I was doing some house cleaning and came across some photos I’d taken on Koh Samui in 1982, and thought I’d share a couple.

All comments are made in jest! (sort of) :)

Great pic....a very good time best of samui before all been commercialized...sad....

1995 to 2000 in Samui now Bkk and soon back Europe

These time there had been really special and human flair...now an disaster in all directories

I spent a lot of time in Samui in the 80s and it was one of the most beautiful and near pristine islands/beaches in the world. Today I can't stand the place and no longer go there. 

Was there the same year... was really good.

Nice penmanship too! Thanks

Thanks for posting these great shots.. My first visit was in 1979.. loved it... stayed in huts at the top end of Chowang.. beautiful clear water and lovely sandy beach.. the water is crappy now and the sand has been washed away exposing the rocks.. sad to see..  the middle of the island was just farming communities..  

first went in 86, just starting to get a few more visitors,

i remeber at the guest house i was staying in a thai man came around with a monkey,

which climbed the trees to get the coconuts down. fabulous.

Good memories, but people were already saying it was ruined in the mid-80s. Same with Phuket. Fact is, those who have fond memories of a place as it formerly was will always have a nostalgic reaction to what it has become, that's human nature. For many - but probably by no means all - first timers, it will be the same; in twenty, thirty, fifty years' time they'll look back with just the same feelings. 

Not being much of a beach person, I feel the same about Chiang Mai; thirty years ago it held a very special charm for me. Now, I have no urge to go near the place.

Coming to Chumpon by boat (a year ago), there was nothing but a green scenery on land. Not a single concrete building. I was in shock.

Only when you get closer to the land, you can see the wooden building at the pier.

Are there any other sceneries like this at all, when arriving to land by boat, somewhere in Thailand?

 

Great photos and lot's of memories. Thanks for sharing.

I spent eight months living and working ("ha farang" for Wisan Bungalow) at Chaweng Beach in 1979-80. A beautiful island, a wonderful beach, great people and delicious food.

This is the coastal road/track somewhere between Chaweng and lamai. I must stress, this is not my photo, unfortunately I do not know the photographers name.

Good memories, but people were already saying it was ruined in the mid-80s. Same with Phuket. Fact is, those who have fond memories of a place as it formerly was will always have a nostalgic reaction to what it has become, that's human nature. For many - but probably by no means all - first timers, it will be the same; in twenty, thirty, fifty years' time they'll look back with just the same feelings. 
Not being much of a beach person, I feel the same about Chiang Mai; thirty years ago it held a very special charm for me. Now, I have no urge to go near the place.

Spot on there I went in the year 2000 and I thought it had gone down hill by 2006

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I was there in 1923 and I can't believe how much it's changed. 

On 10/22/2017 at 4:52 AM, robg1 said:

I was there in 1923 and I can't believe how much it's changed. 

You've got a great memory for such an old person!

Miss the days.... sadness of the south...

On 10/22/2017 at 9:52 PM, robg1 said:

I was there in 1923 and I can't believe how much it's changed. 

Well put.  You get the idea that some people think change must never happen, and everything was always better in the past.

On 10/21/2017 at 4:05 AM, LiorW said:

Coming to Chumpon by boat (a year ago), there was nothing but a green scenery on land. Not a single concrete building. I was in shock.

Only when you get closer to the land, you can see the wooden building at the pier.

Are there any other sceneries like this at all, when arriving to land by boat, somewhere in Thailand?

 

Ao Nang is kind of nice as you approach on the Ferry from Phuket, but nothing like the photos here or in the past.

OP what beach/beaches were the photos taken at - looks similar to lamai in 1989 when I first visited?

It would have been more helpful and informative if you actually told us the area of the photos rather than the 'comments'. However...thanks for sharing!

On 10/22/2017 at 6:46 PM, juice777 said:

Spot on there I went in the year 2000 and I thought it had gone down hill by 2006

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

I also went there to live in 2000. It was a great place, by 2006 I did not want to live there anymore and moved to mid Thailand.

good old days ,,,,,,      (No Russians)  

On 10/21/2017 at 11:49 AM, jerrybeirne said:

first went in 86, just starting to get a few more visitors,

i remeber at the guest house i was staying in a thai man came around with a monkey,

which climbed the trees to get the coconuts down. fabulous.

coconut monkeys very much still in use, however now the conscious crew especially on koh phangan call it animal cruelty, while they consume endless amounts of raw coconut milk.

5 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

OP what beach/beaches were the photos taken at - looks similar to lamai in 1989 when I first visited?

 

3 hours ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

It would have been more helpful and informative if you actually told us the area of the photos rather than the 'comments'. However...thanks for sharing!

