Koh Samui: For sale and gathering dust - island that catered to foreigners is completely deserted

[steven100]

sadly, Koh Samui like many tourist spots has died or is on it's last legs. Koh Samet still gets a few locals as does Koh Chang, however i doubt we will see any significant tourist numbers again.

RIP koh samui. 

[kingdong]

5 hours ago, parallaxtech said:

If you are retired in Samui with money and a lovely place to live then it's still paradise, even more so now without the aggravating tourists or hoards of Covid bots.  I was enjoying the pristine Chaweng beach yesterday, when the jetski mafia arrived and told Thais and farangs to clear off their patch.  Most of us were hoping that this business would end, but they probably spotted a few farangs who needed fleecing.  Samui will return one day, bigger than ever, along with all the greed and corruption.  No lessons will be learned.  I still love it, relative to living in Florida, and have no plans of ever leaving.

funny when i read such glowing and optimistic reports i always get this strange feeling the author has a property or bar for sale,pity my psychic powers don,t extend to knowing the winning lottery numbers for next week.

[kingdong]

1 hour ago, Mikeasq60 said:

So sad, but here's my prediction. Thailand will be open for full business by the middle of August! Airports all receiving tourists, residents, and those with families rather than jumping through all the hoops to meet those Thai requirements. Not easy for me to meet the requirements because Im flying from Afghanistan through Dubai. I cant seek the medical certs in Afghanistan because its still dangerous here. Its not open for business. I see Thailand says its banks are fully prepared to absorb any effects of CV, lol. Really, OK

as soon as thailand opens its doors the punters will be returning in great droves.

[Cake Monster]

18 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The island that sold its soul for greed got its comeuppance!

I for one have no sympathy.

I stopped going there last century when it went trendy and expensive. Kicked the cheap places out ( like Charlie's hut ), destroyed the old Ark bar and built horrid concrete places everywhere.

Couldn't believe it last time I sailed past on the ferry to Phangan- concrete villas destroying every hillside. Used to be a great place to holiday- Chaweng is one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, but ruined by greed and aircraft.

Only people to blame are the Thais that destroyed it to get rich.

As they are destroying everything else all around the Country in pursuit of Money.

 

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Fare for the songtheaw from the ferry port to Chaweng or Lamai used to be 20 baht. Increased significantly even though prices for fuel etc had not gone up much. Just greed. I used to say to myself that one day it was all going to lead to tears. Seems that day has come.

The cash cow is deceased... 

[BKKBike09]

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The media suggested that tourism on Samui was highly reliant on foreign tourists. Despite Phase 5 easing of restrictions it has made little difference to Samui as domestic tourists would find it too hard to get to for a short break. 

Domestic tourists don't find it "too hard to get to for a short break" - it's just ridiculously expensive flying there.  BKK Airways gets a lot of blame for their pricing (yet even at 200-350 USD roundtrip they were filling their planes), and for having so many flights, but they've responded to Hotel Association pressure for more flights to bring in the guests for all those 4/5 star hotels and resorts. The island infrastructure can't cope (waste disposal, potable water, power) but no-one gives a s*** as long as most people are making money. 

[lee b]

Taxi driver now gets nothing? Good, karma bit you in the a**e for all the years you have been ripping tourists off. I'm going to sleep well tonight.

[Thingamabob]

I was last there in 1983, together with the girl who is now my wife. As old timers will know it was a paradise in those days. The 'progress' which has since taken place there is sad beyond belief.

[khunPer]

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

I was last there in 1983, together with the girl who is now my wife. As old timers will know it was a paradise in those days. The 'progress' which has since taken place there is sad beyond belief.

For comparison, how was Pattaya before, for example in 1983 compared with today..?

[mpyre]

20 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

true enough, i was there in the early 90s, stayed in a great bungalow on the beach, cool little beach side restaurants, quiet, clean beach and sea, was like paradise. i returned about five years ago, the place was unrecongisable; awful, over developed, ugly, polluted, i left sharpish. very sad but i guess some people like that sort of place.

It's called mass tourism...many once pristine locals around the world have been trashed in the same way.

[steven100]

2 hours ago, kingdong said:

as soon as thailand opens its doors the punters will be returning in great droves.

there may be sex pats and p_ssheads but that's probably about it ... imo

[Mikeasq60]

2 hours ago, kingdong said:

as soon as thailand opens its doors the punters will be returning in great droves.

Whats a punter, english translation please. Boston, MA english!

