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Ko Samui island of Surat Thani Province (or Koh Samui, Thai: เกาะสมุย), or often, simply Samui as it is referred to by locals, is an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand’s third largest island, with an area of 228.7 km2 and a population of over 50,000 (2008). It is rich with natural resources, white sandy beaches, coral reefs and coconut trees.

Although Ko Samui is in southern Thailand, where Islam has a strong influence, the original inhabitants of the island, known as ‘Chao Samui’, are predominantly Buddhist. In the past, most of the locals made their living in the coconut farming business. Nowadays, however, most work in jobs related to tourism.

Many locals have become wealthy from selling off land they have owned for decades. As a result of the extensive development of the island, many Thai-Chinese have come to Samui from the capital of Bangkok (Khung-Thep). Most of the manual labor needed to keep up with the islands growth has been provided by people native to the countrys poorer north-eastern region. As a result, there is a wide cross section of economic classes on the island.

The south of Thailand is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai Chinese, Muslims and traditional sea-faring gypsies. Ko Samui does not seem to suffer from the religious tensions in communities along the southern border of Malaysia and Thailand, and in general the locals live in harmony. Outside of the tourist areas, the Thai language is spoken with a thick Southern dialect which is even difficult for northern Thais to understand.

With this broad mixture of cultures, Ko Samui is always celebrating some tradition or another, including western

Info Taken from Wikipedia.com
Credits to Wikipedia.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samui

Main

Duration : 0:8:33

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Duration : 0:4:35

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Ko Samui island of Surat Thani Province (or Koh Samui, Thai: เกาะสมุย), or often, simply Samui as it is referred to by locals, is an island off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand’s third largest island, with an area of 228.7 km2 and a population of over 50,000 (2008). It is rich with natural resources, white sandy beaches, coral reefs and coconut trees.

Although Ko Samui is in southern Thailand, where Islam has a strong influence, the original inhabitants of the island, known as ‘Chao Samui’, are predominantly Buddhist. In the past, most of the locals made their living in the coconut farming business. Nowadays, however, most work in jobs related to tourism.

Many locals have become wealthy from selling off land they have owned for decades. As a result of the extensive development of the island, many Thai-Chinese have come to Samui from the capital of Bangkok (Khung-Thep). Most of the manual labor needed to keep up with the islands growth has been provided by people native to the countrys poorer north-eastern region. As a result, there is a wide cross section of economic classes on the island.

The south of Thailand is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai Chinese, Muslims and traditional sea-faring gypsies. Ko Samui does not seem to suffer from the religious tensions in communities along the southern border of Malaysia and Thailand, and in general the locals live in harmony. Outside of the tourist areas, the Thai language is spoken with a thick Southern dialect which is even difficult for northern Thais to understand.

With this broad mixture of cultures, Ko Samui is always celebrating some tradition or another, including western

Info Taken from Wikipedia.com
Credits to Wikipedia.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samui

Main

Duration : 0:7:53

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Last morning at Chaweng Cove hotel, having breakfast overlooking the beach and bay. Catching bus, which we were told was one bus all the way, which ended up being about 20 busses and taking all day to travel. Caught the ferry to the mainland. Great trip with fab views. Even saw a dolphin when we pulled into the harbour. Stopped off again halfway through the journey to swap busses again. Explored the local area which was great, the market was fab, sat down and ate some real local food.
Then we arrived at Krabi where we got a taxi to the Krabi river hotel where we stayed for one night before heading off again. Visited the night market which, again, was amazing. Didn’t see crazy food like locusts which I was hoping to see. Still, we ate some crazy stuff which tasted fab. Next day it was a longtail boat ride to Railay, where the tsunami hit. We stayed at the Sunrise Tropical resort, very nice indeed.

Duration : 0:9:59

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The beach in Railay was amazing, huge cliffs either side which were come of the best in the world for rock-climbing. Lovely sand and warm emerald water. Lots of tourists seem to come on day trips here then go home. Pretty relaxed place with not much going on. There are several parts to it though, a more lively party side, and the quite bit. We explored both but it all seemed rather quiet.
Hired kayaks to go around the coast in, very nice. Amazing caves. One of the nights where we spent most of our time, because of the cheap cocktails, they held a traditional night with fighting and fire juggling etc. Good to see.
Rained one of the days! only for about an hour. Not too nice, but we jumped in the sea where it was warmer. Would have massages under the tree by the local women too during the day. In the evening there would be huge bats flying around, fruit bats? One of the days we did an excursion with Unseen Excursion to James Bond island. Dam good fun as there were only 4 other people with us. Made it more relaxed. Saw mango groves and amazing scenery, as well as where they filmed The Man with the Golden Gun. Then it was off to the caves in canoes, which we didn’t do.