Sorry, other than Koh Samui, I don’t know exactly where each of those previous photos were taken. I was just riding around taking pictures and didn’t take notes. Here are a few more photos, and other than the two photos on the road to the Big Buddha, I’m not sure exactly were they were taken. Maybe someone will know were the water fall is. I just drove up some road, and there it was. There were two little Thai kids playing there, but no one else around. I had a nice swim, then back on my motorcycle and off I went. Although I road all the way around the island, I never saw another Farang on a motorcycle the whole time I was there. There were plenty of other Farang on the island, but I guess most people just hung out at whatever beach bungalows they were staying at.

 

31 minutes ago, srowndedbyh2o said:

Sorry, other than Koh Samui, I don’t know exactly where each of those previous photos were taken. I was just riding around taking pictures and didn’t take notes. Here are a few more photos, and other than the two photos on the road to the Big Buddha, I’m not sure exactly were they were taken. Maybe someone will know were the water fall is. I just drove up some road, and there it was. There were two little Thai kids playing there, but no one else around. I had a nice swim, then back on my motorcycle and off I went. Although I road all the way around the island, I never saw another Farang on a motorcycle the whole time I was there. There were plenty of other Farang on the island, but I guess most people just hung out at whatever beach bungalows they were staying at.

 

As OP mentioned: Road to Big Buddha

Bang Rak, Big Buddha can be seen behind the palms...

Na Mueang-1 Waterfall in the southern part, not much has changed at that spot.

Seem like there's a lake behind the palms, could be what today is water reservoir by the Amphoe Koh Samui Stadium down south (judged by the hills in the background), or just Chaweng Lake, while it was stil rural coconut land around it.

Pretty sure this is from Maenam Bay, facing towards Koh Phangan and Haad Rin at right. Judged by the bungalows, but there was probably many similar, it could have been an early edition "Koseng 2" bungalows.

This is definitely Chaweng Noi, Lad Koh View Point, facing Chaweng Beach.

Give it a try with locations, written in italic under photos...
Edit: Great photos, thanks for sharing them.

Remember it well. Happy days.

Ah... Checking which bungalows were showing the best video and eating there. No airport and enduring the long journey there. Backpackers and almost no tourists. Nights centered around Bauhaus (lounging on mats outside after it closed). Great memories

I dont know.. I find this kind of lamenting nostalgia a bit fake.. for me I dont want it so basic I cant get any services or restaurants.. And if you do want it, its still pretty easy to find. 

 

Anyone who hankers for a deserted beach, just go where the Tourists are not.. You can hit half of the coastline from Phuket to Ranong (Khao Lak excepted) and have empty wide open deserted beaches.. And no bars.. No restuarants.. No services.. and very low appeal.. Same with the Trang coastline.. Same with Bits of Surat Thani, Trang or Satun.. Basically theres loads of places, no one goes to, theres no hotel, and is super basic and untouched. 

 

But you go there, twiddle your thumbs for a few hours and.. Go somewhere more interesting. 

On 16/03/2018 at 4:56 PM, LivinLOS said:

I dont know.. I find this kind of lamenting nostalgia a bit fake.. for me I dont want it so basic I cant get any services or restaurants.. And if you do want it, its still pretty easy to find. 

 

Anyone who hankers for a deserted beach, just go where the Tourists are not.. You can hit half of the coastline from Phuket to Ranong (Khao Lak excepted) and have empty wide open deserted beaches.. And no bars.. No restuarants.. No services.. and very low appeal.. Same with the Trang coastline.. Same with Bits of Surat Thani, Trang or Satun.. Basically theres loads of places, no one goes to, theres no hotel, and is super basic and untouched. 

 

But you go there, twiddle your thumbs for a few hours and.. Go somewhere more interesting. 

Samui was not deserted during the time some of us are reminiscing about, there were services (Bauhaus was a kind of basic 'nightclub / disco / bar') but it was very quiet and not very developed (You sound like you are commenting on a place and time that you did not experience). So how do we get that back? Answer: you can't! 

 

I also visited Ko Chang pre-roads (arrive on a trawler boat, climb on to a platform on floating oildrums and get pulled in to the shore by rope), mains electric didn't exist (generator daytime / go to bed early evening with an oil lamp and rise at 6am covered in sweat), eat whatever the family running the bungalows had in their stores, not one beer bar, lounge around / swim / read / beachcomb all day. Can we get that back? Answer: no you can't! Would I want to get it back? For me? No (I like my comforts now but as a youngster it was a marvellous experience). For my teenagers? Definitely. We now go yearly to the developed Koh Chang and enjoy it but I fear for it especially with the locals wanting a bridge to connect to the mainland (yes I understand why they want the bridge but if it happens it will lose its charm as an island).

 

those photos remind me so much of my visit there in the early 1990s, it was a place i really felt was paradise. i went back a few years ago and it was awful, i'll never go again. it's very sad whay has been done to the place, but at least i have wonderful memories.