August 4
Last week saw the end of the problem of garbage on the island. I know this because there was a newspaper report that stated it. The elimination of piles of unsightly garbage was achieved by the issuance of a municipal ordinance to that effect by the island’s ‘Mayor’. I can see the guy’s point, when you drive along the west coast, it’s pretty easy to see the piles of garbage left by market traders, for example. The rubbish in the photo below had been sitting by the main road for a few days before I took the picture. Looks like no-one was rushing to enforce the ordinance.
The news article also includes such insights as:
The last garbage disposal firm hired by the municipality for 900,000 baht a month was not ready to risk an investment to increase its capacity due to the short-term contract. A new contractor is being paid 600,000 baht a month to collect and dispose of garbage on the island. But it, too, is reluctant to invest in more modern and costly disposal equipment . . .
If you can spot as to why this might be, please contact the Koh Chang Municipal Office in Dan Mai – there’s a job waiting for you.
The Great Cheddar Drought of ’09: Expats on Koh Chang face many hardships. This is just another example of how tough life can be here, in this case for those of us who enjoy a little bowl of freshly cubed Gouda along with a cold beer. Signs like this are popping up all over the island and there are rumours of some people making do with Kraft Processed Cheese Slices – (109 Baht for 10) instead.
The joys of schadenfreude: If you havent already noticed it, here’s a pretty funny 30 second video of a guy getting stuck in a flood on Koh Chang.
Reasons why you shouldn’t let your Thai staff pretend to be foreign visitors and post hotel reviews on your online booking site No. 14: Because you end up with something like this, posted by ‘Joel Blanche’ on the Excelloz.com site in which he/she comes close to having a holiday ruined by the discovery of excess salt in the sea water. This disappointment is tempered though by the exotic Thai cuisine, a threesome in the tub and days spent watching DVDs :-
Bhumiyama Resort in Koh Chang itself is a very nice resort. Spacious room, big swimming pool. I like the food in their restaurant, paticularly their fried rice. I had eaten 2 times a day and I didn’t get bored of it.
The room was nice, had a bathtub inside the room. Spacious enough for 3 of us playing inside. The balcony was nice too. But we didn’t fully use it. Resort had a movie library, we rent many of them and watched in our room.
By the way, the beach was nice too. But we didn’t like the salted sea water, so we didn’t really play in the sea.
Live (adj) on Koh Mak: There’s still, as far as I know, only one webcam with a view on Koh Chang and that’s from CocoDeeBo Tours in Chai Chet. But I just found a cam on Koh Mak that broadcasts live video 24 hours a day from Palm Beach Resort on Ao Kao Beach. Looks pretty windy right now.
Live (vb) on Koh Mak: Below is one of the best views you could have from a house in this area of Thailand – looking north from Koh Mak, to Koh Kham, Koh Wai, Koh Mai See Yai and Koh Chang. The land the photo was taken from is now for sale. Build a two storey house on it and you will get this view to the north north and also a sea view towards Koh Kood to the south. The land is approx 900sqm, Chanote title, and is the only plot with this kind of view for sale on the island. More Details
If you have to be on Koh Chang and need great sea views towards Koh Wai and Koh Mak, then last week I also added a 3.5 Rai hillside plot which overlooks Bangbao Bay and the luxury Tranquility Bay Residence. Photos & Info
Unintentionally Ironic Misspellings: Moving on from the sublime to not ridiculousness, but more like what passes for normal on Koh Chang . . . . You too can live at what I think might really be titled ‘Parodies Village’. If you’re interested, give ‘ Land in Thailand with usage, but not ownership rights, and which is totally impossible to legally lease longterm or own in a foreign name’ a Google first.
Where can i get cheese – that is more important