Salakphet Bay, Koh Chang: 2011-12 Update

Salakphet Bay encompasses all of south east Koh Chang. Both the east and western banks of the bay have very different highlights. If you’re already been to Salakkok then it’s easiest to continue down the road on the eastern side of the bay before heading back the way you came in order to get over to the western shore and Salakphet and Rong Thian villages.

This road runs from Salakkok through the usual tropical countryside for another 3-4km, ending at the hamlet of Ban Jek Bae, which itself is home to a few small resorts all squarely aimed at Thai package tourists travelling on 3 day 2 night tours which will include a snorkelling trip, an hour canoeing in the bay and a disproportionate amount of time spent eating large amounts of seafood.

Just before this road comes to an end there’s a small, unofficial signpost simply saying ‘Long Beach’ and another in day-glo colours for ‘Treehouse’ pointing up what appears to be a completed, paved road. Bear in mind that the road is really only half finished, the final 3km being unpaved dirt track, drive-able only by pick up truck of motorbike. If you are in a small rental car, don’t bother continuing after the paved road ends unless your insurance specifically covers being an idiot..

Once you get on the road the 7 kilometre long rollercoaster ride begins as its path hugs the sides of a hill above the shoreline. With the sun shining and a clear view out to sea and back to the mainland of Koh Chang it’s a great trip for anyone who appreciates spectacular scenery.  The most scenic few kimometres on the island.

The best views are at a viewpoint about 50 metres before the concrete road ends, you can park the car roadside and look along the shoreline and across Salakphet Bay to the mountainous inland of Koh Chang. Nearby a small concrete staircase has been built to take people to the top of the hill where there’s another viewpoint. This should provide great views out to the islands to the south. However, the builders neglected to cut any of the foliage or trees making it impossible to see anything at all from this vantage point which has been neglected since it was built.

There is another viewpoint a kilometre or so prior to this where the National Park have a small ranger station.  Here you can buy gasoline for your motorbike and get a cold beer or soft drink.  There are a couple of very rickety shelters to sit in which have great views as they teeter over the side of the cliff.

On the way here, you’ll have noticed how the road is rapidly deteriorating with landslides a subsidence rendering certain sections rather narrow. You may also have noticed the concrete drainage ditch which lies alongside the road has been inlaid with small stones. This was all done by hand and makes you wonder about whether this work should have taken priority over the completion of the road itself. (I remember driving along here when construction was still underway, around 2003, and seeing dozens of workers sitting by the roadside pressing stones into wet concrete in order to beautify the ineffectual drainage ditch.)

Needless to say, at present there’s nowhere to stop and eat, no toilets etc unless you call in at the Treehouse another 1.5km from the end of the paved section of road. The Treehouse has a large number of very basic huts here in a hideaway for the banana pancake eating masses. If they are too basic, on the hillside above, Long Beach Bungalows, have some nicer bungalows and a restaurant about 100m walk from the sea. Adjacent, an ugly concrete hotel block is being built.  It will be interesting to see who will actually stay here.  During high season  a pick up truck taxi leaves Lonely Beach at around 10am daily and takes people around to Long Beach. This beach,  ‘Long Beach’ ,  is a 400 metre long crescent of palm fringed sand. A stunning peaceful location with untouched  ( apart from the one new hotel block ) jungle clad hillside as  a backdrop. You can imagine this beach being home to an exclusive luxury resort in the future.

The road ends a few hundred metres south of Long Beach. Just before you reach the end you come to at a 40 metre long strip of beach known as ‘Had Yuthanavy’. The sole reason for building the road was to get visitors to visit this spot as offshore is the location of the wreck of a Thai naval ship which sank during the defeat by the French Navy in 1941. ‘The Battle of Koh Chang’ is a textbook example of how to plan and execute a naval attack. Unfortunately, for the Thai forces, it was the French that attacked, having sailed down from Vietnam and ambushed the Thai navy, and the whole battle was over in a couple of hours before breakfast. The end result was that the cream of the Thai navy was wiped out in one morning. The Thonburi, which sank just off Hat Yuthanavy was originally put out of action some distance away but finally sank here after an attempt to tow it back to the mainland failed.  You might see it listed as a wreck dive but in reality it is rarely dived as the visibility is so poor and the wreck itself has now virtually disintegrated.

At the far southernmost tip of Koh Chang Sea Breeze restaurant does a nice line in basic Thai food, fresh from the sea seafood and fruit shakes. Sea Breeze is owned by a Thai / Vietnamese couple. She came here as a refugee. In the late 1980s many Vietnamese boat people tried to make it to Thailand. The Thai government didn’t like this idea and so carte blanche was given to local fisherman to do whatever they liked in order to prevent the boats making it to the mainland. This resulted in refugee boats being rammed and sunk or refugees being dumped on rocky outcrops with no food or water. ( Such as the islands just off Salakkok Bay ) The UN knew what was going on but observers weren’t permitted to enter the area for a couple of weeks after the first reports of bodies being washed ashore were made public. This is the sort of local history you wont get any locals talking about but it’d be fascinating to know what really went on in this area in 1987. As, for example, the UN inspectors found over a hundred women and children on a small rocky island not too far away, there was no sign of any of the men who were on the boats with them before they were sunk.  OK, the lesson on the history that the locals would rather forget is over now.

The small island off the southern tip, easily visible from Sea Breeze, is Koh Ngam, it also has one  resort , Analay Resort, which can be booked online.  But the easier way to visit is to rent a canoe from Sea Breeze and paddle across the strait. The sheltered, southern facing bay of Koh Ngam really is a thing of beauty, snorkelling in addition to lazing on the perfect little white sand beach is possible here.

If you somehow managed to get here for very early morning this strait between Koh Chang and Koh Ngam is the only place around Koh Chang where dolphins are sometimes sighted.

