I've arrived in Koh Chang after reading lots of nice things about it and have to admit I'm a little disappointed with my first day but wondered if it's because I'm not going to the right places! There are quite a lot of bars that look a bit seedy with prostitutes and the shops sell fairly tacky things.
There were also some nice restaurants but lacking customers. I was wondering if there are any areas in koh chang which is good for mosying about in shops and away from all the seedy bars?? You have pretty much covered all the beach areas there except Kai Bae - that may appeal to you. Personally I have never found Chang to be as seedy as parts of Samui or certainly Pattaya. You seem to have bad luck finding all the beer bars to walk past.
The seedy bars tend to be closed during the daytime. If you are on the main stretch of White Sands you wont see any beer bars. They are only located at the far south end of White Sands, away from the beach and the main shopping area. You have a kilometre of tourist shops and restaurants where you wont see any beer bars and it would be hard to find a hooker even if you wanted one. Likewise, Klong Prao village doesn't have any real beer bars and isn't particularly touristy.
Lots of normal shops. In Kai Bae there are some bars in the centre of the village but these are pretty tame. Try Bangbao pier- some souvenir shops, seafood restaurants and pretty nice views from the pier.
Tacky souvenirs come with the territory - not a lot in the way of a sophisticated shopping experience on Koh Chang. No one comes to Koh Chang to shop. Portobello on White sand Beach has some good , unique stuff but I always tell our guests to buy souvenirs in Bangkok. For shopping, go south to the Bang Bao pier. It is a long pier with colorful shops in old fishermen huts and a few restaurants.
