Story On Samui In The Guardian Today

[sbk]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Me and my wife have been visiting Samui for the last 6 years but this year was a nightmare.

We arrived on samui on the 28th of Jan, we stay in Lamai close to Grand mother rocks, over the next week we made friends with a Thai lady who ran a riding school just past the fishing village and my wife made arrangements to go riding on Fri the 3rd of Feb but was throwing it down so she didn't go. The following Thur the 9th of Feb the lady turned up at the Blues Stop, a bar that we used to go in, she rides a chopper m/bike.

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

She slept for 17 hours and when she awoke the next day she had 2 horrendous burns on her legs off the bikes exhaust, and complained of being sore between her legs!!

It was 3 weeks later before she started to have recollections of that evening and she believes she was raped by 4 Thai men.

On the 15th of Feb we left Samui to go to Penang for a week, we arrived at Nathon and I had put my document bag in my rucksack to keep my hands free, on arrival at Nathon we were put on a coach to go to the other ferry about 5 miles away, when we got there I was waiting by the coach to retrieve my bag and the coach just drove on to the ferry, the baggage boy said no problem bags safe locked on coach.

Needless to say when we got to Surat Thani we had been robbed, passports,travelers cheques.cash, flight tickets home, driving license,Thai bank book etc.

Not to be recommended, a complete ball ache, it took 8 days to get knew travelers cheques, not the 24 hours as advertised. (American Express).

Also the Baht buses on Samui have hiked up the prices, they want 50 Baht to go half a K, and they are riding around empty, every one's walking.

Any one thinking of going to Samui for a paradise holiday think again, I never thought I would say it but you would be better off going to Pattaya.

Crime is on the increase in Samui, every day we heard of a tourist who had been robbed or had their bungalow or room broken into as said by Soph in an earlier post.

If tourist were to stay away for a couple of years maybe Samui would clean it's act up, clean the filthy beaches (Evan the beaches in Pattaya are cleaner than Samui) and repair the atrocious roads!!

A have been a frequent visitor to Thailand for the last 20 years and I always treat them with the upmost respect, I love Thailand, the people and the culture, but this year I am well xxxxxx off with Samui.

So, let me get this straight. You and your wife have been coming to thailand for 6 years and you let her (and she went!) go off with a total stranger late at night and drank from that persons drink! You then put your valuables in the bottom of the bus.

Sorry, but would either of you do these things at home? Frankly, I can't believe someone who has been coming here for that long would be so naive. Even the 20 year old backpackers figure it out after a couple of weeks.

[elfe]

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

I'm very sorry about the horrible experiences you had on samui but how can you finish a drink or take a drink from someone you hardly know?? and why would you go to see horses in the middle of the night??

some of the most dangerous - as it turned out for your wife - mistakes you could ever make!

[BKK90210]

I have no comment on the article, except it reminded me of what happened to the French on the Algerian coast many decades ago.....same same pattern here. Eventualy the local recentments were too much for the french.....and eventually in the end the french had to move away.

We can learnt from history about the future.....This is why Samui and Phuket won't be on my list of homesteads.

[OlRedEyes]

I remember when Pattaya was considered the he!! on earth for people; constant news reports about fighting, robbings, killings, mafia, pollution, etc etc. It was bash Pattaya time, now seems to be Samui.

If we are all honest, most tourist places have these kinds of problems. And anywhere you get massive profits to be had you have crime and greed. BTW Tax, don't feel sorry for the farang investors--people who invest are taking a chance and know it, feel sorry for the people who choose to call Samui home and have watched their island taken over by greed and vice.

Many of my husband's relatives live on Samui and none of them are involved in anything remotely related to mafia nor have they made massive fortunes off their land. They get by and must live with the high prices, crime, corruption and greed that outside "investors" have brought. Sure, some Samui people sold out, but certainly not all. And those are the ones who are watching the destruction of their community.

I disagree that 'most' tourist places have the problems associated with Samui. Many have.

High prices, crime, corruption and greed was not brought by outside 'investors'. Certainly not the farang, most of whom are battling just to survive on their bars etc. The greed came from the locals who owned the land and saw $$$$$ coming to the island. Now they want to blame everybody else. Sure, many locals are suffering, including my wife's family - she's a native of Samui. But the natives got rich quick, and havn't lost their appetite for $$$. They won't either, till there's nothing left.

[taxexile]

i think a lot of the greed is introduced by falang land agents and sellers.

all bar one that we came into contact with on samui were clueless as to the correct procedures for selling land and knew even less about the properties they were selling. none of them could speak enough thai to deal with the land department.

they are in partnership with locals .

the result of it all is that local and thais cannot afford decent housing there , and resent all the falangs living or speculating. its happening in france , and in many uk villages and small market towns as town dwellers seek a taste of the countryside.

foriegners should NOT be allowed to own land in this country under any circumstances. at least not until land and price differentials between thailand and the west are equal.

it leads only to spiralling inflation of land prices and the squeezing out of locals from their own communities , followed closely by resentment.

add to that corruption , and a lack of law enforcement , and the result is a particularly toxic mix that benefits few , and positively harms the majority.

many resort towns in thailand have these falang ghetto moo baans now , they are not good for thailand. they are a source of wonderment and resentment to thais.

