Surat Thani - Koh Samui

Bangkok, Koh Samui, and Koh Phangan were my destinations the first time I visited Thailand. Back then- before the airport on Samui opened for commercial flights – things were very different from now. Back then, backpackers and sex addicts were just about the only tourists making it to Thailand and sex tourists didn't venture outside Bangkok.

I remember Bhoput as a tiny sleepy fishing village with a few restaurants – one also served as post office and as a place where one could cash in travelers’ cheques (credit cards were not something backpackers had) – that among other things served omelets with magic mushrooms. On the beaches outside Bhoput there were some small family-run resorts with basic bungalows and basic facilities - nothing like the 10,000 baht/night resort with an artificially enhanced beach (see picture above) that I last Songhkran was cornered into staying at. Having a private hot tub in your room is nice, but it doesn't make my day.

Anyway, back then Bhoput was primarily known as the place one could get on a long-tail boat and head to Koh Phangan. Back then, there was no such thing as full moon parties. Back then, there was no electricity on Had Rin. The bungalows were small huts mostly made of bamboo and banana leaves. At night, people gathered around bonfires, talked, played guitar, drank, and enjoyed being away from civilization. To reach the other parts of the island, one had to take a long-tail boat or walk around a cape to the next beach, but this was only possible at low tide. I decided for a challenge and decided to climb the steep ridge that isolated Had Rin from the rest of the island. That was not a wise move – but I was young and foolish and had plenty of time on my hands – as I ended up drenched in sweat while spending hours trying to navigate my way around dense humid jungle in 30+ degrees Celsius.

Now, Had Rin is full of air conditioned bungalows, tacky souvenir shops, bar beers, and 7-Eleven stores. Not even the illusion of “getting away from civilization” left.

Koh Samui has also gone upscale and become plasiticized (if such a word exists). During my first visit, I had to drive my rented motorcycle into the jungle (track too narrow for cars) and then trek to reach a waterfall. 

Now, what one has to navigate one's way past is not a dense jungle, but a multitude of elephants-for-rent and peddlers of time-share deals.

Between the main road and the beaches of Chawaeng and Lamai, there used to be a tiny dirt road lined with a few basic resorts. Now, these villages have developed into modern towns complete with Starbuck’s and McDonald’s so that it easy for the tourist to forget he / she is not on Ibiza or Miami Beach. Even Big Buddha has succumbed to commercialization.

Memories of back when things were more “original” are all I have left, and to keep them, I tend to avoid visiting Koh Samui.