The savvy have a small nucleus of reliable friends who can do the odd airport/ferry/shopping or toyota etc run at the drop of a hat; a service that works both ways and is free of charge.

Some even include hospitals as far as Surratthani when necessary.

Edited February 12, 201610 yr by evadgib

Too many post blocks to add ^

Well I am pleased we agree on something....

If one avoids driving around at rush hours 7-9 am and 4 - 6 pm most of Samui is not that bad most of the time .... except perhaps Chawang? ... but easily avoided.... there is no need to go there...

500 meter Soi's ? Most are a lot longer than that .... several kms for most ......... and someone accused me of not getting out much, yesterday! I do get around .... more than most, I think.....

They are improving Samui, I have mentioned that several times before.... Huge road and drainage works in progress between Maenam and Nathon..... Between Nathon and Hau Thanon, it's been finished for at least two years now... even Hau Thanon to Chawang is not that bad... yes not always as fast as we would like, but I think back to where I used to live in the west.... it took two councils seven years to approve a short main street improvement of the town I lived in... then two years to do the work...

Bye the way many Chinese tourists at the Big Buddha today.... just to get back to the original topic!

Again my point has been missed. Though there are some sois that are longer than 500 meters, I still think most of the population lives within walking distance of the Ring Road, and certainly most of the hotels. Having that bus service would be of great use to the locals and the tourists. How many times would I have loved a way to get from Lamai to Nathon, for less than the 400 baht the pirate taxis were charging? Public transportation is something that has never been seriously considered on Samui, due to the power and influence of the taxi and mini van mafias. They need to be completely taken out of the equation, by a politician or authority that is not complete bought and paid for. Is there one like that in Surat province?

I wouldn't disagree with this point, surprised you haven't mentioned the outrageous costs of most direct flights to/from Samui. I think that is one of the biggest moans for people living here regarding transport, you can fly from Surat Thani to Bangkok for about a 5th of the price it costs to fly from Samui.

Edited February 12, 201610 yr by TheLobster

I wouldn't disagree with this point, surprised you haven't mentioned the outrageous costs of most direct flights to/from Samui. I think that is one of the biggest moans for people living here regarding transport, you can fly from Surat Thani to Bangkok for about a 5th of the price it costs to fly from Samui.

AirAsia has a combo ticket visa Surat and NST to Samui so, there is no problem for me anymore.

And where is this Shrine??? In all the years I have been here I have not heard of it before....

For those interested, there should be festivities on Soi 4 area of Maenam starting around 5 pm this afternoon... (as far as I can figure) I believe a 200 baht charge to see the evening show around the Chinese Temple...

Let's hope the waves and wind die down by then....

The shrine is about 200m towards Chaweng from the sharp corner in Hua Thanon,... where the Muslim market street is.

You can't miss it, for sure it is the biggest and ugliest thing on the island... brash and OTT like most things Chinese.

Yes it is ugly and crass like most things Chinese. The shrine's left hand should be holding a kicking child before the ogre stuffs it into it's mouth as it does not depict peace and harmony !