[Pegasus]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Me and my wife have been visiting Samui for the last 6 years but this year was a nightmare.

We arrived on samui on the 28th of Jan, we stay in Lamai close to Grand mother rocks, over the next week we made friends with a Thai lady who ran a riding school just past the fishing village and my wife made arrangements to go riding on Fri the 3rd of Feb but was throwing it down so she didn't go. The following Thur the 9th of Feb the lady turned up at the Blues Stop, a bar that we used to go in, she rides a chopper m/bike.

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

She slept for 17 hours and when she awoke the next day she had 2 horrendous burns on her legs off the bikes exhaust, and complained of being sore between her legs!!

It was 3 weeks later before she started to have recollections of that evening and she believes she was raped by 4 Thai men.

On the 15th of Feb we left Samui to go to Penang for a week, we arrived at Nathon and I had put my document bag in my rucksack to keep my hands free, on arrival at Nathon we were put on a coach to go to the other ferry about 5 miles away, when we got there I was waiting by the coach to retrieve my bag and the coach just drove on to the ferry, the baggage boy said no problem bags safe locked on coach.

Needless to say when we got to Surat Thani we had been robbed, passports,travelers cheques.cash, flight tickets home, driving license,Thai bank book etc.

Not to be recommended, a complete ball ache, it took 8 days to get knew travelers cheques, not the 24 hours as advertised. (American Express).

Also the Baht buses on Samui have hiked up the prices, they want 50 Baht to go half a K, and they are riding around empty, every one's walking.

Any one thinking of going to Samui for a paradise holiday think again, I never thought I would say it but you would be better off going to Pattaya.

Crime is on the increase in Samui, every day we heard of a tourist who had been robbed or had their bungalow or room broken into as said by Soph in an earlier post.

If tourist were to stay away for a couple of years maybe Samui would clean it's act up, clean the filthy beaches (Evan the beaches in Pattaya are cleaner than Samui) and repair the atrocious roads!!

A have been a frequent visitor to Thailand for the last 20 years and I always treat them with the upmost respect, I love Thailand, the people and the culture, but this year I am well xxxxxx off with Samui.

So, let me get this straight. You and your wife have been coming to thailand for 6 years and you let her (and she went!) go off with a total stranger late at night and drank from that persons drink! You then put your valuables in the bottom of the bus.

Sorry, but would either of you do these things at home? Frankly, I can't believe someone who has been coming here for that long would be so naive. Even the 20 year old backpackers figure it out after a couple of weeks.

I've been coming to Thailand for 20 years, and normaly we carry our bags on to the ferry, this was the first time we were put on a coach and driven to the other port, only 5 minutes away, and when the coach drove on the ferry with our bags from then on it was out of our hands.

Maybe because we have been coming so long we had got complacent with the honesty that we have become accustomed to from Thai people!!

But Samui is becoming the crime capital of Thailand, it's worse than Bangkok.

[hollins]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Me and my wife have been visiting Samui for the last 6 years but this year was a nightmare.

We arrived on samui on the 28th of Jan, we stay in Lamai close to Grand mother rocks, over the next week we made friends with a Thai lady who ran a riding school just past the fishing village and my wife made arrangements to go riding on Fri the 3rd of Feb but was throwing it down so she didn't go. The following Thur the 9th of Feb the lady turned up at the Blues Stop, a bar that we used to go in, she rides a chopper m/bike.

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

She slept for 17 hours and when she awoke the next day she had 2 horrendous burns on her legs off the bikes exhaust, and complained of being sore between her legs!!

It was 3 weeks later before she started to have recollections of that evening and she believes she was raped by 4 Thai men.

On the 15th of Feb we left Samui to go to Penang for a week, we arrived at Nathon and I had put my document bag in my rucksack to keep my hands free, on arrival at Nathon we were put on a coach to go to the other ferry about 5 miles away, when we got there I was waiting by the coach to retrieve my bag and the coach just drove on to the ferry, the baggage boy said no problem bags safe locked on coach.

Needless to say when we got to Surat Thani we had been robbed, passports,travelers cheques.cash, flight tickets home, driving license,Thai bank book etc.

Not to be recommended, a complete ball ache, it took 8 days to get knew travelers cheques, not the 24 hours as advertised. (American Express).

Also the Baht buses on Samui have hiked up the prices, they want 50 Baht to go half a K, and they are riding around empty, every one's walking.

Any one thinking of going to Samui for a paradise holiday think again, I never thought I would say it but you would be better off going to Pattaya.

