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Sure, but no one goes there so it's irrelevant. There are parts of Hawaii that haven't changed in decades either because people don't visit, but that doesn't make it any less of a mainstream tourist destination.
The one and only time I was in Samui was in '98. Stayed in a nice place on Chaweng which cost me 250B/night. I thought I was splurging a bit at the time as I'd just come from Indonesia. The comment I've written in my guidebook at the time about Samui is " Too touristy and too many German package tourists!". What I didn't put as an addendum to my note was "and old German blokes in thongs" because I knew Thai friends back in the UK were going to borrow the my guidebook once I got back!
I was a student back then so worked my arse off in two F/T jobs doing 90+ hour weeks for several weeks of my summer holidays to then go travelling for 6-8 weeks in Asia. Nowadays things are different: I'm cash rich and time poor so will spend more on easier transport options, places to stay and 50% of the time tend to book ahead.
However there are still places I like to travel where the comfort option doesn't exist and I can still quite happily go back to basics (in the past 12 months this has included Timor Leste and Maluku in Indonesia).
If I was to rewind the clock back and be 21 again today I wouldn't want to go to Samui - there would just be nothing of interest for me there, and I'd happily accept that I couldn't afford it too: just like I did with Phuket 15 years ago. Same as with many European beach destinations that I went to in my teens when doing the interrail thing: I'd have loved to stay in St Tropez but couldn't afford it so day tripped in. Ditto nice beaches in Italy and on the Greek islands - I just accepted that my budget couldn't afford it, I'd have to stay further out and didn't winge about it.
Well there are still people of that age today who would ilke to experience what others in earlier times experienced in the era of huts and unspoiled beaches , and East Timor doesn't have islands that look like Ko Samui.
The people who can't afford it are often not just put off by prices but by the built up look and somewhat insular atmosphere .
I don't understand why you and Havemoney use the word "winge". The opening post was just factual info .
QUOTE - "and old German blokes in thongs" because I knew Thai friends back in the UK were going to "
You seem to have fixation about age , by the way in some parts of the world "thongs' can mean underwear , so some people in UK may have thought you were talking about Germans wearing womens underwear.
Yes it does: ever heard of Atauro Island?
And there are plenty of places in Indonesia and the Philippines where you can have your cheap beach hut with no hotels in the vicinity. Why is this the case there and not so much in Thailand? Because Thailand is much more developed (just compare the GDP per capita: Thailand is double that of Indonesia and the Philippines)
And regarding the thongs: they were wearing them (as in a g-string type thing), it was totally inappropriate and my Thai friends would've been horrified back then (attitudes have changed a bit in the prevailing years).
And I don't have an issue with age but I do have an issue with people complaining that things aren't the way they used to be.
QUOTE - "And there are plenty of places in Indonesia and the Philippines where you can have your cheap beach hut with no hotels in the vicinity. Why is this the case "
No, they are not like the Thai islands , Indonesia doesn't have islands that look like or are set up like Ko Samui , and neither does the Phillipines which I visted in the 80's . By the way one of best beaches in Phillipines - at Boracay Island became middle class resort beach many many years ago.
As for per capita income this is copied and pasted from Inquirer Business site - QUOTE - "The Philippines’ per capita income in 2010 stood at about $2,000—lower than the average of $3,000 for Indonesia, $4,700 for Thailand, and $8,400 for Malaysia. "
Thailand is richer than Phillipines and Indonesia but still a developing country , but in any case the fact that Phuket and Samui are expensive is not due to that , they became artificially expensive due to all the money the higher spending tourists have brought in . In the same way Bali has some expensive resorts because of the outside money that came in not due to economic strength of Indonesia.
QUOTE - "And I don't have an issue with age but "
Yes you do ! , on the other thread you were going on about 'older people resistant to change' . For your info there are people much younger than the age you say you are that also don't like built up beaches.
QUOTE - "I do have an issue with people complaining that things aren't the way they used to be. "
Go back to the opening post , where are there any words of complaint , it just stated facts.
No it isn't. Backpackers do Europe/Australia and spend $30-40 a night for a bunk bed. Same price but in Thailand you get 4 star luxury!
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16
Thats exggerating it a fair bit , there are parts of Nth Thailand that haven't changed that muchSure, but no one goes there so it's irrelevant. There are parts of Hawaii that haven't changed in decades either because people don't visit, but that doesn't make it any less of a mainstream tourist destination.
17
#17: play fair ;-) If you're backpacking that's well above budget, and you know it.The one and only time I was in Samui was in '98. Stayed in a nice place on Chaweng which cost me 250B/night. I thought I was splurging a bit at the time as I'd just come from Indonesia. The comment I've written in my guidebook at the time about Samui is " Too touristy and too many German package tourists!". What I didn't put as an addendum to my note was "and old German blokes in thongs" because I knew Thai friends back in the UK were going to borrow the my guidebook once I got back!
