Many of Thailand's world-famous beach destinations are located along the Andaman Sea. Over the last five years, one such destination that has been developing its tourism infrastructure at a rate that outruns the others is Koh Samui.
Koh Samui has long been famous for its natural beauty, its fishing villages and coconut orchards and it is without doubt that these elements are what draw many tourists to Kho Samui island. However, as more and more hotels and resorts are built in response to the increase in the number of tourists, it is inevitable that such a rate of development would impact the people of Koh Samui and their lifestyles.
Many of owners of coconut plantations have had to concede to the pressures from investors and developers, for two reasons: one was the uncertain market prices for the coconuts they planted, and second was the very attractive incentives offered to them for their land. Hence on Koh Samui today, one can see many coconut plantations disappearing, to be replaced by construction sites.
Despite such change on Koh Samui's landscape, one can still catch glimpses of the century-old lifestyle of its natives – particularly deep into the mainland and along some beaches on the southern part of the island. Tourists can explore Hua Tanon Beach, Ao Thong Krude and Ao Thong Tanode by motorcycle or car, as these at its natural best – manifested by their warm smiles and hospitality of the natives who have made the island of Samui their home centuries ago, and their traditional simple lifestyle.
Formerly a busy harbor, Samui was popular with Chinese merchants from Hainan, China who made it their transit stop before they continued their long voyage to India. As a result, some of the local people are descendants of those Chinese seafarers, and who had decided to settle on the island and made their living on coconut planting and fishing.