Crime is on the increase in Samui, every day we heard of a tourist who had been robbed or had their bungalow or room broken into as said by Soph in an earlier post.

If tourist were to stay away for a couple of years maybe Samui would clean it's act up, clean the filthy beaches (Evan the beaches in Pattaya are cleaner than Samui) and repair the atrocious roads!!

A have been a frequent visitor to Thailand for the last 20 years and I always treat them with the upmost respect, I love Thailand, the people and the culture, but this year I am well xxxxxx off with Samui.

So, let me get this straight. You and your wife have been coming to thailand for 6 years and you let her (and she went!) go off with a total stranger late at night and drank from that persons drink! You then put your valuables in the bottom of the bus.

Sorry, but would either of you do these things at home? Frankly, I can't believe someone who has been coming here for that long would be so naive. Even the 20 year old backpackers figure it out after a couple of weeks.

I've been coming to Thailand for 20 years, and normaly we carry our bags on to the ferry, this was the first time we were put on a coach and driven to the other port, only 5 minutes away, and when the coach drove on the ferry with our bags from then on it was out of our hands.

Maybe because we have been coming so long we had got complacent with the honesty that we have become accustomed to from Thai people!!

But Samui is becoming the crime capital of Thailand, it's worse than Bangkok.

crime capital worse than bangkok are you really sure i have been living here for nearly four years now and have to return to the uk every two months for business via bangkok, believe me those two places are frightning uk most by a mile i wouldnt live there if you paid me, i feel sorry for you if you have been robbed of course but come on get a grip, all these people moaning, the best one is about the roads what do you really expect hold on you dont want it to change but the roads have to get better, o and the other services, get real, o and bangkok airways is to expensive wouldnt want a thai staff member to earn any money would we. what is wrong with you lot , hope my spelling is not to bad for ya i get stick for that also

[Prakanong2005]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Me and my wife have been visiting Samui for the last 6 years but this year was a nightmare.

We arrived on samui on the 28th of Jan, we stay in Lamai close to Grand mother rocks, over the next week we made friends with a Thai lady who ran a riding school just past the fishing village and my wife made arrangements to go riding on Fri the 3rd of Feb but was throwing it down so she didn't go. The following Thur the 9th of Feb the lady turned up at the Blues Stop, a bar that we used to go in, she rides a chopper m/bike.

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

She slept for 17 hours and when she awoke the next day she had 2 horrendous burns on her legs off the bikes exhaust, and complained of being sore between her legs!!

It was 3 weeks later before she started to have recollections of that evening and she believes she was raped by 4 Thai men.

On the 15th of Feb we left Samui to go to Penang for a week, we arrived at Nathon and I had put my document bag in my rucksack to keep my hands free, on arrival at Nathon we were put on a coach to go to the other ferry about 5 miles away, when we got there I was waiting by the coach to retrieve my bag and the coach just drove on to the ferry, the baggage boy said no problem bags safe locked on coach.

Needless to say when we got to Surat Thani we had been robbed, passports,travelers cheques.cash, flight tickets home, driving license,Thai bank book etc.

Not to be recommended, a complete ball ache, it took 8 days to get knew travelers cheques, not the 24 hours as advertised. (American Express).

Also the Baht buses on Samui have hiked up the prices, they want 50 Baht to go half a K, and they are riding around empty, every one's walking.

Any one thinking of going to Samui for a paradise holiday think again, I never thought I would say it but you would be better off going to Pattaya.

Crime is on the increase in Samui, every day we heard of a tourist who had been robbed or had their bungalow or room broken into as said by Soph in an earlier post.

If tourist were to stay away for a couple of years maybe Samui would clean it's act up, clean the filthy beaches (Evan the beaches in Pattaya are cleaner than Samui) and repair the atrocious roads!!

A have been a frequent visitor to Thailand for the last 20 years and I always treat them with the upmost respect, I love Thailand, the people and the culture, but this year I am well xxxxxx off with Samui.

So, let me get this straight. You and your wife have been coming to thailand for 6 years and you let her (and she went!) go off with a total stranger late at night and drank from that persons drink! You then put your valuables in the bottom of the bus.

Sorry, but would either of you do these things at home? Frankly, I can't believe someone who has been coming here for that long would be so naive. Even the 20 year old backpackers figure it out after a couple of weeks.

I've been coming to Thailand for 20 years, and normaly we carry our bags on to the ferry, this was the first time we were put on a coach and driven to the other port, only 5 minutes away, and when the coach drove on the ferry with our bags from then on it was out of our hands.

Maybe because we have been coming so long we had got complacent with the honesty that we have become accustomed to from Thai people!!

