There are now two crocodile shows on Koh Chang.
The first was set up in December, a truly awful affair with crocs kept in a dingy, ill lit, concrete shed. Think of an abattoir with a lino floor and some rickety seating for onlookers which is aimed squarely at Russian package tourists as they are the only people this could possibly appeal to. I went a long when it first opened and wasn’t allowed to peek inside. Staff seemed very suspicious and I couldn’t get any sense out of them as to show times, prices etc. It’s the type of place where visitors are encouraged to go and have their photo taken sitting on the crocs etc. Avoid.
The good new, if you like this sort of thing, is that there is now a new crocodile show, in a purpose built ‘arena’ which is bright and airy. This too is aimed at Russian visitors and whilst these type of shows aren’t really my cup of tea, if you are going to go and see one then this one is in far nicer surroundings for both spectators and crocs. It’s also FREE. As in no entrance fee. **
** No longer free – 450 Baht Adult & 200 Baht for kids according to ‘Islandnet’ – see comments below
If you don’t fancy seeing the show you can just go and photograph the ten ‘ Trained Siamese Crocodiles’ with no hassles at any time. As I did. I wandered in and asked the Thai staff if I could take a look, they called over a Russian woman, who. after being a bit surprised that I didn’t speak Russian, told me I could go and take a look at the crocs and take photos, no problem at all. After watching the crocs for a few minutes I went to ask about the price and, as mentioned, the show is free – according to the Russian language flyer I was given, which was swapped to one in English when I was again mistaken for a Russian speaker.
They aren’t a charity, the idea is that people come for the free show and are then herded into the souvenir shop where all manner of crocodile leather merchandise is on offer. Not sure if they will have a crocodile meat restaurant or not, so you can See, Buy, Eat.
Show time is 10:30 & 15:30 daily with an additional 13:30 show at weekends. Located at ‘ Ban Chivit’ on the road to Klong Plu Waterfall. On your right, about 800 metres after you turn off the main road.
This is the place in Chai Chet that wouldn’t let me in
Baan Chivit – where you are welcome to take photos or see the show for free.
Just to update for you, they now charge to see the show 450 baht adults, 200 for children. All the show times are still correct and the kids enjoyed it.