SAMUI gets bad press on many travel sites for being overdeveloped and trashy. I disagree. It is hard to find a nicer white-sand beach in southern Thailand than Chaweng and the resorts lining the beach are pretty attractive, not Miami Beach/Surfers Paradise recreated. Lamai is not too far behind Chaweng.
And midrange/high-end travellers deserve a nice scenic island mid-year when the Andaman and eastern Gulf are frequently too wet - as do the sun/swim/party set and the rent-girl chasers. Okay, the girlie-bar areas in Chaweng and Lamai may be a turn-off for some, but these are easily avoided.
True, the road strip behind Chaweng's beachfront hotels and bunalows is becoming a kinda tourist trap with lots of tacky t-shirt and sarong shops and those pesky tailors, but once again this is easily avoided. As is the super busy Chaweng by-pass with just about every type of business you can imagine. You have to remember Samui has quite a big local economy, and this strip contains many of the goods/service-suppliers for such. It aint so much for tourists, but it does make the trip from the north to say Lamai much quicker than the good old days.
Ah yeah, the good old days. All you dudes wishing Chaweng was like the late 80s should consider whether your town is unchanged since that time. And then head a short distance north of Samui where Phangan offers beaches just like Chaweng's good old days at Hads Sadet, Tong Reng, Mae, Coral Cove, Bottle Beach and others.
And midrange/high-end travellers deserve a nice scenic island mid-year when the Andaman and eastern Gulf are frequently too wet - as do the sun/swim/party set and the rent-girl chasers. Okay, the girlie-bar areas in Chaweng and Lamai may be a turn-off for some, but these are easily avoided.
True, the road strip behind Chaweng's beachfront hotels and bunalows is becoming a kinda tourist trap with lots of tacky t-shirt and sarong shops and those pesky tailors, but once again this is easily avoided. As is the super busy Chaweng by-pass with just about every type of business you can imagine. You have to remember Samui has quite a big local economy, and this strip contains many of the goods/service-suppliers for such. It aint so much for tourists, but it does make the trip from the north to say Lamai much quicker than the good old days.
Ah yeah, the good old days. All you dudes wishing Chaweng was like the late 80s should consider whether your town is unchanged since that time. And then head a short distance north of Samui where Phangan offers beaches just like Chaweng's good old days at Hads Sadet, Tong Reng, Mae, Coral Cove, Bottle Beach and others.
