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Ko Samui island of Surat Thani Province (or Koh Samui, Thai: เกาะสมุย), or often, simply Samui as it is referred to by locals, is an island off the east
coast of the Kra Isthmus in Thailand, close to the mainland Surat Thani town. It is Thailand's third largest island, with an area of 228.7 km2 and a population of over 50,000 (2008). It is rich with
natural resources, white sandy beaches, coral reefs and coconut trees.
Ko Samui, has essentially two seasons; warm and tropical most of the year, with a short rainy season. Unlike Phuket and most
of the rest of Southern Thailand which has a 6-month rainy season between May and November, Samui's weather is relatively dry for the vast majority of the year, with the rainy season being primarily
confined to November. For the rest of the year, since the weather is tropical, when it does rain, it usually doesn’t last long; rain showers of 20–60 minutes are typical.
Although Ko Samui is in
southern Thailand, where Islam has a strong influence, the original inhabitants of the island, known as 'Chao Samui', are predominantly Buddhist. In the past, most of the locals made their living in the
coconut farming business. Nowadays, however, most work in jobs related to tourism.
Many locals have become wealthy from selling off land they have owned for decades. As a result of the extensive
development of the island, many Thai-Chinese have come to Samui from the capital of Bangkok (Khung-Thep). Most of the manual labor needed to keep up with the island’s growth has been provided by people
native to the country’s poorer north-eastern region. As a result, there is a wide cross section of economic classes on the island.
The south of Thailand is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai
Chinese, Muslims and traditional sea-faring gypsies. Ko Samui does not seem to suffer from the religious tensions in communities along the southern border of Malaysia and Thailand, and in general the
locals live in harmony. Outside of the tourist areas, the Thai language is spoken with a thick Southern dialect which is even difficult for northern Thais to understand.
With this broad mixture of
cultures, Ko Samui is always celebrating some tradition or another, including western.
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