The Generation Game!

It was my youngest granddaughter’s 1st birthday earlier in the week,

a week when I have also met up with my daughter (not my granddaughter’s mother, you understand)

who is visiting Koh Samui for a few days. It was wonderful to see her again. By chance, friends of mine from Blighty (Wesley and Tina) were also in Samui so it was good to have a couple of beers with them as well!

It was Wesley’s and Tina’s first visit to Thailand and they have already vowed to come back again. It’s been a good ‘people week’ so far!

The west and northern side of Samui has been (over?) developed out of all recognition from the semi deserted tropical island I first visited all those years ago. Virtually every centimetre of beachfront is taken up with restaurants, hotels and bungalows to the point where there are people jams on the beaches

albeit many transformed into more tranquil and romantic eating spots each night

and traffic jams on the roads.

The west side of Samui is still relatively unspoilt

where the locals still dig for clams.

In between the two areas of this island is the capital, Nathon

 

originally a ferry port and fishing village but now gaining increasing revenue from tourism albeit in a very laid back way – eg a clothes shop selling bananas! –

in stark contrast to the frantic commercialism of the likes of Chaewang and Lamai on the east coast.

There’s quite a strong Chinese influence here, all the more obvious as Chinese New Year day approaches

and of course, there’s the ubiquitous Irish pub!

My daughter goes back to Bangkok tomorrow and onwards to the UK the following day – a day when I go back to the mainland, courtesy of some old rust bucket of a ferry. For obvious reasons I have enjoyed my time here but I’m not sure I’ll come back. Samui is not the idyllic, peaceful tropical island it used to be. The west coast is the nearest you come to that (despite a ‘Nikki Beach’ opening up recently!) but the rest is becoming more and more like so many other over developed tourist destinations in the otherwise wonderful country.

Phileas