| Page Views: 190 Last Visit to Ko Samui: March, 2008 | Koh Samui by YaaDong - last update: Aug 30, 2009 |
Koh Samui is Thailand's third largest located in the Gulf Of Thailand.It is about 700 km south of Bangkok.
The island was first settled about 1500 years ago by ethnic Malay fishermen as well as immigrants from Southern China.Little written history of the island exist but there are two theories as how the island was named.The first suggest that the name of a commonly found tree called "mui" was extended.The second is "Saboey" which is a Chinese word for safe haven adopted by the Chinese fishermen.
Until 1950 Koh Samui was without roads or cars.The island had almost no contact from the outside world.
I have visited Samui three times.The first was great ,the second good, the third still O.K...Koh Samui still grooves along to it's mellow tunes,but time has change since I last visited Koh Samui over 10 years ago.Then ,there was no airport,only dirt roads, huts ,dance on the beach and not many people spoke English..I remember the group of Aussie girls and Brit guys I hung out with. We drank funny mushroom tea and ate the local omelette playing charades.We enjoyed many endless days on the beach and partied all night.Not to mention getting chased by a pack of hungry dogs.Koh Samui was still very "raw "back then.
Now Koh Samui has developed into a "safe haven" for tourists from all over the world.It is still an idylilic island retreat with little traffic ,white-sand beaches,sapphire-blue sea and friendly locals.However everything kinda of cost more...
The most developed beaches are Chaweng and Lamai on the east coast.Here you can find a wide range of accomadations,restaurants, night spots to suit every taste.Therer are so many to choose from.However most seem to be fairly upmarket.Budget travellers have to look alittle harder.
For the next few days we rented a car and drove around the island checking out the sights,,swam,got brown,drank lots of cocktails and ate some nice food.Koh Samui |
|  | The Swaying Palms A usual sight on Samui however more and more of these trees a being cut down to make way for another resort ,shopping mall,restaurants and roads.
This is from part of an article in the Bangkok Post 12/8/2006
The rape of Samui
Locals pay the price for rapid development as they were unprepared for the changes
Story by ANJIRA ASSAVANONDA
In emerging as one of the country's top tourism destinations, Koh Samui has paid a high price.
Gone are its serenity and lush green surroundings, the credentials that made the island much sought-after by holiday makers, both local and foreign.
Buildings like hotels, resorts and real estate projects, have been mushrooming too quickly over the last decade. The coconut trees that once lined the island beaches have all vanished.
Now that the beach-front areas are fully occupied and land developers are eyeing mountain land, concern is growing over the environmental impact. |
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| Pros: | "Sun, sea,beach,nightlife,diving,food"" | | Cons: | ""Very developed,expensive especially in the high season" | | In A Nutshell: | "Island Life" |
YaaDong's Ko Samui Travel Tips
 Comments for YaaDong about Ko Samui | | | | |
BillNJ Sat Apr 4, 2009 17:47 UTC
Nice tips and photos! | junecorlett Wed Feb 4, 2009 10:18 UTC
We stayed at the NORA. Stunning, see my Koh Samui page....bliss!!!! | Dizzyhead Wed Aug 6, 2008 06:52 UTC
I was never there, but I was in Green Mango. |
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