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Koh Samui, 280km2 is the biggest island of the Siam gulf and belongs to an archipelago of 80 small islands, of which only 6 are inhabited. It is a coconut tree island, with hills covered in forests and chalky mountains. The highest spot is situated at 636metres. Its beautiful beaches, its jungle, its hills and waterfalls offer a variety of landscape rarely equalled on other islands. It takes less than an hour to tour the islands on the road that runs round its costs, which goes to show that any part of the island may be accessed rapidly.
The climate is tropical. Temperature varies between 25 ° and 35°. The nicest season goes from December to April.
The islands economy depends mainly on fishing and the cultivation of coconuts that are picked by trained monkeys. Samui exports over 2 million coconuts every month.
The story of Samui changed in the beginning of the 80’s when the island was discovered by independent travellers. Small rustic bungalows with roofs made of palm leaves started to appear. But the secret could not be kept for long, and the islands soon became an international holiday destination. However, despite the touristic development, the locals are determined to preserve the natural and exceptional charm of the island.
The standard of living, even though slightly higher than in northern Thailand, is still very attractive, and shopping, summer clothes, accessories… is a good opportunity to discover the Thai people’s kind nature.
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