The ruination of Koh Samet

[Boarn]

Koh Samet turned from paradise to hell on earth. Ever since they paved the roads it was ruined. When I first went it was amazing, Kawasaki 250 ridden over the nearly in-passable roads, turned up for a last time to discover it had been paved, dreadful deeds, should be illegal! Not been back since and no intention to, sick and perverted ruination.

 

Just yearning for the old times a bit at the moment!

[Crossy]

Fixed a deliberate mis-spelling in the topic title.

 

But I agree, it's the same in many places, the tourist dollar destroys what the tourists come to see.

[kingstonkid]

I think Koh Samed is still one of the best places to go.  It depends on where on the island you go and what you want.

 

It is my favorite spot to get away from it all with quiet beaches 

[huangnon]

Was there for a few days last month. The beach and accomm was beautiful (Tonsak Resort), and the only downside was that you could see hotel, bar, and restaurant operators are really having a tough go at it, right now. Hope everything picks up for them asap.

I appreciate the OP having a rant ????, but perhaps the melodrama is a bit misplaced. Samet still has a lot to offer for most people.

[Jeffr2]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

I think Koh Samed is still one of the best places to go.  It depends on where on the island you go and what you want.

 

It is my favorite spot to get away from it all with quiet beaches 

There are quite beaches left? I agree, it's been ruined just like pretty much every other island here.

 

I first visited most of the islands in 2002. They are totally different now. Paradise lost for sure.

[BusyB]

29 minutes ago, huangnon said:

Was there for a few days last month. The beach and accomm was beautiful (Tonsak Resort), and the only downside was that you could see hotel, bar, and restaurant operators are really having a tough go at it, right now. Hope everything picks up for them asap.

I appreciate the OP having a rant ????, but perhaps the melodrama is a bit misplaced. Samet still has a lot to offer for most people.

I've always been put off by the tales of the mosquito swarms ...

[huangnon]

40 minutes ago, BusyB said:

I've always been put off by the tales of the mosquito swarms ...

Ah, yes. Samet mozzies are a species apart.. ???? And don't mention the sand flies.

[kingstonkid]

46 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

There are quite beaches left? I agree, it's been ruined just like pretty much every other island here.

 

I first visited most of the islands in 2002. They are totally different now. Paradise lost for sure.

I have to disagree.  While there is commercialism it is not ruined.  I think people take it too far.  There are still places on the island that you can go and relax and enjoy life without all the <deleted>.

[KarenBravo]

Went there in 1982 and it was rubbish then, with the most vicious sand-flies I've ever encountered and dirty seas..

Never bothered going back.

[TooBigToFit]

It wasn't much of a place in my opinion like the area in Rayong near it. Right now with few tourists around, it's probably a lot better than in recent years. I mean just for the quiet and cleaner waters. It was a boring dump from my experience there in the past, but I was there in the 90s and early 2000s. It's easy for people visiting from abroad staying in Pattaya for a couple weeks, but there are much nicer places over towards Cambodia or down south.

 

Anyways, from that sand to roads is a big change, especially if you like riding dirtbikes. I understand that.

[TimBKK]

Went there in ‘68, sand flies hadn’t yet discovered it.  Mozzies either.  Pre-dirt track, it was heaven but once people wanted this convenience, place nose dived.  Refuse to return.

[Thingamabob]

Samet was besutiful 40 years ago, as were Phuket and Samui. Now it's over developed but still worth a visit. If you want to take a look, head for the north of the island, and avoid the weekends.

 

 

[khunPer]

Sounds like what people have been ranting about Koh Samui for at least two decades now...????

