I’m not going to go into detail about the landmark of The Big Buddha and the attached temple. Many think that this has become a little too commercial of late, with its cafes and gift and souvenir shops. In fact the neighbouring temple of Plai Laem boasts an equally-impressive pure white 18-armed statue of The Buddha, and it’s all much more serene. But head westwards on the coast road, away from Big Buddha, in the direction of Bophut. There’s not much to be seen until you suddenly find yourself at a busy junction, with the airport signposted to the left. This little spot displays one of the charming intrigues of our island: that you can often see the old and the new – the rickety and rustic and the spick and span – jumbled up together next to each other. Right on the edge of this junction, on the beach side, is the area’s old fish market, with its ramshackle canvas and tin roofs and awnings, looking like a do-it-yourself job thrown together from farmyard scraps. And right across from it is the gleaming new hotel and mini-mall that goes by the curious name of ‘Plaza the Green’. This seems to be vying for a Samui Slickness award with the new Seatran Discovery ferry pier that’s right across from it, along with the only semi-circular elevated Family Mart on the island! The Seatran pier people have really managed to stretch the boundaries of semantics with their Wednesday ‘Food & Drink Walking Street – Music’ err . . . event, that’s held in the courtyard in front of the pier. It seems than an actual street to walk along isn’t a requirement any more. At this point, firsttime visitors will probably be squeaking with excitement, anticipating an unfolding expanse of eateries and boutiques. There are a couple of lively bars next door to the pier – but that’s it. For another kilometre, anyway, there’s a big gap until you see the Samui Mermaid Resort. Which is a good time for a gap in my narrative, too. I could carry on by working my way along the coast and pointing out the highlights as we go. But let’s condense it down a bit. This whole area is a gastronome’s paradise, a bar-hopper’s delight and a sun-worshipper’s dream. There are several boat and yacht charter companies (Oceans Elite and Sa-ard’s Watersport Centre). Quality accommodation begins at around 500 baht (with the Samui Mermaid Resort), but head off up a side-street and you’ll still find thatched huts for much less. There are several sports pubs and the only (Aussie owned!) rugby-based sports pub (The Office) in the whole region. There are probably 20 or so very lively girlie-type bars. There are several excellent Thai seafood restaurants, a superb gastro-veggie eatery (‘Amala’ at Prana Resort) at least five 4-to 5-star gourmet restaurants (look out for Oceans 11, close to the Ghost Road), with cuisine from England, Germany Switzerland, France, India and Italy. Also, right in the middle, there’s that legendary ‘Ghost Road’ (which, incidentally is now undergoing its own satellite ribbon development). And you’ll come across all of this in a long ribbon that runs unbroken on either side of the road over a distance of about three kilometres. And then the gaps begin to appear again, with one or two more great beachside restaurants here and there (Orgasmic, for example) before you get to the no-man’s land that emerges after the new development of Replay Condos and the downhill bend towards Fisherman’s Village. This is still Bophut Beach – all of it is – in theory, anyway. But by this point on the coast most of the residents consider themselves as being Bophut-ians. Right at the moment there’s a natural end to what folks thing of as Bangrak – it finishes when there’s no more buildings! No doubt, as the years come to pass and progress keeps on marching, as with Chaweng, all the gaps will be filled-in, and some townplanner in a far-away office will clearly draw a line that marks the limits of ‘Bangrak’. But until that time, make the most of it. It’s the most fun you can have outside of Chaweng, the taxis in these parts are almost civilised and right now it’s probably the most laid-back part of our island!
Rob De Wet
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