[Jane Dough]

5 hours ago, boonrawdcnx said:

 

 

I so agree with you! When I arrived first on Koh Samui in 1986 they picked you up in a samlor taxi and drove from beach to beach and stopped at various bungalow resorts. The driver made sure everybody got their fair share of visitors. We opted to ride to the very last resort on Chaweng beach. I think the name was Matlang Resort - owned by a local family the bungalows where made from coconut tree wood and there was no electricity. At Dawn you could sit at the lovely beach side restaurant and they switched on the generator which was enough to brighten up the restaurant and run 1 fan and 2 light bulbs in your bungalow. The island was lovely back then but funnily we felt like it had already been spoiled hahaha - because we arrived from Tioman Island where we shared a stretch of 3 different beaches with maybe 15 other people for a month! No electricity at all there just open fires and oil lamps. What a wonderful vibe when we sat together in the evenings -travelers and the few locals - and exchanged travel and other stories. The food menu was usually a single choice (fish, seafood  alternated sometimes with chicken) prepared by the local family. Reading some of the comments here about Koh Samui I think I did the right thing and never returned and kept it like it was in my memories.

Chaweng was my first stop in Thailand during the Falklands conflict in 1982. We too have travelled up the peninsula from Tioman. Tioman was extraordinary but I preferred Samui as it was just a bit more developed. What a paradise it was then but even then with the road built and the seeds of mass tourism on the horizon its days we re numbered. By the turn of the century it completely and utterly ruined for me. No planning, rampant greed, mafia. And the nail in the coffin...the airport.The three dozen or so who died on one of the first flights could stand as a metaphor for a wider demise.

 

Rooster

[steven100]

i thought the term ' punter ' was gamblers who generally bet on race horses ?

 

[kingdong]

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

i thought the term ' punter ' was gamblers who generally bet on race horses ?

 

and part shares in gogo bars thinking " things can only get better"

[Mikeasq60]

5 minutes ago, steven100 said:

i thought the term ' punter ' was gamblers who generally bet on race horses ?

 

lol, thanks

[Mikeasq60]

2 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

As they are destroying everything else all around the Country in pursuit of Money.

 

How would you support Thailand's economy then other than through tourism. Its not all tourism but yes mainly dependant on tourism support. Its like tourist season on Cape Cod, MA during the summer time their mainly dependant on tourist money there's no denying that, the local townes admit it. In Thailand they wont admit the country is dependant on tourism!

[Jane Dough]

12 minutes ago, steven100 said:

i thought the term ' punter ' was gamblers who generally bet on race horses ?

 

It is generally used to also mean customer or user of a service.

 

Rooster

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

It is generally used to also mean customer or user of a service.

 

Rooster

i see .... is that an American term  ?  in Australia it's just a gambler .. 

[metisdead]

A post using a derogatory slur comment toward Americans has been removed as well as the replies. 

[steven100]

Koh Samui is for sale unfortunately  .... no tourists ..  RIP ks

 

[holy cow cm]

Say thank you to the Chinese government creating this biological economical devastating weapon. And now a brand new influenza is mutating coming brought to you complimentary of China and pigs again. 

[GwynBleidd]

@steven100

Do you think that if you repeat something many times, that automatically makes it true? You've posted 'RIP KS' three times in this thread already. Don't like what the island is - don't come, it's simple as that. 

 

All these people who came here for a week or 2 in 90s, 80s or in 18th century and who have a very strict image in their mind about what Koh Samui should be. Look around you, look at your native town, look at any town anywhere in the world and tell me it's the same in 2020 as it was in 1980. 

I'm sorry Koh Samui isn't what YOU think is 'paradise' with $1 per night bungalows with no AC or even toilet, no choice of meals, dirt roads drowning in mud, electricity on schedule and having to go to Nathon for a newspaper. There are plenty of people who live here for years or even decades (unlike your 2-week wet dreams from 40 years ago) and consider it to be THEIR paradise. 

 

On a side note, some references in this thread are simply laughable. 10,000 baht per night? Welcome to Treehouse, beachfront fully furnished AC bungalows on one of the finest stretches of any beach on the island, for 350 baht per night. Getting charged 600 baht for a taxi and hate the taxi mafia? Anyone who has the slightest clue about Koh Samui knows that you get a taxi once (if ever), to get to your house for the 1st time; after that you rent/buy bike/car. Caribbean islands being compared to Samui? Enter Barbados, which is roughly 4x more expensive on average. Phu Quoc? Drowning in garbage. Phuket, Penang? No thanks, don't want skyscrapers and packet tour crowds around. 

One place I've been to that can actually compete with Samui would be Langkawi, if you stay away from Kuah, it does feel _largely_ the same with some bits a bit better, but it's a bit more expensive overall too. I'd say price/quality ratio are about the same, long term wise. 

 

The beauty of modern Koh Samui is that it has something for everyone (pre-Covid obviously). Want never stopping nightlife and crowds? Chaweng. Less nightlife, less crowds but still partying? Lamai. Wanna stroll through a European-like promenade eating lobsters? Bophut. Calm kids friendly shallow beach with less people? Ban Tai, Bang Po. Even less people and further away from crowds but still not in the wild? Lipa Noi. Super white fine sand? Crystal Bay. Snorkeling on the reefs? Coral Cove. Wild and no crowds at all? Taling Ngam, Thong Krut, Laem Sor. And then Maenam, Nathon, Laem Set, Bangrak, Choengmon, all of them very different, catering to different people and different needs. All of this within a 30 minute drive from anywhere. Plus endless waterfalls, viewpoints, temples, and so on. 