But Samui is becoming the crime capital of Thailand, it's worse than Bangkok.

crime capital worse than bangkok are you really sure i have been living here for nearly four years now and have to return to the uk every two months for business via bangkok, believe me those two places are frightning uk most by a mile i wouldnt live there if you paid me, i feel sorry for you if you have been robbed of course but come on get a grip, all these people moaning, the best one is about the roads what do you really expect hold on you dont want it to change but the roads have to get better, o and the other services, get real, o and bangkok airways is to expensive wouldnt want a thai staff member to earn any money would we. what is wrong with you lot , hope my spelling is not to bad for ya i get stick for that also

Ok we will not mention the spelling and grammmar

but I would be most interested to know what is you interest in Samui - business or just live there.

Incidentally - if you think the high prices of Bangkok Airways are in any way contributing to high or higher wages for their staff you are as daft as your spelling indicates.

[Prakanong2005]

I'm happy for you Taxexile, that there's no greed in Hua Hin with their skyscrapers and developments

is that the best you can come up with ?? an attack on h-h , rather than answering the points raised in the article and these posts.

Attack....me ?

Don't you think you have been attacking and bashing enough about Samui in numerous posts lately?

And why should I or anyone answer to points in another sensational article? I would think that more than enough has been said and written since the unfortunate 'Katherine Horton' tragedy and Samui in general.

Sadly enough it could have happened anywhere in Thailand, including Hua Hin, and as you know there have been many murders all over Thailand....as in the rest of the World, including your homecountry

I kindly suggest you stop your 'nasty' posts and enjoy your peaceful life where you are now.

LaoPo

But is not just the Horton tragedy is it - its a whole lot more and the Horton tragedy seems to be a prime example of a lot that is wrong with Samui - cover ups and danger.

While so many people from the UK visit Samui ans many of them are young women it is the duty and right of newspapers like the Guardian to write about the situation there - the Guardian probably represents the social class and world outlook of many of these younger visitors.

Sweeping unfortunate incidents and news under the carpet may work in Thailand but not elsewhere.

[sbk]

I think laopo objects to the implications that Samui somehow stands alone in this (crime capital of Thailand --no, its the accident capital of Thailand).

All one has to do is read the Pattaya forum to find an amazing number of muggings, rapes, suicides, "suicides" and murders compared to Samui yet there was no mention of it in the Guardian article. Perhaps the ones on Samui aren't being reported. Or perhaps it is another case of media hysteria like accompanied the SARS story (anyone remember that?)

I find that the media in general like to find a story, sensationalize it, and then run with it creating fear and panic. Why? Sells papers, sells advertising.

Lets find a list of media hysteria cases and see how many of them were completely blown out of proportion:

SARS : how many people died? How come we have never heard of it again?)

Bird Flu : again, compared to say, heart disease, accidents or cancer, how deadly has it really proven to be? There was an article in the Bangkok Post saying that obesity in Asia will prove to be more deadly than Bird Flu has so far been.

The Great Typhoon that never hit : what was that, a year ago last november? Hmm... how deadly did that one prove to be?

The list is endless and doesn't include just Asia but seems to be worldwide.

[Prakanong2005]

SBK

I agree with you partially but Pattaya has had its fair share of stories in the UK press - they do tend to be in the "Red Tops" though whose readership are probably more in line with the socio-economic group who visit Pattaya (finding the Financial Times in Pattaya is a chore and I am not joking) ;-)

The Guardian was writing for its readership too - its coming up to travelling season for many gap year students or just Uni students in general and this article would be rad by them or their parents (just as others would in the Telegraph, Times, Observer etc).

I do not think they should keep quiet about it and I think they shouild publish more about the Kirsty Young case in Chiang Mai.

A comparitive analysis and study of crimes against farangs, crime in general and scams using Pattaya and Samui per capita or per visit day would be most interesting but difficult to do.

Maybe the whole situation on Samui has just reached the "Tipping point" and the momentum built up is hard to stop.

Years ago Benidorm has a shitty reputation for the same things as Samui and people stopped visiting - I beleive the local authorities have turned the place around and it a desirable place to visit now with a whole different soci-economic group visiting

[Malice in Wonderland]

I disagree that 'most' tourist places have the problems associated with Samui. Many have.

High prices, crime, corruption and greed was not brought by outside 'investors'. Certainly not the farang, most of whom are battling just to survive on their bars etc. The greed came from the locals who owned the land and saw $$$$$ coming to the island. Now they want to blame everybody else. Sure, many locals are suffering, including my wife's family - she's a native of Samui. But the natives got rich quick, and havn't lost their appetite for $$$. They won't either, till there's nothing left.

Totally agree - Before tourism there was hardly anybody living here and land was only worth the coconuts that were growing on it....Do you really think the Chao Samui (Samui Folk) are unhappy with their land going up from 30 thousand a rai to 3 million a rai??? - Of course not;How else would they all be driving giant 4x4's...Don't feel TOO sorry for them,they ain't getting screwed,they're doing it!!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again (As the Guardian fails to) - The island's problems all stem from a lack of funding from the Suratthani Provincial Government;get that resolved or get City status like Pattaya and then maybe we'll have a decent budget for policing and infrastructure.

