Shattering the calm of a warm afternoon in the Samui township of Lamai, two vans prowl the streets with loudpeakers espousing the delights of two beach parties organised by the rival Ark and Reggae clubs, promising music and fun lasting until 2am.
It’s a reminder that while Koh Samui in recent years has climbed to the top end of Thailand’s tourism market juts like Phuket , it still caters to the backpackers and budget travellers who in the 1970s first “discovered” the then-undeveloped island, on the Gulf of Thailand 700km south of Bangkok.
Non-fancy accommodation is still available around Samui from around 400 baht ($A14) a night, but on and around the cliffs overlooking the sea is now a growing warren of resorts with matchless views, five-star furnishings, exquisite cuisines and infinity swimming pools – at umpteen times the cost.
And these deluxe havens of privacy are attracting more and more attention from the ranks of the rich and famous.
American singer Britney Spears was reported staying at one of the newer resorts during our recent visit, and we were told that British soccer star David Beckham has invested in a million-dollar villa here.
We took a look at half-a-dozen of them and stayed a couple of nights at two: the Baan Taling Ngam Resort and Spa (70 villas, suites and rooms) on an old coconut plantation on the west or so-called Virgin Coast, and the Silavadee Pool Spa Resort (55 villas, suites and rooms) near Lemai in the southeast.
Both have spacious reception areas atop cliffs 110m or so above the Gulf, and both use golf carts to ferry guests from their tiered rooms to the white-sand beaches below, from which boats can take them on excursions to small offshore islands for exploration, swimming and snorkelling.
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