| Koh Samui
is located in the Gulf of Thailand, about 35km northeast of
Surat Thani town (9°N, 100°E). It is surrounded by about sixty
other islands, most of which comprise the Ang Thong National
Marine Park, but also include other tourist destinations Koh Pha
Ngan, Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan.
The island is roughly
circular in shape, and is about 15km across. The central part of
the island is an (almost) uninhabitable mountain jungle (peak
Khao Pom, 635m) and the various lowland areas are connected
together by a single road, that covers the circumference of the
island.
There is one town, Na
Thon, on the west coast of the island, with a major port for
fishing and inter-island transportation. Each of Koh Samui's
many beaches is also nominally considered a town, due to the
number of hotels, restaurants and bars that have sprung up in
recent years.
Koh Samui is mostly
visited by holidaymakers wanting to "get away from it
all", so its main appeal is its white beaches and warm sea,
and it has plenty to choose from.
Chaweng covers most of
the island's east coast, forming the most crowded and tourist
saturated destination on the island. The beach itself, while
generally clean suffers from overcrowding since there are vast
numbers of visitors year-round. The nearby ring-road, has built
up a huge Western-style tourist town, packed full of restaurants
and bars (ranging from traditional family-run Thai at Ninja,
through Thai-Californian fusion food at Betelnut to
McDonald's and Starbucks), souvenir shops, markets and
nightclubs. It can get very busy on the road at night, both with
truck-taxis carrying people up and down the coast and with
people exploring the shopping (which stays open late) and
nightlife. The waters in Chaweng occasionally have strong
under-currents so swimmers should stay close to shore.
Also on the East coast
is Lamai, smaller than Chaweng, but its beaches are cleaner and
less crowded than Chaweng... |
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