It’s now time to head back the way you came and rejoining the main road before heading around to the west coast of the bay.

As with Bangbao, Salakphet is a fishing village. Unlike Bangbao every trace of local life hasn’t been destroyed and replaced with dive shops, seafood restaurants and souvenir stalls. Sure there are a couple of seafood places and small homestays but that plus a small yacht marina, that’s pretty much the extent of commercialisation round these parts. The marina, called ‘Koh Chang Marina’ has been the base of Sunsail yacht charter since October 2007.

Salakphet itself is both the name for this area of the island and of one single village. The land at the head of the bay is all mangroves. From Salakphet village you can rent kayaks to explore this area. By road you only see half the village, most of the life is lining the canals in the mangroves. The village of Salakphet was until 20 years ago, a thriving fishing port, it was Koh Chang’s commercial centre but times change and it is now a rather sleepy fishing village. However, you’ll still some large wooden fishing trawlers moored up at piers in Rong Thian village, nearer the mouth of the bay, and smaller boats tied up outside locals houses.

To get to the main area of the village, ignore the well signposted right turn towards Salakphet Seafood and continue straight. Follow the road past the temple and continue slowly along the single track concrete road. You’ll eventually reach a small bridge that can only be crossed by foot or motorbike, park you car here and have a wander around on foot.

To get back on the main road you can either head back past the temple and then follow the turn off for Salakphet Seafood or take the short cut – the narrow paved road near a telecoms tower.

An interesting detour on the way through the village is the mangrove walkway. As you pass the temple, you’ll notice a paved road leading off to the left. Follow this, head over the wooden bridge and follow the paved toad to the end, then follow the dirt track – if you follow the concrete electric poles you wont get lost. The track ends at the start of the walkway.

Having passed through Salakphet village, you’re now on the road to the village of Baan Rong Thian on the west coast of the bay. The road meanders along for a few km, passes the start of the still incomplete road to Bangbao, and terminates in the car park of a restaurant called Salakphet Seafood. Along the way you’ll see signs for a few small resorts and homestays, it’s worth following a couple of the narrow concrete roads that lead off the main road to the left as these will take you to small fishing hamlets which are worth 10 minutes of your time to check out.

Also take a note of the garbage lying by the side of the road. You probably won’t see any. Now compare this to the west coast where you are bound to have seen and probably smelt piles of garbage and un-emptied bins by the roadside near your hotel. Why the difference? Simple, the locals here keep their village clean whereas on the west coast most of the Thais aren’t locals and so there isn’t the sense of communal responsibility.

On the way down to Salakphet you’ll see signs for a couple of waterfalls – ‘Klong Neung’ and ‘Khiriphet’. Both have lovely narrow paved roads leading up to the entrance to the falls, the kind of small lanes that are really scenic. They are only a couple of kilometers in length but pass some locals’ houses, through fruit and coconut fields and end abruptly at the start of paths into the jungle.

Klong Neung is  worth the effort, but it’s a real hassle to get to. So very few people bother. There’s no obvious path, and you will have to walk along the river bed and scramble up rocks to get there.  It is Koh Chang’s tallest waterfall – approx 120 metres high.  This cascades into a narrow gulley where you can swim.  Very beautiful and eerily quiet. Although the pool is nowhere as big as that at, say Klong Plu or Kai Bae waterfalls on the west coast.  if you fancy an adventure then here are photos and a quick guide on getting to Koh Chang’s tallest waterfall.

Khiriphet is a very little walk of a similar length but is much easier, the path ends at an easy to reach fall where you’ll see a couple of plunge pools – big enough to cool off in but not really for swimming. It’s possible to climb to higher levels but again the path isn’t easy to clamber up. if you’re in the area then this fall is a good detour. Note that entrance to both these falls is free – there are no National Park staff stationed here, although you will notice the remnants of old offices and toilet block.

Leave your ride in Salakphet Seafood car park and then walk out onto the small pier at the restaurant where you’ll see dozens of keep nets with all size and variety of fish and be treated to 180 degree panoramic views, from the mountains inland, across the bay and out to the islands to the south – Koh Laoya and Koh Wai are easily visible.

There’s a footpath from the car park that leads behind the fisherman’s houses that line the bay for another kilometre further down the shore. If you are into sailing, take this path and wander down to Island View pier where you will find Deiter, the German owner, and yachts belonging to Gulf Charters and private owners. Rooms on the pier  or in apartments overlooking the bay, are also available.

The islands in the bay can easily be visited by kayak, rent one at Island View or one of the seafood restaurants in the area.  Koh Sai Khao, the southernmost of the three islands in the bay, is home to a rundown resort that is now deserted apart from a few staff. Interesting to wander around the crumbling ‘ghost resort’.  There’s also a  very nice little white sand beach  – the photo above was taken at this island.

If you have already decided, before you arrive on Koh Chang, that you want to stay in beautiful, downtown Salakphet, then it is possible to take a songtaew direct to Salakphet from the centre of Trat town on the mainland. A small blue pick-up truck taxi heads to Salakphet thrice daily. Catch it at 10.30am, 12pm or 3pm from Trat temple, which itself is just behind Trat department store – the only department store in town and also home to the restaurant which offers the finest western cuisine in Trat . . . . . KFC. At the department store you can kill time by joining the locals in amusing yourself by riding Trat’s only escalator which whisks department store guests up from the ground to first floor in a matter of seconds. Note there’s only one ‘Up’ escalator,  you’ll have to walk down the 20 or so steps to the ground floor.  ‘Down’ escalators are an extravagance rumoured to be found only in far off Bangkok where legend has it the streets are paved with gold.

Google Map of the Salakphet area

Details and Reviews of hotels and resorts in the  East Coast area

Finally: A quick look at Koh Mak