See today's BKK Post:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/260608_News/26Jun2008_news08.php

Do you think it might have something to do with the criteria including:

"places that leave the best impressions on visitors, whether it's beauty, the friendliness of the locals, tourist management or even value for money"???

i would have thought the Marine Park or 5 Islands would have made it!,

Looks more like a list of National Parks to me. Not even Chinag Mai/Rai are included.....so not really worried that Samui isn't there either.....

don't know how many people voted. i was going to vote but i had to register i could not be bothered so i not sure how correct the information is

When you talk with Bangkok people and you explain you're living in Koh Phangan, 95% don't know where this island lies. After you say the magic words "Full Moon Party" some 50% understand; but only when you say "near Koh Samui" everybody understand where KPG stay.

And quoting:

"the friendliness of the locals"

I can understand why KPG is not included...

value for money

On samui?

"the friendliness of the locals"

Agreed. Anyone who's been to both places knows why they were left out.

"places that leave the best impressions on visitors,

whether it's beauty,

the friendliness of the locals,

tourist management

even value for money"???

Safety

No i'm afraid Samui has now been taken over by aliens from the planet MONEEEEE

It was taken over by moneeeee many moons ago. Same is happening in Krabi and other places. In a few years nothing 'pristine' or something that looks remotely like it will be left. That is the moment it will change for the better. Unfortunately still at least one generation away, maybe two.

Looks more like a list of National Parks to me. Not even Chinag Mai/Rai are included.....so not really worried that Samui isn't there either.....

yes, parks, temples, ... islands! (Phuket! and others)... not worried at all, actually agree, can't not imagine why folks who come to this beautiful country should EVER to the dump called "Samui" or "Koh Phangan".

Looks more like a list of National Parks to me. Not even Chinag Mai/Rai are included.....so not really worried that Samui isn't there either.....

yes, parks, temples, ... islands! (Phuket! and others)... not worried at all, actually agree, can't not imagine why folks who come to this beautiful country should EVER to the dump called "Samui" or "Koh Phangan".

wow.

Where do you live?

http://www.9destinations.com/en/overview/overview.php

LaoPo

Looks more like a list of National Parks to me. Not even Chinag Mai/Rai are included.....so not really worried that Samui isn't there either.....

yes, parks, temples, ... islands! (Phuket! and others)... not worried at all, actually agree, can't not imagine why folks who come to this beautiful country should EVER to the dump called "Samui" or "Koh Phangan".

wow.

Where do you live?

Samui!

This simply confirms the "new Strategy" of the TAT, they want to "sell out" what ever is left.... "we wish to promote the lesser known places of Thailand...."

Here you go... nothing to do with "Quality, service, value for money... !"

Value for money?

Well, well if I look around, it still seems to be some fair deals around, yet there are plentyof spenders from ALL walks of life!

"I see a red door and I want to paint it black..."

Where the heck do I get a massage for 200 ThB?

A meal from 40 - 2000 p.Pers. according to Quality and ***** Service?

It was taken over by moneeeee many moons ago. Same is happening in Krabi and other places. In a few years nothing 'pristine' or something that looks remotely like it will be left. That is the moment it will change for the better. Unfortunately still at least one generation away, maybe two.

money can only be a good thing for the islands. better electric better roads. clean beaches,

so where is the goverment money being spent ??

look at Phuket. that used to be like samui til they built the bridge

i don't undersatnd why all the national marine parks and the most beautiful island i have been on and that is kao tao and ( excus the spelling ) koh namuang

Looks more like a list of National Parks to me. Not even Chinag Mai/Rai are included.....so not really worried that Samui isn't there either.....

yes, parks, temples, ... islands! (Phuket! and others)... not worried at all, actually agree, can't not imagine why folks who come to this beautiful country should EVER to the dump called "Samui" or "Koh Phangan".

what about kao tao. can sorte of understand why samui is left out. i came back on the tour boat from the national marine park and samui looks like it is been eaten from a distance by forang termintes. i felt a bit bad about it. only when i seen the beautiful island surrounding samui did i know what happened to samui. it wouldn;t supprise me is local samui people resented forang.

I remeber i used to come here years ago. the thais used to be alot more friendly. when they didn;t really know us. now i think that they have branded us all as parrasites and i am unfortunalty one of those parrasites. Samui is a good base island for all other islands. can get everything you need with out going all the way to surathani bit more expesive though

It was taken over by moneeeee many moons ago. Same is happening in Krabi and other places. In a few years nothing 'pristine' or something that looks remotely like it will be left. That is the moment it will change for the better. Unfortunately still at least one generation away, maybe two.

money can only be a good thing for the islands. better electric better roads. clean beaches,

so where is the goverment money being spent ??

look at Phuket. that used to be like samui til they built the bridge

i don't undersatnd why all the national marine parks and the most beautiful island i have been on and that is kao tao and ( excus the spelling ) koh namuang

I guess the blame can put on Surat Thani. All the money goes there and very little comes back.

Is it not that Koh Tao is part of Chumphon AND a national park. Koh Tao as a national park should not be used for so many resorts as the land is actually without sellable deeds. Always someone who ignores the law and using money (corruption) to make more.

Isn't Koh Phangan also a ntional park? And if you are not so much around the partyzones, the people here on KPG are still nice and easy like '88. Well may be a little more GREEDY?! Just a thought.

No, Koh Phangan is not a national park. The interior mountainous area is, Than Sadet is, but the island as a whole? No, never has been.

The real missing one in that list is Pattaya, no ..?

Friendliness of the locals & value for money can't be beaten there !

would jhave thought that the best way to find out the top 30 destinations is by calculting things like flights. where do more people fly to. hotel bookings. how long people stay in hotels.

not just a website where for all people know 20 people might have voted and they for all we know are people that have never been to samui.

i know it is not easy to work out but it is more accrate than a vote ( p.s sorry about bad spelling just got up cannot be bothered to correct typos )0

Ahhhh.

Koh Samui.

Ibeza of the Orient.

Where I feel more out of place, hand-in-hand, with my Thai lady than I do even in the west.

To visit Samui and claim to have "done Thailand" is akin to going to New york and claiming to have "done America".

Nice place, as places to goto go, but I wouldn't wanna spend more than a few days there (or even return in a hurry) Koh Chang will be the same within a few years, IMHO.