[hollins]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Me and my wife have been visiting Samui for the last 6 years but this year was a nightmare.

We arrived on samui on the 28th of Jan, we stay in Lamai close to Grand mother rocks, over the next week we made friends with a Thai lady who ran a riding school just past the fishing village and my wife made arrangements to go riding on Fri the 3rd of Feb but was throwing it down so she didn't go. The following Thur the 9th of Feb the lady turned up at the Blues Stop, a bar that we used to go in, she rides a chopper m/bike.

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

She slept for 17 hours and when she awoke the next day she had 2 horrendous burns on her legs off the bikes exhaust, and complained of being sore between her legs!!

It was 3 weeks later before she started to have recollections of that evening and she believes she was raped by 4 Thai men.

On the 15th of Feb we left Samui to go to Penang for a week, we arrived at Nathon and I had put my document bag in my rucksack to keep my hands free, on arrival at Nathon we were put on a coach to go to the other ferry about 5 miles away, when we got there I was waiting by the coach to retrieve my bag and the coach just drove on to the ferry, the baggage boy said no problem bags safe locked on coach.

Needless to say when we got to Surat Thani we had been robbed, passports,travelers cheques.cash, flight tickets home, driving license,Thai bank book etc.

Not to be recommended, a complete ball ache, it took 8 days to get knew travelers cheques, not the 24 hours as advertised. (American Express).

Also the Baht buses on Samui have hiked up the prices, they want 50 Baht to go half a K, and they are riding around empty, every one's walking.

Any one thinking of going to Samui for a paradise holiday think again, I never thought I would say it but you would be better off going to Pattaya.

Crime is on the increase in Samui, every day we heard of a tourist who had been robbed or had their bungalow or room broken into as said by Soph in an earlier post.

If tourist were to stay away for a couple of years maybe Samui would clean it's act up, clean the filthy beaches (Evan the beaches in Pattaya are cleaner than Samui) and repair the atrocious roads!!

A have been a frequent visitor to Thailand for the last 20 years and I always treat them with the upmost respect, I love Thailand, the people and the culture, but this year I am well xxxxxx off with Samui.

So, let me get this straight. You and your wife have been coming to thailand for 6 years and you let her (and she went!) go off with a total stranger late at night and drank from that persons drink! You then put your valuables in the bottom of the bus.

Sorry, but would either of you do these things at home? Frankly, I can't believe someone who has been coming here for that long would be so naive. Even the 20 year old backpackers figure it out after a couple of weeks.

I've been coming to Thailand for 20 years, and normaly we carry our bags on to the ferry, this was the first time we were put on a coach and driven to the other port, only 5 minutes away, and when the coach drove on the ferry with our bags from then on it was out of our hands.

Maybe because we have been coming so long we had got complacent with the honesty that we have become accustomed to from Thai people!!

But Samui is becoming the crime capital of Thailand, it's worse than Bangkok.

crime capital worse than bangkok are you really sure i have been living here for nearly four years now and have to return to the uk every two months for business via bangkok, believe me those two places are frightning uk most by a mile i wouldnt live there if you paid me, i feel sorry for you if you have been robbed of course but come on get a grip, all these people moaning, the best one is about the roads what do you really expect hold on you dont want it to change but the roads have to get better, o and the other services, get real, o and bangkok airways is to expensive wouldnt want a thai staff member to earn any money would we. what is wrong with you lot , hope my spelling is not to bad for ya i get stick for that also

Ok we will not mention the spelling and grammmar

but I would be most interested to know what is you interest in Samui - business or just live there.

Incidentally - if you think the high prices of Bangkok Airways are in any way contributing to high or higher wages for their staff you are as daft as your spelling indicates.

i just live in samui my business is in the uk. sadly my grammer is not to good but i dont think it makes me any less inteligent than the thirty or so staff i have working for me, it also doesnt make me better than them but knockin non english people for not being able to spell very well just about sums half the people up in this forum.

[sbk]

Totally agree - Before tourism there was hardly anybody living here and land was only worth the coconuts that were growing on it....Do you really think the Chao Samui (Samui Folk) are unhappy with their land going up from 30 thousand a rai to 3 million a rai??? - Of course not;How else would they all be driving giant 4x4's...Don't feel TOO sorry for them,they ain't getting screwed,they're doing it!!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again (As the Guardian fails to) - The island's problems all stem from a lack of funding from the Suratthani Provincial Government;get that resolved or get City status like Pattaya and then maybe we'll have a decent budget for policing and infrastructure.

Would you really consider 35,000 people "hardly anybody"? And I'll tell you how the majority of people there afford new trucks and cars: same way people on Koh Phangan do: in debt up to their ears. Certainly some people on Samui benefited from the big sell-off but not ALL.