[jamiejoel]

Hey guys, sorry but I have to disagree. Koh Samed is heaven. We go three times a year and have been going for nearly 20 years. If you ignore Saigow then the other beaches are quiet and if you are willing to pay for some luxury then you can find well maintained places. Of course the wooden shacks for 300baht a night are gone. The bone shaking ride to your hotel has gone, but most has not changed in twenty years. The seas are clear, you can see fish swimming around you and there are nice loungers to read a book and good tree cover. The hawkers are not aggressive and you can still get a massage looking out to sea for 300baht and hour. Sorry but it is far from ruined, we feel it is our second home and if you spend time looking around you will find somewhere to suit you. If you like a dance there is dance. If you like peace there is peace. Maybe we are spoilt but many people would give their right arm to spend a few days relaxing on the beach. Oh and for the mozzkes, just use some spray... 

[kiwikeith]

5 hours ago, huangnon said:

Was there for a few days last month. The beach and accomm was beautiful (Tonsak Resort), and the only downside was that you could see hotel, bar, and restaurant operators are really having a tough go at it, right now. Hope everything picks up for them asap.

I appreciate the OP having a rant ????, but perhaps the melodrama is a bit misplaced. Samet still has a lot to offer for most people.

The staff are getting to fat from eating and pretending to be tourists!

[sharksy]

I know it was nearly 10 years ago when I went, but had a hell of a day racing my old man round the reservoir, me on a 550cc 4x4 and my dad on an offroad motorbike.  We swapped over several times, had a right blast.

Don't remember the mossies being particularly bad, although it was the first time I'd seen a fogging machine.

[thaitorrent1]

Nice people living in a past ! my parents couldn't be more stupid !

 

[thaitorrent1]

2 hours ago, jamiejoel said:

Hey guys, sorry but I have to disagree. Koh Samed is heaven. We go three times a year and have been going for nearly 20 years. If you ignore Saigow then the other beaches are quiet and if you are willing to pay for some luxury then you can find well maintained places. Of course the wooden shacks for 300baht a night are gone. The bone shaking ride to your hotel has gone, but most has not changed in twenty years. The seas are clear, you can see fish swimming around you and there are nice loungers to read a book and good tree cover. The hawkers are not aggressive and you can still get a massage looking out to sea for 300baht and hour. Sorry but it is far from ruined, we feel it is our second home and if you spend time looking around you will find somewhere to suit you. If you like a dance there is dance. If you like peace there is peace. Maybe we are spoilt but many people would give their right arm to spend a few days relaxing on the beach. Oh and for the mozzkes, just use some spray... 

 

if you only know Koh Samet, yes you might be happy that it still looks like an island.

But people who really know what is a nice island don't go to trashsamet.

 

 

[jamiejoel]

We have been all over Thailand. Each island is different. Samed as a bolthole from busy Bangkok, is heaven. 

[3STTW]

They did a lot of work draining swamps and improving sanitation on the island a while ago, since then the mozzies aren't any worse than most other places in TH.

 

I've been going there for years and started touring the island on sickly mopeds, later on they had the quad bikes and they were a scream. Now they have paved roads with those [deleted] awful speed bumps which only seem to be there to stop the baht bus drivers from killing their passengers. Why don't they iron out the speed bumps and fit speed limiters to the taxis? Traveling from the south up to Samet Town in the back of a Hilux is pure misery - a cracked spine and a bruised back-end don't make for a good holiday!

 

I like Samet because it's like a mini-Thailand - all the caricatures squeezed into one little spot, and I find that you don't get pestered as you otherwise might in Pattaya or Phuket, or etc. Thankfully the drunk Russians got replaced by sashaying Chinese ladies posing for their Insta feeds, which is a plus.

 

Latterly, me and the SO have been going to the Paradis resort. Their reception at Ban Phe is less than one hour from home. Once you check in, you get zoomed out to the resort on a speedboat and spend the remaining time being wafted around in the very best of Thai hospitality. People at home ask me where I go on holiday when I already live in Thailand - I tell 'em Samet.

