Our Samui
Koh Samui has witnessed a complete transformation, from an island traversed by jungle tracks in 1970s to an upscale tourism destination. The island’s tourism was originally characterised as a ‘party’ stop on the backpacker trail. In recent years, Koh Samui has rapidly developed into a deluxe resort destination with increased air and sea connections and numerous upper-tier, internationally branded resorts.
Our first encounter with Koh Samui was in the early 1990s on a gap year and we stayed in a wooden hut on Maenam Beach – if you have seen the film version of Douglas Garland’s novel The Beach, you will know the type of hut I mean – a bed, a fan and a small bathroom with cold water. In 1995 we returned to Koh Samui again staying at Anong Villas on the beautiful beach of Maenam which in those day was as perfect as you could imagine a desert island to be. At the start of the tourist rush, there were not many 5* hotels or resorts or villas and when you got off the plane at the airport, your luggage was taken off and deposited on the runway for your collection !!!!! It has changed vastly since then and now offers a state of the art shopping mall, restaurants catering to every cuisine, a supermarket that stocks Waitrose products and more Starbucks than you can shake a skinny soy caramel macchiato at. There is a bowling alley and a cinema.
We continued to visit Koh Samui on and off, alternating with other Asian destinations such as Bali, Penang, the Perhentian Islands and the Gili Islands, but our first love was Koh Samui and when our daughters were 3 and 5, we took them for their first visit to Samui and stayed in a villa in the far south of the island, which we found a little too isolated for our liking. Over the years we have stayed in many villas around the North and North East coast of Samui from Bophut to Laem Set – some good, some not so good!
Koh Samui offers many different holiday experiences for all types of people from travellers to family groups and it really up to the individual to find their best spot. There are many travel guides and online web sites that provide ample information about Koh Samui and we would be happy to pass on our knowledge depending on your requirements.
So where is our villa … If you look at the map you will see the Bang Po Beach is located North West of the Island on the ring road. To the North East, the most ––significant landmark is the airport. To the East of the airport is the popular resort of Chaweng and the main entertainment and shopping centre of the island and Bang Po is about 20 minutes drive by car. You also have the resorts of Maenam – famous for its beautiful sandy beach – and the ever popular Bophut with its own new shopping mall, numerous restaurants and the famous Friday Walking Street.