And lets face facts here, alot of the farang who come and do business here are just as dodgy as the Thais. Not all, but quite a few. I would hardly paint the "poor bar owners" as innocent victims.

Well, Malice, I completely agree with your second paragraph anyway

[Samuian]

Wow! I am absolutely baffelt by this articel!

I live for many years on this island - do know several members of the family mentioned there in, personally - even witnessed how some of the "boys" grew up, worked hard to get where they are today! It is true that they own a lot of businesses - but worked themselves up from bottom to the top!

What is wrong with this?

.

Wow! What a smearcampaign!

Sounds to me rather like a disgruntled "investor" didn't get it his way, got a scribe and made up this highly questionable, insane article. Why to mention all these names? For what reason, does a well doing family, have a bride not wrapped in silk? Jonny Walker, only? I been to weddings there was Hennessy or Martell on every table, so what? gimme a break!

Never read something worse than this - The Guardian is available in Samui, this articel will certainly make it's rounds and the "scribe" better runs for shelter on Mars! If this becomes known it will cause a major outrage!

An outragious mix of halftruths, facts and fairytales, stuck together to a highly toxic and very volatile mix!

The fact is, that there are now many foreign and LOCAL! Investors on samui and it's booming, there are scumbacks all over the planet, in every business, but my opinion is that locals as well as foreigners, as long as they all play by the rules, are doing well.

So far I haven't come across a blackmail campaign of such dimensions!

if someone finds some grammar or spelling mistakes he can keep 'em for free, but only if the one is able to translate this post mistakeless into Innuit!!

Edited April 9, 2006 by Samuian

[Insight]

The only comment I've got on the article itself is that I can personally believe it. Outside the typical girle bar experiences, I've unintentionally stumbelled across vice in Samui I'm pretty sure I'd have a tough time trying to find in Bangkok.

For the people comparing the crime in Samui to the crime in Pattaya, fair enough, but why what goes on in Samui is viewed more important internationally is owing to the clientelle the place attracts. Until recently at least, Pattaya largely attracted sex tourists, while Samui has always attracted families and young, adventurous travellers.

Edited April 9, 2006 by Insight

[limbos]

And those are the ones who are watching the destruction of their community.

and thats what is so sad about it all.

how the average person , not motivated by greed or driven by aggression , is suffering at the hands of vested interests who refuse to bow to any controls , controls that would benefit the community at large , both local and foriegn , and just steamroller the pursuit of their own agenda crushing anybody or anything that gets in their way.

its nasty. samui has become nasty.

This is what other people think on a different forum about Hua Hin, Tax;

I believe similar tensions could arise in Hua Hin.

Over the past two years in particular there has been an influx of foreigners to this formerly quiet, laid back seaside resort.

The spike in the property market has been driven mostly by foreign interest but also by interest from Hi-So Bangkok families. It's getting to the point where most locals will be unable to afford to live in Hua Hin.

New developments aimed at foreigners are sprouting up everywhere.... on the way up to Khao Hin Lek Fai viewpoint luxury houses are going up with the labourers living in tin shacks with no electricity or running water.

I've already heard rumblings of resentment from middle class locals who are being forced to buy expensive land way outside town while rich Westerners buy up all the prime real estate.

A few years ago I would have said for sure that I'd like to live here in the long term... but in the past year I've had a change of heart... Too many Starbucks, KFCs, Burger Kings, Pizza Companies and so on. The town has lost it's quaint atmosphere and is literally being over-run with foreigners.

The traffic is chronic... and I'm sick of being surrounded by grumpy upper middle class Europeans who complain that the food is too spicy!

Goodbye Hua Hin!

Rant over...

...Oh, and by way of crime. One bar owner was murdered last year by his ex-wife and her family while a Dutch guy I know was also shot by some Thai heavies. I think crime will get a lot worse as time goes on in Samui, Pattaya and even Hua Hin....

[drummer]

People are people. *Anytime* you have a tourist attraction you get tourist crime. Its always a draw for the wrong sort of people, everywhere. Just human nature. You also get all the people working for their money who see all these rich folks on vacation spending money like its water. (most don't realize that many wouldn'y consider spending money that quickly back home in their regular lives - thats how they can afford a vacation in the first place!) Resentment against tourists is **worldwide**. Samui is hardly the only place where cabbies rip off tourists.

Resentment against newcomers is worldwide, too. Look at the gaff over the Immigration Bill in the States. I remember talking to a fellow back from my hometown (Portland, Oregon) who was making disparaging comments about 4th generation Oregonians, as his family was 5th generation. It doesn't stop. Those that advocate slowing down the Samui economy to prevent this kind of tension are tilting at windmills.

