| Samui History - The history of Samui island, Thailand |
The History of Tourism on Koh Samui
Travelling either by foot, or along the beach riddled shorelines, the inhabitants remained unburdened with vehicles until after the 1940’s. An excursion for these island dwellers from Maenam to Lamai would take several hours, crossing through the mountainous jungles, making the return trip on the following day due to the dangers lurking within and the distance of travel required. With no convenient means of transportation, Tourism simply was not feasible. The only connection to the mainland was by means of a 6-hour boat ride and the trip from Suratthani to the docks at Nathon often comprised only half the time that it took to reach ones final destination. The island held claim to many mountainous areas, and the first plans for roadway construction were abandoned in their infancy, conceding that it was an impossible feat to bring the equipment needed onto the island to produce such a road. It wasn’t until 1967 that the ’Island Leader’ Khun Dilok Suthiklom, finally made an all out attempt to develop the island and its infrastructure, asking the country’s government for assistance in the quest for an island thoroughfare. There remained two main obstacles that would need careful consideration: the steep hill climbing between Nathon and Maenam and the rocky and treacherous passageway between Lamai and Chaweng. Both these areas would require explosives and removal crews to allow the roads to rise at an acceptable pitch. Trees and rocks were removed to clear the way, resulting in a narrow road linking the villages of Samui to the Nathon port. The construction of the road began with the long and massive manual labour of several hundred persons to clean a path around the island. In the years that preceded the concrete road, it was not uncommon for all passengers to have to abandon their seats to help with the vehicles movements along this dirt roadway, pushing and at times even pulling the vehicle along. The section between Lamai and Chaweng had to be physically cut into the mountain for a length of 3 km., an undertaking that would have been impossible without the use of supplied dynamite and heavy construction machines. To accommodate this construction, machines and equipment were brought in from the mainland, but the task of landing them onto the shores brought still greater engineering difficulties, as the transport boats carrying the machines had to be manoeuvred close enough in deep areas to anchor the boats directly onto the beach, and enable the equipment to be unloaded without sinking into the Gulf of Siam. During this period, unavoidable natural incidents delayed the construction project due to the rainy season and monsoons, completely halting the progress of work for stretches of time. In 1973 the final orders came from Bangkok to finish this project, and the concrete began to pour into the 52 kilometres of road, completing a single 2 metre wide roadway along the perimeter of the island. 2 years later this was widened to accommodate the ever-increasing traffic. Today, Koh Samui boasts a population of approximately forty-five thousand, and supports itself through a successful tourist industry, as well as its natural resources of coconut and rubber being exported to the mainland and beyond. An International Airport with flights daily to Bangkok and other major airports in Southeast Asia have allowed for an increase in the tourist population to resound over the 1 million mark every year. While the island remains to present an unspoiled image in the public’s perception, economic growth has also brought not only prosperity and changes to the island's environment and culture, but also a source of conflict between local residents and migrants from other parts of Thailand, as well as from other countries. Samui has indeed been merged into the pathway of the traveller, all due to the building of a single road. The times when travel would take days to accomplish what can now be done in a few hours, are long forgotten, with exception of the few natives who sit languidly on their salas watching the new world go by. There is a modern façade beginning to take form on the island of Koh Samui, with the erection of 5-star resorts and facilities to house and entertain the world traveller. But thankfully the ancient history of the traditions of its first inhabitants have not been covered in concrete or asphalt, and can be seen in full light by simply stepping off of this contemporary road, and into the jungles of its birth. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites          |
If you chance to look at a Ming Dynasty map dating somewhere around 1687, you will see the coral eclipsed island of Pulo Cornam where Koh Samui lies today. Inhabited approximately 15 centuries ago by fishermen from the Malay Peninsula and from the shores of Southern China, the name Samui has been mysteriously adopted by the isle of Pulo Cornam.
Perhaps it is an extension of the name of one of the native trees, Mui, or it is a corruption of the Chinese word Saboey, meaning "safe haven.” Nonetheless, the island was kept a secluded secret to the Western world until the early 1970’s; with it’s dirt roads and isolated self-sufficient community, maintaining little connection to the not so distant mainland.