 

 

[Albert Zweistein]

4 hours ago, jamiejoel said:

Hey guys, sorry but I have to disagree. Koh Samed is heaven. We go three times a year and have been going for nearly 20 years. If you ignore Saigow then the other beaches are quiet and if you are willing to pay for some luxury then you can find well maintained places. Of course the wooden shacks for 300baht a night are gone. The bone shaking ride to your hotel has gone, but most has not changed in twenty years. The seas are clear, you can see fish swimming around you and there are nice loungers to read a book and good tree cover. The hawkers are not aggressive and you can still get a massage looking out to sea for 300baht and hour. Sorry but it is far from ruined, we feel it is our second home and if you spend time looking around you will find somewhere to suit you. If you like a dance there is dance. If you like peace there is peace. Maybe we are spoilt but many people would give their right arm to spend a few days relaxing on the beach. Oh and for the mozzkes, just use some spray... 

But just don't go there when there is a moon party.............

[chrisandsu]

Remember when the wife and I was dating (15 years ago) I had never been to samet so rented a moped to ride around the island ….. big mistake I ended up pushing it most of the way ???? the wife must of been impressed as she still laughs at me for that to this day . 

[diznax]

The island has been ruined because...of all the things to complain about including the atrocious new pier....the roads have been paved? I still have a scar on my knee from wrecking while trying to drive through those deep rainy season tracks at night. Dirt roads don't hold some sort of quirky charm. I've been going to Samet for 14 years and it is still a nice island despite the development, just depends on where you stay and if it matches what your vibe is. Saying Samet is ruined bc the roads are paved is like saying Bangkok is ruined because the tangled power lines have been fixed. 

[richard_smith237]

I went there back in the late 1800’s before any other farang had discovered it...  

... its since lost its vibe and now has western toilets !!!! ???? 

 

 

 

 

[Ireland32]

China ruined it long ago 

[Ireland32]

On 9/23/2021 at 6:54 AM, sharksy said:

I know it was nearly 10 years ago when I went, but had a hell of a day racing my old man round the reservoir, me on a 550cc 4x4 and my dad on an offroad motorbike.  We swapped over several times, had a right blast.

Don't remember the mossies being particularly bad, although it was the first time I'd seen a fogging machine.

They are supposed to be HUGE

[richard_smith237]

8 hours ago, Ireland32 said:

They are supposed to be HUGE

On some of the beaches half way down the island they (Mosquitos) are gargantuan - Nasty evil massive Aedes aegypti Mosquitos straight of the Jurassic period !!!

 

But, worse than the mozzies are the Sandflies !!!....  Bites that leave a mark for months !!!

 

It seems that no matter how vigilant I am - each time I go to the beach for a few days I return with about 10 horrible Sandfly bites. 

[MrJ]

On 9/23/2021 at 11:45 PM, 3STTW said:

They did a lot of work draining swamps and improving sanitation on the island a while ago, since then the mozzies aren't any worse than most other places in TH.

 

I've been going there for years and started touring the island on sickly mopeds, later on they had the quad bikes and they were a scream. Now they have paved roads with those [deleted] awful speed bumps which only seem to be there to stop the baht bus drivers from killing their passengers. Why don't they iron out the speed bumps and fit speed limiters to the taxis? Traveling from the south up to Samet Town in the back of a Hilux is pure misery - a cracked spine and a bruised back-end don't make for a good holiday!

 

I like Samet because it's like a mini-Thailand - all the caricatures squeezed into one little spot, and I find that you don't get pestered as you otherwise might in Pattaya or Phuket, or etc. Thankfully the drunk Russians got replaced by sashaying Chinese ladies posing for their Insta feeds, which is a plus.

 

Latterly, me and the SO have been going to the Paradis resort. Their reception at Ban Phe is less than one hour from home. Once you check in, you get zoomed out to the resort on a speedboat and spend the remaining time being wafted around in the very best of Thai hospitality. People at home ask me where I go on holiday when I already live in Thailand - I tell 'em Samet.

 

 

do you mean Paradee Resort? nice but a bit expensive....is there something nice for about 1.5 to 2k/night?