Comparing Samui to Pattaya: I have recently lived in both places. The beaches in Pattaya are FAR FAR dirtier than Samui, exceptin gthe odd corner that never gets cleaned. And even then, I've never seen nor heard about finding a hypoderic needle is Samui. I've personally seen a couple on Pattaya beach. I would not consider walking barefoot on Pattaya beach - at least not with my eyes anywhere but the sand.

On any given day in Pattaya you have more crime than in Samui in a month. And of a type far worse than you hear. Gang rapes every other day. People getting shot off their motorcycles. Good times! Thats comparitively worse than Samui even based off the official population numbers, which are far low. All you have to do is just click over to the Pattaya section of the Thaivisa forum and have a looksee for yourself.

I don't remember that far back, but I've heard that Hua Hin used to be the hit-man capital of Thailand about 20 years ago (now its nakhon si Thammarat)

Someone mentioned the regular Thais not benefitting from the tourist boom. I'd have to say thats rediculous. They may not be getting rich, but compare the bottom of the Samui housing to the bottom of the BKK housing. Sure, there are a few shacks up, but nothing like BKK. nothing like you might see just driving dow the highway around Thailand, and certainly nothing compared to what you see in Cambodia. There are a lot of opportunities where Thais can and do earn more money for themselves. The story is great example. The brothers worked up from nothing. There is nothing stopping others from doing the same (aside from decreased opportunity with increased competition) A lo of wage earners make far more than they would otherwise. Why do so many people move here from the mainland? Certainly not so they can be trod upon by the establishment... I know regular, unconnected Thai folks who make more in their jobs than I do.

Samui could be far more idyllic, to be sure - but then even 'The Beach' wasn't what it was cracked up to be....

[Pegasus]

What can i say!!.

You must be walking around with your eye's closed, plenty of needles on Lamai Beach at the south end.

Pattaya Beach, not a plastic bottle, bag or discarded flip flop in sight, infact spotless.

This one could sell a million post cards if it was cleaned, this is a beauty spot and look out point on Samui!!.

I see it as it is.

[Rooo]

You see it as it is?What no Hi RISE in the background?Seaweed?An unswimable beach used for fishing boats?

Got to have a talk to nature ,to clean it's act up & stop sending these tides in.

[LaoPo]

Hey Pegasus.... be real.....be fair ..it's like comparing BLACK versus WHITE.

LaoPo

Edited April 13, 2006 by LaoPo

[Samuian]

This is for the defense of Samui - Ban Bang Po Beach as of today:

and so is Mae Nam Beach, Boput, Ban Rak (Big Buddha), Choeng Mon, even the highly frequented Chaweng Beach and Lamai Beach - one thing is sure that they all look quite nasty after the Monsoon Season - the Sea brings all back what has been thrown in to it or brought in by the rivers....

Sure has the uncontrolled development left some deep scars, but what can be done about it - someone who can tell me, where to find the switch?

Everybody should enjoy life to its fullest, anytime, any moment, any where - because we might be longer dead than alive!

It's so easy to whine, to complain about this or that, the question is: "what will we gain from it? will it make this seemingly miserable life better? will it improve anything?

some people take action:

If I cannot appreciate a certain situation or a certain spot i'll move away from it - to "greener pastures"... why wobble?

Edited April 13, 2006 by Samuian

[uncle buck bophut]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Being an expat myself and living and working in samui for the past 3 years +.

I think that the comments in the news paper article to be total fabrication from what i have seen on this island, that i call home .

The Thai people and in particular the people of Samui are just like any other nation . you treat them with respect and respect there culture you will earn the trust and respect and make very loyal friends .

Yes ther are unscupulous people , but it a fact of life , not everybody is nice , but you can be sure that i am for south londaon and i have met a lot more nice people since living on samui than i would ever had in south london or anywere else in london or england , and many nof them are thai and ask nothing of you but friendship , respect and love the island that we live on .

Yes change is hard for some , but change will happen anywere, you ask you mothers or fathers about the country you come from , its change to what they new and loved .

and to say that only 20% of samui people have benefited from the change is rediculous, maybe you mean the migrante workers then yes but they sstill have work that they would not of had !

And on a foot note of someone that born and lived in a melting pot of london , believe me when i say i feel safer here that in london .

So come enjoy and be safe , and remember that even spain , france , u,s,a .london have a lot more issues than thailand and samui

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Where did you live in London?

"remember that even spain , france , u,s,a .london have a lot more issues than thailand and samui"

Huh?

[tornado40]

Having visited LOS for the past 10 years - at 46 yrs and single - I have been planning to move to Samui and therefore purchased a house in 2003 for around 1.75mb. I visit Samui around 3-4 times per year - and have also been pleased with my decision to pick Samui and the house purchase route with lease back to pay tax (1st time May)

Hope for retirement at 50 so very interested in what is happening with the development of the Island. I have to say that the people have always been great and I feel safe as much as anyone can do in the world today.

