I do not kow if the Samui Old timers have seen that before?

But the beach in Lamai at the level of the walking-market's street that lead to the beach is completely cut. 

Of course it's due to the river or rather what is called the Lamai canal (คลอง)  that took all the sand to the sea with the heavy rain.

Could be a real problem for a few hotels/resorts?

 

Can any body tell me the purpose of the abandoned concrete structure? Built about a year and a half ago and unfinished.  It makes no sense at all and has left a once beautiful beach scarred and ugly. And another thing. What a stupid idea to build a causeway across the main river that drains the Lamai valley. Rant over.

 

Perhaps the purpose of the structure is to fulfil the "Unfinished Structure Quota" that all Thai provinces and cities are required to maintain?

Nature gives nature takes away.

On 12/21/2016 at 10:50 AM, CaptainWindsock said:

Can any body tell me the purpose of the abandoned concrete structure? Built about a year and a half ago and unfinished.  It makes no sense at all and has left a once beautiful beach scarred and ugly. And another thing. What a stupid idea to build a causeway across the main river that drains the Lamai valley. Rant over.

I was  saddened to see  the lovely old footbridge demolished, to be replaced by this expensive monstrosity. The locals informed me that it was related to the nearby Pergoda where Buddhist ceremonies are regularly conducted. The idea was to build, believe it or not, a vehicle bridge, leading to a carpark which is the twisted reo-bar and concrete you see in the photos. A covered gathering area for these local Buddhist rituals was also to be a part of this madness. I've seen it washed out like this twice already, which is probably why they have abandoned this mind numbingly stupid waste of time and money. Watching both Thais and expats with more money than brains, turning Lamai into a concrete jungle leaves me in search of a new retirement destination.

I've seen it a few times but nowhere near to the degree shown in the second OP photo. In the past the bridge was constructed with rough hewn wood and would be reconstructed when required according to where the sandbank was, or rather where it had turned up. When they built the short arched bridge next to the shrimp farm I figured OK. The wooden part can be built off of the end to match the sandbank so that in itself would not be fruitless.

 

If it's not raining tomorrow I'll pop down there (5 minutes way) and make a video on the subject. How it has changed over the last 17 years and why building a permanent structure is a fruitless endeavour unless you pile drive the entire area and build a boardwalk off of that..... say goodbye to the beach if that happened. Given what has happened upstream to stop the flooding in Lamai by channelling as much water as possible into the canal it is no surprise something like this has occurred.

 

I wonder if anyone has ever played a game called Sim City?

 

SimCity is an open-ended city-building computer and console video game series originally designed by developer Will Wright. Developed in Orinda, California, it is published by Maxis (now a division of Electronic Arts) and has spawned several different editions that have sold worldwide, with the first game in the series, SimCity, published in 1989. The ongoing success of SimCity has also sparked the release of many other spin-off "Sim" titles, including 2000's The Sims, one of the best-selling computer games^[1]

In every different edition of SimCity, the player is given the task of founding and developing a city from a patch of greenland, defining what buildings are constructed via development zones - residential zones for Sims to live in; commercial zones for Sims to shop and have offices within; industrial zones to provide work through factories, laboratories and farms - as well as ensuring their citizens are kept happy through establishing various services and amenities, all while keeping a stable budget. Since SimCity 2000, players are able to define zones by densities - low density for small buildings, medium density for low to mid-sized buildings, and high density for anything up to large tower blocks - while SimCity 2000, SimCity 3000 and SimCity 4 are the only games that allow the player to alter the terrain of the city before building upon it. SimCity's game mechanics are heavily based on 20th-century California development, with each edition featuring similar gameplay elements - players start from an undeveloped greenfield, cars are the default form of transportation, and earthquakes happen - but with some differences in what buildings, disasters and elements of city management are available; SimCity 2000 is the only game to feature Dams that can be used to provide electrical power, while SimCity (2013) allows players to share police and fire services with other cities for a small fee.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity

 

Sim Lamai