandly titled, Koh Chang Entertainment Plaza. A motley collection of  an ever decreasing number of beer bars housed in what was built as an indoor market. Most nights you could spray the place with machine gun fire and still not hit a customer. It’s that quiet. But if you’ve ever dreamed of pimping running  a bar in Thailand then you’ll be able to find a bar for rent here.

Moving swiftly on, two roadside resorts, Kerdmanee and Thai Garden Hill have good value rooms. Have a look at Kerdmanee if you plan on staying longterm and want weekly/monthly deals. Thai Garden Hill has small rooms with fridge, AC, cable TV, hot water plus a swimming pool for around 1200 baht/night in high season. From here it’s 5 minutes walk to the north end of Klong Prao beach.

A petrol station and the builders’ merchant round off the list of Chai Chet’s highlights. More cheap and fairly miserable longstay accommodation is available in rooms and bungalows behind the petrol station. You’ll also see a couple of coffeeshops and noodle shop on the forecourt of the  petrol station – so no need to miss your morning coffee or cheap lunch if you stay here.

As you round the sharp left hand turn you enter the northern part of Klong Prao beach. This is the most heavily developed area of the beach. Here you’ll find a range of shops including tour agents – CocoDeeBo – is recommended if you need someone reliable to sort out your holiday or travel plans; a bank, several ATMs, supermarket, opticians, beachwear vendors and numerous small restaurants in the bowels of the two shopping plazas that lie on the inland side of the road.

VJ Plaza, look for the concrete elephants standing guard at the entrance houses the largest supermarket on the island V Mart, plus a branch of Siam Commercial Bank which is open daily until late for currency exchange. Inside the plaza several small restaurants compete for business.  The further you enter into the bowels of the plaza the quieter the restaurants become and the more it resembles a dead zone, with many of these bars and restaurants changing ownership on a regular basis. If you want good cheap Thai food, just grab some somtam, noodles or 30 baht a plate Thai food from the stalls directly under the eves of the supermarket.

The units on the right hand side of the entrance to the plaza burnt down in Koh Chang’s ‘Fire of the Century’ ( so far) in late 2008. However, they were rebuilt and re-opened again a year later.

At the bottom end of the plaza you can’t miss VJ Island View Apartments where a fully furnished AC room can be rented long term for around 4,000 baht in high season and 3,000 baht/month low season for long term rental. ( You might need to haggle a bit to get these prices though.) Rental rates have actually decreased in the past couple of years as more longstay bungalows open up on the island and people have more options as to where to stay. But they are furnished, have cable TV and security and relatively few psychotic expats.  Although every year there are always one or two who jump out of second floor windows after being spurned by their loved one or have a penchant for parading naked around the corridors.

Next door, access to the run down Koh Chang Plaza is pretty much blocked by vehicles belonging to Cowboy, the motorbike and car rental place by the roadside, but if you take a look you’ll find a few tailor’s shops, tour agents and a pretty good Thai restaurant called ‘Yes’ and an Italian place ‘ Abella’. ( Strawberry Moons, a very popular little restaurant used to be located here but closed in June 2011.)

On the right hand side ( beach side)  of the main road in this area, a new shopping plaza is currently being built.  I’d expect this to be complete sometime in late 2011. This is on the site of the old Boutique Resort.  Nearby is Coconut Beach Resort, worth a quick stop purely to gaze a moment at the architectural horror of its design. You get the feeling that the architect has, sadly, tried to accommodate as many of the owner’s whims as possible. Easy on the eye it certainly isn’t, however the interiors of the rooms are nicer than than most resorts in the 2,500 baht/night range. Fortunately they also have some much nicer, new bungalows in the same price range that sit smack on the beach, plus some aging bungalows close to the restaurant and in need of renovation.

On the rocky cape ‘Chai Chet Resort’ has been undergoing upgrades over the past couple of years. A new swimming pool / reception / restaurant area offers spectacular views over the bay and along the length of Klong Prao and Kai Bae beaches as do new seafront bungalows that line the walkway leading to the rocky headland.  You can still find older AC bungalow here for around 1,800 Baht in high season.

Chai Chet Resort has also built a nice little trekking trail that takes you around the rocky headland and over the hill. It’s easy to follow, has some nice sea and panoramic views and is a good way to spend an hour or to or work up an appetite. Walk around the back of the pool/reception area, head towards the cape, keep the hillside bungalows on your right and you’ll see a well marked start to the trail and also a route map.

South of Coconut Beach Resort you come to Paradise Resort, the best in this area with a couple of hundred metres of beachfront and some stunning new pool villas all built in a modern Thai style. If you’re looking for a good combination of privacy, beachfront, views and restaurants/shops within easy reach then this is hard to beat on Koh Chang. The only negative would be that the standard of service isn’t on a par with what you’d get at, say, The Amari Emerald Cove. So don’t expect efficient pampering.

The only other resort in this busy area is Koh Chang Resort, a fading 2 star if ever there was one. This really has seen better days – the late 1980s for example, when it was constructed.  There are plenty of better options to choose from.

Down on the beach the basic Palm Beach and Ley Ley Tong restaurants are both good places for a fruit shake or evening meal on the sand if sterile resort restaurants aren’t your thing.

New shophouses south of Koh Chang Resort house a real mix of businesses including restaurants, laundry, internet cafe, hair salon, mobile phone shop, a vet’s and Koh Chang Latex, that specalises in selling expensive natural rubber mattresses and pillows to Russian tourists.

You’re now approaching Klong Prao Resort, one of the first in the area, that has  older rooms for around 1500 baht/night. But if you want anything that resembles comfort then go for the VIP rooms by the beach. ( Anyone with a credit card is a VIP here) or the new lagoonside bungalows, with a  bright, modern design and well appointed interior for around 3,500 baht/night. The plus point is a long stretch of beach, the downside is that the resort, like an increasing number on the island, is very popular with package tourists – often from Mother Russia and  her former republics, no doubt drawn here by the opportunity to purchase rubber mattresses nearby.

On the main road by the entrance to the resort, yet more new shop houses and a row of shop units has been built. Here you’ll find places to eat cheaply, rent a scooter, to book a dive course, have some business cards printed and buy artwork. Plus there’s a car-wash. In late 2010 a new tourist attraction, a Thai dancing show, which combined a sanitised Thai meal plus extravagant dance show opened for about a week before closing.  It may well open again for 2011-12 High Season and if the prices are sensible then would be a good night out.  From here it is an easy 10 minute walk up the road to the supermarket and plazas at the northern end of the beach. Or hop on a pick up truck taxi and head south to Klong Prao village.

Google Map of the North Klong Prao Beach area

Details and Reviews of hotels and resorts in the Klong Prao Beach area

Next: Discover what awaits you at Southern Klong Prao Beach