Duration : 0:9:25

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[edit] Lifestyle
Although Ko Samui is in southern Thailand, where Islam has a strong influence, the original inhabitants of the island, known as ‘Chao Samui’, are predominantly Buddhist. In the past, most of the locals made their living in the coconut farming business. Nowadays, however, most work in jobs related to tourism.

Many locals have become wealthy from selling off land they have owned for decades. As a result of the extensive development of the island, many Thai-Chinese have come to Samui from the capital of Bangkok (Khung-Thep). Most of the manual labor needed to keep up with the islands growth has been provided by people native to the countrys poorer north-eastern region. As a result, there is a wide cross section of economic classes on the island.

The south of Thailand is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai Chinese, Muslims and traditional sea-faring gypsies. Ko Samui does not seem to suffer from the religious tensions in communities along the southern border of Thailand, and in general the locals live in harmony. Outside of the tourist areas, the Thai language is spoken with a thick Southern dialect which is even difficult for northern Thais to understand.

With this broad mixture of cultures, Ko Samui is always celebrating some tradition or another, including western.

[edit] Events and festivals
Buffalo Fighting Festival One of the best-known festivals on Ko Samui is its Buffalo Fighting Festival, which is held on special occasions such as New Years Day and Songkran. Unlike Spanish bull-fighting, the fighting on Ko Samui is fairly harmless. The fighting season varies according to some ancient customs and ceremonies. The buffalo are beautifully decorated with ribbons and gold-painted leaves. Before the contest which lasts just two rounds, monks spray them with holy water. The winning owner typically takes home millions of baht in prize money.
Ten Stars Samui Art Party A recurring cultural event bringing together art lovers, local Thai and international artists and their new, original artworks. These bi-monthly events, hosted at various high-end resorts and other 5-star venues on the island, focus on building the art community on Ko Samui with presentations by featured artists.
Bowling Championship This is an annual bowling event held in May every year.
Avis Samui Tennis Open The annual amateur tennis tournament held in July.
The Fisherman’s Village Festival This five-day festival is celebrated with fun, music and food. The music is usually played by well-known artists and food tents sell inexpensive cuisine provided by local hotels.
Triathlon Event The International Triathlon Union organizes this event every year. This event in Ko Samui draws more than five hundred participants from around the world. The event attracts competitors and visitors as well as locals. This event actually has never taken place and was promoted via a website only.
Samui Regatta The Samui Regatta is a sailing tournament, held every year. The tournament is internationally known and competitors come from as far away as Australia, Singapore, Japan and China. This event, for boats of all sizes and shapes, began in 2002.
Full Moon Party (Ko Phangan) Had Rin Beach on nearby Ko Phang-ngan was once a secret haven for a few backpackers who could only get to the beach by boat. Now, it is packed with bungalows, bars, pizza joints and even a 7-11 and every month on full-moon, a huge all-night event is held with rave music played by international DJs to thousands of party-goers.
[edit] Local food
In general, Southern Thai food is renowned for its spiciness. Much of the cuisine has its origins in Malay, Indonesian and Indian food. Favorite dishes from the south include Indian-style Muslim curry (massaman), rice noodles in fish curry sauce (Khanom Jeen) and chicken biryani.

Local food in Ko Samui and its province of Surat Thani are salted eggs and rambutan.

Info Taken from Wikipedia.com
Credits to Wikipedia.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koh_Samui

Main

Duration : 0:7:33

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Last part of the film and more wild monkeys running through the resort. One of the nights we caught a boat over to where the rock climbers stay and hang out. Much more backpacker and rough. We loved it. the food was great! big portions and people were friendly. Only problem was that it poured down with rain with a huge thunder storm while we were there, so none of the boats would take us back! We had to buy torches and clamber back over the rocks back to our beach, with some Swedes who were in the same predicament as us! good fun.

More monkeys in the trees on the way back from the beach on the other side. Ran out of battery on the camera so had to use mobile phone. The beach here was great, with a boat which pulled in selling food it would make there and then, pad Thai etc. Then it was time to leave sunrise tropical resort hotel and go back to ko samui for the wedding. Had a bad stomach that day and the bus trip to catch the ferry was a nightmare!

Last part of the film is leaving Lamai Beach, where we stayed one night for the wedding. Hotel was ok, but the area was just awful. Full of English bars and louts. Not very nice. It was like Majorca! Dirty old men with young girls etc. Such a shame and so different then chaweng beach, where we were at the quiet and could go to the main drag if we wanted. Footage is just of the trip to the airport. AT the airport though we bumped into a famous Thai soap star. We watched local TV and got watching this soap opera, like neighbours etc. The girl we thought looked like Jade goody. Then we saw her at the airport and had our pics taken with her. She must have thought we were mad lol

Duration : 0:6:58

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Duration : 0:16:29

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