|
Ko Samui Thailand Island: History and Things to do!
 Ko Samui Thailand island is close to the east coast of the Kra
Isthmus in Thailand, close to the ferry port of Don Sak and 60
minutes (66 km) away from Surat Thani town. It is Thailand's second
largest island, with an area of 228.7 square kilometers and a
resident population of 47,874 in year 2006. At any one time during
tourist season this number of residents can triple or be greater!
Ko Samui Thailand History
 Ko Samui was probably first inhabited about 15 centuries ago,
settled by fishermen traveling from the Malay Peninsula and Southern
China. Ko Samui Thailand island appears on Ming Dynasty maps dating
back to 1687. The origination of the name "Ko Samui" is not easily
explained. It maybe an extension of the name of one of the native
trees, mui, or it could be a corruption of the Chinese word Saboey,
meaning "safe haven".
Until the late 20th century, Samui was a rather isolated and
self-sufficient community, having little connection with the
mainland of Thailand. The island had only dirt roads until the
1970's when the trip across the island encompassed an entire day's
trek through the hilly jungle.
Today, Ko Samui Thailand has a population of about forty-five
thousand, and thrives on a successful tourist industry, and is
supplemented by exports of coconut and rubber. It even has its own
international airport, with flights daily to Bangkok and other major
airports in Southeast Asia. While the island presents an unspoiled
image to the public perception, economic growth has brought not only
prosperity, but changes to the island's environment and culture, a
source of conflict between local residents and migrants from other
parts of Thailand and other countries.
 Samui is located in the Gulf of Thailand, about 35km northeast of
Surat Thani town (9°N, 100°E) and southwest of Chumpon on Thailand's
west gulf coast. Ko Samui is surrounded by about sixty other
islands, most of which comprise the Ang Thong National Marine Park,
but also include other tourist destinations Ko Pha-Ngan, Ko Tao and
Ko Nang Yuan. Ko Pha-ngan and Ko Tao get quite a few visitors
themselves, mostly attractive to travelers that are looking for a
more relaxing atmosphere... less traffic and less touristy places to
go. Ko Tao has the great snorkeling and diving spots and is catered
to that. Ko Pha-ngan's claim to fame is a "Full-Moon Party" that has
been going steadily every full moon, rain or shine. It seems every
younger or party-minded tourist wants to make it to the full-moon
party while on vacation. They come through Surat Thani or take a
ferry straight from Chumphon. The party lasts all night and is not
on all the beaches... only one. If you happen to stay at the ONE
you'll see it!
Ko Samui island is approximately circular in shape, and is about 15
kilometers across. The central part of the island is an (almost)
uninhabitable mountain jungle (peak Khao Pom, 635m) and the various
lowland areas are connected together by a single road, that covers
the circumference of the island. The central part of the island is
full of dirt roads that traverse the peaks and valleys. There are
some very interesting things to be found in the mountains including:
Great views, a couple restaurants, treetop rapelling, and did I
mention incredible views? There are also some waterfalls and a Magic
Buddha Garden.
There is one main town, Na Thon, on the west coast of the island, it
is a major port (for this island!) for fishing and inter-island
transportation. Each of Samui's many beaches is also locally
considered a town, due to the number of hotels, restaurants and bars
that have sprung up in recent years.
Economy
Historically the island's economy has been centered around
subsistence agriculture and fishing, with coconuts as the main cash
crop. In an ironic twist - those that were rich and came from
political families received coconut covered land at the tops of the
mountains and in the shady areas... this is also where the better
tasting, sweeter, coconuts grow. The poor and socially lower class
families received the land close to the beach and in the areas close
to the beaches. However, from the 1980's the land at the beach
became much more valuable and so some poor families had great
amounts of very valuable property!
The construction of a stable, high-speed internet connection in
recent years has also made the island a practicable location for
IT-based enterprises, which are beginning to provide a certain
degree of economic diversity. The island's climate, available and
inexpensive labor in mainland Thailand, and accessibility make it
particularly attractive for international investors.
Beaches
Samui is mostly visited by holidaymakers wanting to "get away from
it all", so its main appeal is its white beaches and warm sea, and
it has plenty to choose from.
 Chaweng beach in Ko Samui Thailand covers most of the island's east
coast, forming the most crowded and tourist saturated destination on
the island. The beach itself, while generally clean, suffers from
overcrowding during the tourist season. But, during off-peak season
the beaches and guesthouses are nearly empty. Really, the BEST time
to come to Ko Samui is in the off-season sometime between June and
December...
The road that runs around the town, "ring-road", has turned into a
large western-style tourist town, packed full of restaurants and
bars with the emphasis on bars. There is McDonald's and Starbucks
and Pizza Hut and Haagen Dazs... the road is very narrow and is one
way for most of it in the main strip - thank god. The ocean currents
at the beach in Chaweng occasionally has strong currents and is
considered dangerous at times. Be aware.