I was a student back then so worked my arse off in two F/T jobs doing 90+ hour weeks for several weeks of my summer holidays to then go travelling for 6-8 weeks in Asia. Nowadays things are different: I'm cash rich and time poor so will spend more on easier transport options, places to stay and 50% of the time tend to book ahead.
However there are still places I like to travel where the comfort option doesn't exist and I can still quite happily go back to basics (in the past 12 months this has included Timor Leste and Maluku in Indonesia).
If I was to rewind the clock back and be 21 again today I wouldn't want to go to Samui - there would just be nothing of interest for me there, and I'd happily accept that I couldn't afford it too: just like I did with Phuket 15 years ago. Same as with many European beach destinations that I went to in my teens when doing the interrail thing: I'd have loved to stay in St Tropez but couldn't afford it so day tripped in. Ditto nice beaches in Italy and on the Greek islands - I just accepted that my budget couldn't afford it, I'd have to stay further out and didn't winge about it.
19
QUOTE - "If I was to rewind the clock back and be 21 again today I wouldn't want to go to Samui - there would just be nothing of interest for me there, and I'd happily accept that I couldn't afford it too: just like I did with Phuket 15 years ago. "Well there are still people of that age today who would ilke to experience what others in earlier times experienced in the era of huts and unspoiled beaches , and East Timor doesn't have islands that look like Ko Samui.
The people who can't afford it are often not just put off by prices but by the built up look and somewhat insular atmosphere .
I don't understand why you and Havemoney use the word "winge". The opening post was just factual info .
QUOTE - "and old German blokes in thongs" because I knew Thai friends back in the UK were going to "
You seem to have fixation about age , by the way in some parts of the world "thongs' can mean underwear , so some people in UK may have thought you were talking about Germans wearing womens underwear.
20
East Timor doesn't have islands that look like Ko Samui.Yes it does: ever heard of Atauro Island?
And there are plenty of places in Indonesia and the Philippines where you can have your cheap beach hut with no hotels in the vicinity. Why is this the case there and not so much in Thailand? Because Thailand is much more developed (just compare the GDP per capita: Thailand is double that of Indonesia and the Philippines)
And regarding the thongs: they were wearing them (as in a g-string type thing), it was totally inappropriate and my Thai friends would've been horrified back then (attitudes have changed a bit in the prevailing years).
And I don't have an issue with age but I do have an issue with people complaining that things aren't the way they used to be.
21
Look at this PICTURE of Atauro Island , it doesn't look anything like Ko Samui . East Timor may be a worthwhile destination , but its very different country to Thailand , and the beaches and coasts tend to be somewhat arid and furthemore East Timor has never really had SEA style budget bungalows.QUOTE - "And there are plenty of places in Indonesia and the Philippines where you can have your cheap beach hut with no hotels in the vicinity. Why is this the case "
No, they are not like the Thai islands , Indonesia doesn't have islands that look like or are set up like Ko Samui , and neither does the Phillipines which I visted in the 80's . By the way one of best beaches in Phillipines - at Boracay Island became middle class resort beach many many years ago.
As for per capita income this is copied and pasted from Inquirer Business site - QUOTE - "The Philippines’ per capita income in 2010 stood at about $2,000—lower than the average of $3,000 for Indonesia, $4,700 for Thailand, and $8,400 for Malaysia. "
Thailand is richer than Phillipines and Indonesia but still a developing country , but in any case the fact that Phuket and Samui are expensive is not due to that , they became artificially expensive due to all the money the higher spending tourists have brought in . In the same way Bali has some expensive resorts because of the outside money that came in not due to economic strength of Indonesia.
22
Sorry , I misunderstood you about thongs , but maybe easier to just say G Strings , many Australians would have thought you were talking about Germans wearing flip flops footware.QUOTE - "And I don't have an issue with age but "
Yes you do ! , on the other thread you were going on about 'older people resistant to change' . For your info there are people much younger than the age you say you are that also don't like built up beaches.
QUOTE - "I do have an issue with people complaining that things aren't the way they used to be. "
Go back to the opening post , where are there any words of complaint , it just stated facts.
25
"If you're backpacking that's well above budget, and you know it"No it isn't. Backpackers do Europe/Australia and spend $30-40 a night for a bunk bed. Same price but in Thailand you get 4 star luxury!
26
$30 - 40 a nite for bunk bed is in expensive places like Port Douglas etc. Forget about Aust prices , adapt to where you are . Your logic is a bit like you go to a market in some country and pay $10 for something that should be $5 and say it doesn't matter because its still cheap in international terms.
