Koh Chang in Trat province is extremely busy on the first day of the Songkran substitute holidays taking place on 4-7 September 2020. Over 10,000 tourists are expected to enter the island on the 4th with many more following in on the 5th. The car line up is over 3 hours long to take the Ferry from Ao Thmmachat Pier to Koh Chang Pier. The Khaosod News Team reported at 13.00 on 4 September 2020 that many local tourists are excited to start their Songkran holiday that was put on a break due to the Covid-19 situation. At least 1,000 cars are lined up to enter the ferry at Ao Thammachat that will take them to Koh Chang Island.
Theerasak Sruammasue the Koh Chang Deputy Municipal Clerk stated that over 10,000 tourists have been waiting to travel into Koh Chang since the early hours of the 4th. Over 1,000 cars have already entered the island before midday. Theerasak expects Koh Chang will have 2,000 vehicles on the island just on the first day of the Songkran substitute holiday. Theerasak wants to advise tourists that they will need to plan carefully if they want to visit the island on the holiday. Taking a ferry in Ao Thammachat may be closer to Koh Chang than Center Point Ferry Pier but there are so many tourists and vehicles waiting in line at Ao Thammachat. The cars are expected to wait at least 3 hours just to get onto a ferry. By the time you arrive, half the day is already gone.
Laem Ngob Police are doing their best to help manage the traffic in the area. The team also reports that tourists have been complaining about the wait to get into a ferry to Koh Chang. Most had to wait 2-3 hours. The piers and related officials will have to find a solution so tourists don’t have to wait so long on holidays. A good idea would be to build a bridge so cars can drive directly into the island as the bridge in Phuket. The Sarasin Bridge connects mainland Phuket to Phang Nga and is 660 meters long. The total budget used to construct the bridge is 28,770,000 THB. At 15.30 there is still a long wait, over 2 kilometers of cars lined up waiting to enter the ferry.