Just south of Chaweng on the east coast is, "Lamai". Lamai is
smaller than Chaweng, but its beaches are cleaner and less crowded
than Chaweng. Between the two cities is a wonderful bay called "Tong
Takien Bay". This is where my wife and I stay everytime we go. There
are 5 resorts here all with reasonable prices (under 2000 baht per
night): La Mer Samui Resort, Samui Yacht Club, Tong Ta Kian Villa,
Silver beach and Crystal Bay. The water is OK for swimming but do be
careful as there are a number of rocks with sharp edges and
barnacles that could cause you some minor trouble if you stepped on
them. Some tourists snorkel here - and it's not bad for that, but if
you're a serious snorkeler or diver you'll want to head out on one
of the diving boats and experience that. Tong Takien is a great
place for children though! During the off-season it is heavenly with
very few tourists and the ones that are there are interested only in
being anonymous and are generally very quiet. What a great time of
year November and December are in Ko Samui Thailand island!
On the North coast of the island, Maenam offers picturesque views of
Koh Phangan to the North, and the Ang Thong National Marine Park to
the East. The waters here are calm and clean, almost reminding me of
Oahu, Hawaii except that there isn't much beach during high-tide.
The water is just as blue though and it reminds me of being in Maui
and seeing Kaaholawe or Lanai and Molokai from the beach - Ko
Pha-ngan is pretty close to the north side of Ko Samui here. This
area is less crowded than Lamai and Chaweng, Maenam's restaurants
and bars still retain much of the local Thai flavor as well as more
reasonably priced, even inexpensive food. This is where we go for a
relaxing lunch if we want to eat "Thai".
Bophut is the next beach along west from Maenam. Its lifestyle is
relaxed and more traditional than the larger beaches, referring to
itself as Fisherman's Village. It is very popular with French
tourists, and has a number of pricey, but we've heard, "delicous"
French-owned restaurants.
Bangrak beach is commonly known as Big Buddha Beach, named after the
19-metre statue of the Buddha which overlooks the area. Make no
mistake, it is a BIG Buddha. Bangrak is very close to the airport,
and is one of the calmest beaches, there are some great resorts in
this area. Open Gates, the island's international school, is also
located close by in Ban Rak.
Choeng Mon is one of the smallest of Samui's tourist beaches, but
lies in a secluded bay on the northeastern tip of the island, making
it perfect for those who want peace and quiet, and warm sea all day.
It does not have a town, but there are a number of small restaurants
and a couple of shops, in addition to the luxury resorts that
surround the bay. If you are rich and famous and don't want the
craziness of Chaweng, you stay here.
Nathon on the Western coast is the island's largest port and thus
lacks much of the beauty found in the rest of the island. The city
of Nathon does offer many local Thai shops, with some of the best
prices to be found on Samui as well as a few good restaurants and an
open-air evening-time food market with very inexpensive but tasty
local food.
Tong Krut on the South West corner of the island is currently one of
the quieter areas of Koh Samui and is being proposed as the site for
the islands future mega-yacht harbor.
Tourist Attractions:
 So many to mention... these are a few off the top of my head...
* Big Buddha is a twelve-metre high statue of the Buddha, which lies
at the top of ceremonial dragon-steps at the Wat Phra Yai.
* Loung Pordaeng, a monk who died in a meditating position, and is
now mummified is on display.
* The Grandmother and Grandfather rocks close to Lamai beach are fun
to have a look at. They have a vague similarity to a penis and
vagina. Even more fun is exploring the rocks around the area -
climbing and taking pictures... there are also rock formations in
the water - (see the right column of this site - this image of the
rocks submerged was taken from this point). This area is just south
of Tong Takien Bay and north of Lamai beach.
* The mountain jungle in the interior of the island is an excellent
day out, and is home to a number of impressive gardens built by
legendary Samuian farmer Nim Thongsuk, the impressive waterfalls at
Na Muang, real working rubber plantations and the most amazing views
over the Ang Thong archipelago. The roads in the jungle are an
adventure in themselves, and tourists normally take a tour jeep.
Some venture up on their own - and I've seen accidents as a result.
Tourists don't understand that the LEFT side brake on the motorbike
is the rear wheel and when going down a dirt road and turning at the
bottom of the turn, one cannot use the RIGHT brake which is a
stronger DISC brake and they lock up the wheel and flip over the
handlebars. I've seen this twice myself so I know it must happen
VERY frequently.
* Muay Thai boxing fights are scheduled almost nightly at the
island's stadium in Chaweng.
* Crocodile farm, monkey theatre, elephant trekking, a snake farm,
an aquarium and a butterfly garden. To me the snake farm was the
best - the snake handler held the cobra for me and let it strike at
me a lot - as I took photos. I was the ONLY person there - and so it
was quite a unique experience. I paid 200 each for my wife and I to
get in and we tipped him 100 baht. We were in there about 40
minutes, he gave us a tour of the water monitors, Malaysian Pit
Vipers, Banded Kraits, KING COBRAS, other snakes, an alligator, uhm...
spiders and things... The cobras were really spectacular. Some were
over 5 meters and THICK and ANGRY.
* Most visitors to the island take a day trip out to the beautiful
Ang Thong National Marine Park at least once on their stay in Samui.
Boats leave Na Thon Pier several times a day.
There are SO MANY MORE tourist destinations to see on Ko Samui
Thailand island. We've seen all of what is listed here, but there
are still MANY more things we haven't listed. We have NOT seen it
all yet! But, give us time - we will, we will...
Ko Samui Maps >
If you have something to send us that you think might help others
know more about Thailand -
SEND IT!
Main links:
Thailand
Videos
Thailand
photos
Thailand News
Thailand Hotel Reservations
Weather
|
