Koh Samui

Despite its popularity, Koh Samui remains one of the country's more beautiful island destinations.

Popular Resort Areas
Originally settled by Hainanese from China in the mid-19th century, well-developed Koh Samui has a rather different culture to other parts of Thailand. The descendants of those pioneers now live mainly in the villages, as outsiders populate most tourist-oriented resorts. Known as Chao Samui (Samui folk), many of them still do the trade of their forebears - coconut farming. Indeed, the island is covered with palms, and coconut is a common ingredient of many local dishes.

Beaches & Nightlife
Hat Chaweng and Hat Lamai are Samui's most beautiful and most popular beaches. Both have a huge selection of places to stay, and prices rise from December to July. The nightlife of each is different: Chaweng is better for couples, women and families, while single men predominate amidst the beer bar culture of Lamai. These resorts, as well as Na Thon (Samui's main town), have communications, exchange and car/motorcycle hire facilities.

Temple Visits
Nice temples to visit are Wat Phra Yai (Big Buddha Temple) in the north, with its 12-meter Buddha statue, and Wat Laem Saw in the south, with its old and sacred stupa. Monks conduct meditation courses for foreigners at Wat Pang Ba, near Hat Chaweng.

Sports
Buffalo fighting is a famous spectator sport on Samui. Duels between bulls last just a few seconds: the first to run loses, and injuries are rare. Seven bullrings around the island take turn to host competitions. For keen fight fans, human combatants box in regular matches at Muay Thai rings in Chaweng and Na Thon. Divers will find no end of operators around Samui, but most of them are at Hat Chaweng.