Went to inspect Koh Chang as member of the Parliamentary Committee on Natural Resources and Environment From May 5 - 7, 2007.
Due to the rapid haphazadous development of Koh Chang under the DASTA program initiated during the Thaksin regime and fueled by greedy characters from all over, I found Koh Chang, especially the western side, to be a pile of junk. Safety is a major issue, both road safety and beach safety. Roads are narrow, winding and dangerous. Road fatalities are weekly. Five jurisdictions are responsible for the roads. Emergency assistance appears none existant. So don't have a beach accident either. Commercial construction is without planning and looks like a real helter skelter mess. By law beaches are public, but the land grab on Koh Chang is complete and the public do not have access to the beaches, since all resorts have made sure that it is very difficult to pass through their property. Water pollution in the bays from sewage and oil from boats is significant. Coral is dying off. It was my first time and I really don't know why I would want to go again.