Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [203]
Cambodian tourist visas (1200B) are available at the border (bring a passport photo), but you should check with the Cambodian embassy in Bangkok before heading out there. Despite Cambodian tourist visas costing US$20 at other borders, payment is only accepted in baht at this border. If you try and debate the issue, be prepared for a frustrating time.
If you are going into Cambodia for a day trip, you can use the opportunity to renew your Thai visa, but do note that visas at land borders have been shortened to 15 days. Click here for more information. This border crossing closes at 8pm.
Click here for transport information to Hat Lek.
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KO CHANG
With steep, jungle-covered peaks erupting from the sea and ringed with swirls of white-sand beaches, verdant Ko Chang is in many ways the ideal tropical island. Others agree. Earmarked as the ‘next Phuket’ a few short years ago, Ko Chang’s soundtrack is the beat and whine of hammers and power saws. Development has transformed great swathes of the island’s west coast and expansion is now beginning to stud other more isolated areas of Thailand’s second-largest island.
But escape to Ko Chang’s mountainous interior and you’ll find a lost world of rugged waterfalls and impenetrable jungle filled with a Noah’s ark of wildlife, including stump-tailed macaques, small Indian civets and reticulated pythons. Emerge from the forest and you’ll reach isolated lookouts that gaze down on beaches just made for wannabe Crusoes. Thus, if your time on other Thai islands has included just a few too many days lying on the beach, on Ko Chang you can get nicely active and brush off any holiday cobwebs.
After all that honest exercise, recharge in an increasingly cosmopolitan range of bars and restaurants, and relax in accommodation that stretches from basic beach bungalows to luxury five-star resorts. Each of Ko Chang’s beaches has a different style, from the family-friendly ambience of Hat Sai Khao and Hat Kai Mook, to the perfect party vibe of Hat Tha Nam (Lonely Beach). And while it’s true that finding a pristine stretch of sand on Ko Chang is becoming more difficult, with a bit of time and travellers’ get-up-and-go it’s still possible.
After Ko Chang, move on to the other nearby islands of the Mu Ko Chang National Marine Park. You’ll find less to do on gorgeous islands like Ko Kut, Ko Mak and Ko Wai, but after a few days of combining Ko Chang’s catalogue of outdoor pursuits with late-night cocktails and beachside barbecues, you’ll probably need a rest anyway.
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Orientation
The national park (0 3955 5080; reserve@dnp.go.th; entry fee 200B; 8am-5pm) is divided into four units, with offices at Ban Khlong Son, Tha Than Mayom, Ban Salak Phet, and just west of Nam Tok Khlong Plu. Entry fees are collected at any one of the four park offices. Keep your receipt as rangers may demand payment from visitors who don’t have one.
Only the western coast has been developed for significant tourism and 75% of the island remains untouched rainforest. The sealed road down the west coast is a measure of Ko Chang’s ongoing development. A few years ago it only reached Hat Tha Nam; at the moment it extends to Bang Bao, but plans to circle the island are in the pipeline.
The northern Hat Sai Khao is the longest beach strip and packs in the most accommodation, bars and restaurants per kilometre. Just south, Hat Kai Mook is a quieter alternative with good-value, family-oriented places to stay. Ao Khlong