Tour 2003 - Koh Chang Go Bang

Dear Friends,

I had a most interesting visit to Koh Chang (Elephant Island) that I thought I should tell you about.  Koh Chang is the second largest island in Thailand after Phuket and is located in the Gulf of Thailand very near the Cambodian border.  I left Bangkok at 9:00AM last Friday in a minibus headed to the ferry dock at Laem Gnop.  I caught the 5:00PM boat to the island.  I was actually heading for a place called Lonely Beach on Koh Chang but as it was getting dark when I arrived, I thought I would take a place close to the pier and then seek out an alternate place at Lonely Beach the next day.  Many Thais go to Koh Chang for the weekend so, knowing accommodation might be tight, I booked into Mac Bungalows, the first place I checked, and got the last bungalow they had.   I had a nice dinner in their restaurant, it was very newly decorated, and the food was quite good.  I was in bed by 11:00PM. 

At 2:45AM I was wakened by a goddamn mosquito biting me and was lying there semi-asleep when BOOM!  An immense explosion.  There was a scream almost simultaneously, and over the roar of the blast I could hear glass breaking, debris hitting my roof, and I was nearly tossed out of my bed.  It was a thunderous noise. 

I groped around in the dark (the electricity was off) to find my shorts and sandals, grabbed my rucksack and stepped out into smoke, dust, and chaos.  Everything that had been the office, kitchen, bar, deli, and restaurant was completely demolished.  Along with other guests I stumbled around trying to make sense of what happened.  One of the hotel staff was shrieking "Geh Out, geh out, gas, geh out!" I took that to be reasonable advice and backed away from the scene.  It was 3:00AM. 

My bungalow was about 15 paces from the center of the blast and it was undamaged, but the two between the blast and mine were quite badly damaged, particularly the one closest to the blast.  Both the two nearest bungalows were occupied by the owner/managers, and although unhurt, they were truly traumatized.  Windows in cottages further away from the blast than mine, as well as in the hotel next door were blown out.  Air conditioners were blown out of the wall in some bungalows and the people who were in the rooms above the blast had a terrible fright as there was major damage with ceilings collapsing etc.  The street in front of the hotel was covered in broken glass, kitchen pots and pans, chairs, parts of doors and walls. 

Amazingly, no one suffered even a scratch.  Not one drop of blood anywhere.  It seemed to take forever for any emergency personnel to show up.  After some time I saw two policemen and a first aid guy on a motorcycle, but no one else.  I was told the next day that several police did in fact show up, but they were drunk, and their main contribution was to clean out the minibars and rifle guest's property before passing out on the beach. 

I was quite convinced that the explosion was from leaking gas in the kitchen.  I could think of no other explanation.  But the locals sure could.  Apparently the owner has been in a dispute with the Thai navy over ownership of the land.  Everyone in Koh Chang believes it was the government who did it.  I must confess that I'm now ready to believe that as well.  There was no fire.  The damage was almost surgically confined to the one area.  The explosion went off at a precise moment when no one was in the immediate area.  But even more compelling is the report in the Bangkok Post which quotes a police spokesman as saying the blast "may have been caused by C-4 explosives".  That is not a product you can buy off a hardware shelf, it's pretty much restricted to military use.  Go figure. 

I slept for an hour or so on a street bench and at 6:00AM "checked out". That is, I got my other bag from my bungalow and left.  I spoke to the manageress, and of course they did not expect payment.  She was quite distraught. 

So, that was my introduction to quiet, somewhat off the beaten path, Koh Chang.  In the end I moved two properties down from Mac to Cookie Hotel and I stayed there for four nights.  Koh Chang is a lot quieter than Koh Samui, really no bars, just a number of restaurants, dive shops, souvenir shops, and range of accommodation from very humble to very luxurious.  The beach is very fine, powdery sand so the water is a bit turbid, but it is certainly warm.  After getting over my first night, I had four days of just basking in the sun.  It is a place to which I would return and would recommend to anyone not wanting the usual Thai beach scene. 

So, there you have it.  Quite an experience wouldn't you say. 

Merv.