Hi Everyone,

 

I've heard Samui is slowly getting busier, and Chaweng is coming back to life. 

 

Best guess, will mid-Chaweng area (say Arkbar to Central Festival) be a ghost town for Songkran this year, or is it looking promising to have a reasonable variety of bars and restaurants to choose from?

 

Thanks in advance.

The busiest area now in Chaweng is north of Ark bar up to OP bungalows/Baan Ya Jai. There are many places opened, including one 7-11 opposite Combo. Looks like quite a few are also opening soon south of Ark bar to the Central festival - I saw workers doing some stuff at Hooters.

 

My guess is there will be some Songkran activity, but not with big crowds as pre covid.

15 minutes ago, gearbox said:

My guess is there will be some Songkran activity, but not with big crowds as pre covid......

....and not with water, and not with powder, and not standing near each other......isn't that just a normal day?

Thanks guys. 

 

No love lost with regard to water fights and powder..... chalk me down as "humbug". For the last decade (except last year) I purposely leave Thailand during Songkran week. Too old and grumpy for that "activity" 555.

 

Good to hear the Northern side of Chaweng is getting a bit of love. Years back, that was the after-hours hub, when Green Mango and The Club closed at 2am or whatever ????

 

Selfish as I am, I like a "medium" level of busy-ness. I mean, it is nice to walk out on the soi and have a choice of 5-10 places to eat or drink, and good to see those places with sustainable levels of customers. But, when it is starting to look like Pattaya or Soi Bangla, then it loses my support.

 

Anyway - I am getting off topic on my own post. So, it seems like staying at Chaweng for a week will be feasible, compared to 6 months ago. So I'll go ahead and take a look at a few places there.

 

Thanks.

 

 

13 hours ago, Will B Good said:

....and not with water, and not with powder, and not standing near each other......isn't that just a normal day?

Sounds perfect to me.

I may even go out this Songkhran.

Then again........

I still have to get past the three young children at the end of the Soi where I live.

Just now, Tropicalevo said:

Sounds perfect to me.

I may even go out this Songkhran.

Then again........

I still have to get past the three young children at the end of the Soi where I live.

Not too sure I would be wild about it now....first few times (when much younger) it was a real buzz....but now........mmmm?

A couple more observations re Koh Samui.

About 200 meters from my house are a couple of rental villas. Guests there have been coming home regularly between 03.00 and 04.00.

Certainly places like Black Club have been open well after midnight.

If you have a hankering for pool or connect four, the beer bars in Soi Reggae have been open pretty much all of the time for the last two years. (Except when the alcohol ban was on?)

A few bars in Soi Green Mango have also opened up.

https://youtu.be/EweCyXiMiH0

21 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

https://youtu.be/EweCyXiMiH0

Well there's a reasonable trickle of vehicles going past. That part of the street is usually pretty quiet though. Still, a few months back you could safely lay down in the middle of the street and take a 20 min nap....... and Trop Murph's was closed. 

 

Signs of life. Encouraging ????

Hi Everyone.
A brief update on my own post.

I've been in Samui for a week. 

Chaweng Beach road does have some life, centered around Soi Green Mango. I walked down Soi Green Mango about 11pm and the Green Mango itself seemed quite busy (I didn't go it). Hush had a few people. I didn't walk any further.

On the main road between Soi Stadium and Soi GM, there was half a dozen places open, with a reasonable few people.

I also walked down to Ark Bar. The actual Ark Bar of old (before COVID) is going, and is now a building site. Quite a big beach bar has sprung up, with deck chairs on the sand. It was quite busy. I took a look but didn't go in.

So - overall, good signs of life but a long LONG way to go before it is anything like pre-COVID.

 

Other areas, like Bangrak, have a bit of life. It was never 100% dead in the first place, but nonetheless it is a bit busier now that it was 3 months ago when I was last here, and reasonable occupancy at the hotels.

 

Hope this report may be of some help for someone thinking of a trip to Samui in the near future.