[seonai]

I think that the article in the British newspaper said a lot of true things about Thailand in general. I live on a small, undeveloped island in the main. But we already have several "Mafia" and corrupt local government officials. Whatever all of you say out there about your islands...... this is a fact in Thailand. Roads, property, land...... can be bought and sold by "corrupt" "mafia".

Our island is en route to another place

[somchai jones]

All you Samuites may want to check this out, although it doesn't make for pleasant reading :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1748146,00.html

Me and my wife have been visiting Samui for the last 6 years but this year was a nightmare.

We arrived on samui on the 28th of Jan, we stay in Lamai close to Grand mother rocks, over the next week we made friends with a Thai lady who ran a riding school just past the fishing village and my wife made arrangements to go riding on Fri the 3rd of Feb but was throwing it down so she didn't go. The following Thur the 9th of Feb the lady turned up at the Blues Stop, a bar that we used to go in, she rides a chopper m/bike.

It was 11pm , at 11.30pm she asked my wife to go with her to see the horses, 1 hour at the most and my wife hadn't had a drink.

As they were leaving she passed my wife the remainder of her drink and said finish that, she was dropped off later that evening at 02.10am in what i can only describe as completely out of it!!

She slept for 17 hours and when she awoke the next day she had 2 horrendous burns on her legs off the bikes exhaust, and complained of being sore between her legs!!

It was 3 weeks later before she started to have recollections of that evening and she believes she was raped by 4 Thai men.

On the 15th of Feb we left Samui to go to Penang for a week, we arrived at Nathon and I had put my document bag in my rucksack to keep my hands free, on arrival at Nathon we were put on a coach to go to the other ferry about 5 miles away, when we got there I was waiting by the coach to retrieve my bag and the coach just drove on to the ferry, the baggage boy said no problem bags safe locked on coach.

Needless to say when we got to Surat Thani we had been robbed, passports,travelers cheques.cash, flight tickets home, driving license,Thai bank book etc.

Not to be recommended, a complete ball ache, it took 8 days to get knew travelers cheques, not the 24 hours as advertised. (American Express).

Also the Baht buses on Samui have hiked up the prices, they want 50 Baht to go half a K, and they are riding around empty, every one's walking.

Any one thinking of going to Samui for a paradise holiday think again, I never thought I would say it but you would be better off going to Pattaya.

Crime is on the increase in Samui, every day we heard of a tourist who had been robbed or had their bungalow or room broken into as said by Soph in an earlier post.

If tourist were to stay away for a couple of years maybe Samui would clean it's act up, clean the filthy beaches (Evan the beaches in Pattaya are cleaner than Samui) and repair the atrocious roads!!

A have been a frequent visitor to Thailand for the last 20 years and I always treat them with the upmost respect, I love Thailand, the people and the culture, but this year I am well xxxxxx off with Samui.

So, let me get this straight. You and your wife have been coming to thailand for 6 years and you let her (and she went!) go off with a total stranger late at night and drank from that persons drink! You then put your valuables in the bottom of the bus.

Sorry, but would either of you do these things at home? Frankly, I can't believe someone who has been coming here for that long would be so naive. Even the 20 year old backpackers figure it out after a couple of weeks.

I've been coming to Thailand for 20 years, and normaly we carry our bags on to the ferry, this was the first time we were put on a coach and driven to the other port, only 5 minutes away, and when the coach drove on the ferry with our bags from then on it was out of our hands.

Maybe because we have been coming so long we had got complacent with the honesty that we have become accustomed to from Thai people!!

But Samui is becoming the crime capital of Thailand, it's worse than Bangkok.

'But Samui is becoming the crime capital of Thailand, it's worse than Bangkok.'

You may have overlooked Pattaya in this assesment. Also, some of the cowboy towns on the border with Myanmar are pretty naughty. Good fun though. Beats Eastbourne!

[Major Major]

That Guardian article is a load of crap. If I showed that article to the numerous guests I have welcomed on holdiay here they would be very puzzled. ALL bar none have said Samui is the most beautiful reosrt they have ever seen and have had the best holidays of their lives. The beaches in Samui generally superb. The water, generally, is still clean although we have to be vigilant. Yes there are problems like in every tourist area, but having lived here for 16 months, having lived in Hiong Kong for 16 years, I am so glad I made the move. I have many Thai friends - I employ 6 in my small business and we have a great laugh together. Yes there are 'families' but the ones I know have always been helpful to me. The only real trouble I have seen is through drunken farangs in Chaweng. I do not have rose-tinted glasses, yes there are some problems, but they are not peculiar to Samui. This island is one of God's secrets and is an infinitely better place to live than Phuket and Pattaya, IMHO. Those farangs that don't like it, please leave.

[taxexile]

I do not have rose-tinted glasses,

This island is one of God's secrets

[somchai jones]

Where did you live in London?

"remember that even spain , france , u,s,a .london have a lot more issues than thailand and samui"

Huh?

Possibly Hackney, Peckham or New Cross.