But no, you people came 40 years ago to Chaweng, found it completely unbuilt and then coming back in 25 years were completely shattered at it being developed, and gave a solemn vow not to ever come back. Jeez. Too bad for you. 

[Dumbastheycome]

How strange it is  to  read through all the comments so  far  that in the majority either or both hark  back to the "good ole days" and/ or  gloat over the  demise  of the economic structure that in reality developed out of  demand  rather than some deliberate infliction  on  tourists!

A market  moves  to meet demand . That there are  failures  to regulate the way that demand is met  is a definite  problem in the longer term in terms of infrastructure  but the fact remains that if  demand  increases  then the principle of  entrepreneurial opportunity will attempt to meet  it !

Bleat  on  then  from the confines  of  your  comfortable  air conditioned  abodes  with   flush  toilets  and  refrigerated  food supplies and all those associated conveniences  while  you  dream  about  squat toilets , bucket showers etc !

Greed? Only made  possible  if  you succumb to the  asking and stay!

 

 

 

[steven100]

24 minutes ago, GwynBleidd said:

@steven100

Do you think that if you repeat something many times, that automatically makes it true? You've posted 'RIP KS' three times in this thread already. Don't like what the island is - don't come, it's simple as that. 

 

All these people who came here for a week or 2 in 90s, 80s or in 18th century and who have a very strict image in their mind about what Koh Samui should be. Look around you, look at your native town, look at any town anywhere in the world and tell me it's the same in 2020 as it was in 1980. 

I'm sorry Koh Samui isn't what YOU think is 'paradise' with $1 per night bungalows with no AC or even toilet, no choice of meals, dirt roads drowning in mud, electricity on schedule and having to go to Nathon for a newspaper. There are plenty of people who live here for years or even decades (unlike your 2-week wet dreams from 40 years ago) and consider it to be THEIR paradise. 

 

On a side note, some references in this thread are simply laughable. 10,000 baht per night? Welcome to Treehouse, beachfront fully furnished AC bungalows on one of the finest stretches of any beach on the island, for 350 baht per night. Getting charged 600 baht for a taxi and hate the taxi mafia? Anyone who has the slightest clue about Koh Samui knows that you get a taxi once (if ever), to get to your house for the 1st time; after that you rent/buy bike/car. Caribbean islands being compared to Samui? Enter Barbados, which is roughly 4x more expensive on average. Phu Quoc? Drowning in garbage. Phuket, Penang? No thanks, don't want skyscrapers and packet tour crowds around. 

One place I've been to that can actually compete with Samui would be Langkawi, if you stay away from Kuah, it does feel _largely_ the same with some bits a bit better, but it's a bit more expensive overall too. I'd say price/quality ratio are about the same, long term wise. 

 

The beauty of modern Koh Samui is that it has something for everyone (pre-Covid obviously). Want never stopping nightlife and crowds? Chaweng. Less nightlife, less crowds but still partying? Lamai. Wanna stroll through a European-like promenade eating lobsters? Bophut. Calm kids friendly shallow beach with less people? Ban Tai, Bang Po. Even less people and further away from crowds but still not in the wild? Lipa Noi. Super white fine sand? Crystal Bay. Snorkeling on the reefs? Coral Cove. Wild and no crowds at all? Taling Ngam, Thong Krut, Laem Sor. And then Maenam, Nathon, Laem Set, Bangrak, Choengmon, all of them very different, catering to different people and different needs. All of this within a 30 minute drive from anywhere. Plus endless waterfalls, viewpoints, temples, and so on. 

But no, you people came 40 years ago to Chaweng, found it completely unbuilt and then coming back in 25 years were completely shattered at it being developed, and gave a solemn vow not to ever come back. Jeez. Too bad for you. 

you should write a book ....  lol 

[umlungu2012]

23 hours ago, thaiowl said:

Stopped going after I was charged Bt600 for a 5km taxi ride from the airport to Chaweng. And the whole place was a building site. Another example of uncontrolled tourism spoiling a Thai resort.

The taxi drivers can probably survive for years on all the extra rip off cash, so no problems there. Lol.

[sammieuk1]

4 minutes ago, steven100 said:

you should write a book ....  lol 

Entitled the old or the new testament????? 

[Jane Dough]

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

i see .... is that an American term  ?  in Australia it's just a gambler .. 

British, or maybe London more like. 

 

Rooster

[elliss]

 

     It could be a lot worse .

      Try selling a Condo in Pattaya ..

[Maha Sarakham]

2 minutes ago, elliss said:

 It could be a lot worse .

      Try selling a Condo in Pattaya ..

I don't envy anyone trying to sell anything in Thailand at the moment!  Especially not in one of the previous 'tourist' hubs!