Koh Samui - 1980’s vs Now

I first visited Koh Samui in 1987 and it blew my mind. For a guy who’d never travelled much it was a dream come true to be on a tropical paradise island.

Fortunately I took lots of photographs of my trips to Koh Samui in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Using these pictures I return to some of my old haunts on the island, compare them then to now, and relate stories of events that happened there many years ago. If you like to see Koh Samui old pictures then this is a video for you
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Here's a playlist of my popular videos about Thailand in the 80's and 90's

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[julianshalders]

Hey Karl 😊, I met you and Adam in 1987, sue, Yung, porn, were the owners of sun flower Bungalows, my name is Frank, I used to run on the beach with Adam, we had a race, guess who won 😂 . You guys liked the special cookies, we were all good mates, we were very lucky to experience Koh Samui before the inevitable tourist invasion, cheers Karl 👍👌🙏

[saddq]

Great video mate. I first came to Samui in 1975 at the young age of 22. Decided not to leave and never went back to the UK again. Now been here for 48 years and still going strong. I can't see myself ever going back to England again.
Keep up the good work Karl

[rootsoriginals]

First went in 1994, and like most folks fell in love with the place, spent many a night at the big reggae bar, and riding motor bikes around the island, cheers for the memories karl.

[ahmadfarrall]

You know the best thing Karl, is that you are able to still visit places that had a profound impact on you when you were young. Not many can. Thanks for sharing this with us. Beautiful place too.

[seanmaguire]

Wow! Many thanks for putting this up Karl. I went to Koh Samui in 1987 and from the moment that the island came into sight my breath was taken away, I'd never seen the like before. Me and my mate wasn't too sure of which beach to go to, it was either Lamai or Chaweng, but we got taking to a couple of English girls who had been there before as asked for their recommendations. They stated that Lamai had a nightclub (of sorts) and that was the clincher, we even had to go back to the mainland to renew our visas due to being really caught up in the lifestyle. To do literally nothing all day and still have a full schedule was quite an achievement especially when we had planned out our trip according to the Yellow Bible and had wanted to see so much more of SE Asia, having said that I wouldn't have changed a thing.

I did manage to return to Koh Samui in 2000 and, surprise surprise, Lamai changed a hellava lot. I did stay there for a couple nights before moving on to Mae Nam, which, to my knowledge didn't have a nightclub!

Anyway, to conclude. Any persons first impressions when travelling will always stay with them and can only be enhanced when the memory fades by seeing fantastic posting like this. Many thanks and I look forward to viewing many more.

[richardwithall]

That was a great video, was in Koh Samui and Koh phangan in 95 was fantastic, be to scared to go back now and ruin the amazing memories safe travels

[vgshwk]

Memories we constantly relive them they can bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye at the same time.

[jimreynolds]

Great vlog Karl, thanks. I just returned home 2 days ago from 2 months in Thailand mostly in Khao Lak. I think I'm finally going to make the move permanently beginning of the year after wanting to for over 30 years.
I first went to Kho Samui in 1992 on my second trip to Thailand and just fell in love with it. I would return two times a year all through out the 90's. I always stayed at the Golden Sands in Lamai next to the Aloha. I would motorbike over to Chaweng to Reggae Pub driving across that rickety bridge, also Green mango and Mix. Then come back to Lamai and to Bauhaus until the sun came up. Samui was always like my secret get a way back then. I had my first banana, nutila roti outside Bauhaus, which has turned into a life time addiction. Now days every time I have a Roti I still always remember the roti man and his cart in Lamai. One of the most beautiful Thai woman I ever met, inside and out, was a Scuba dive Master there named Nit around 1997. I always wished I kept up with her.
I have seen a lot of videos on Samui and made me want to avoid it, but yours just sparked so many memories I think I'll check it out next time I'm back. I'm a little teary-eyed writing this from thoughts of old days. Thanks!

[truckerfromreno]

Love this video. I come back and watch it again every couple of months.

[nbw-graphics]

I made Koh Samui my home base for seven years while working in the oil & gas industry and left in 2015.
Lamai village was my preferred location & before renting a bungalow I lived in the Amadeus guest house for two years.
I found your video very interesting as it showed me what KS was like well before I first arrived there and my last visit was Xmas - New Year 2022/23.
Thank you for the video & the trip down memory lane.

[MarkHarrop]

I remember the roads being just dirt tracks. Remember being in a Blues Bar, then coming out and it had been raining do hard. I stepped out and immediately fell over in the dirt. I was so drunk I just laid there and laughed. They were good times. Flamingo's wow, lots of memories there. Thanks for this video.

[Steven-qigm]

It’s great to revisit places years later and have those memories flooding back.

[ToxxicMafia]

This video reminded me of a Koh Samui legend called Dj Sergio who worked at the Reggae Pub, he lived there from early 90s till he passed away in 2011. He looked and performed like Bono from U2.

May His Soul RIP

[mikey_atman]

Thanks for memory lane... In 1998 I landed in Koh Samu, i and then took the ferry to Koh Pha Ngan next door, and stayed at the beautiful Seaflower Bungalows. Paradise. 🪷

[yusriyns]

Karl, you are an absolute living legend! It's incredibly fascinating to witness the 80's version of the island compared to its present-day appearance. Thank you for taking us on this nostalgic journey through your memories of Koh Samui. 😎🙏🤙

[paullonergan]

Omg, just lovely to see this. First on koh samui in 1984 at 22 years old. Two kiwi blokes travelling overland from New Zealand to London on a UTA 'milk run' ticket. We had a great time in Thailand for around a month, including a week on Samui and a week on Samet. The glory days of youth - ha! Magnificent country, beautiful people and such a wonderful attitude to life. Thailand lives with me to this day. Have been back a few times now and my son is there ATM on a 6 week sojourn. You've brought a deep sense of the joy i had at a wonderful time in my life with this vid. Thanks so much Karl.

[no_professional]

Fascinating video. It was really cool to see the same places side by side to see how they'd changed, or not in some cases. Retracing some of your steps must have brought back a lot of memories & emotions for you, what a blessing it is when we have a chance to do that. I first visited Thailand in 2007 and immediately fell in love with the place. Have not yet been to Koh Samui. Thank you for the video.

[JB-xkjo]

I was 1984 the first time on Koh Samui. Since that time until now, I always going back to Samui nearly every year

[JBWanders]

A great stroll down memory lane Karl. I love the line about passing yourself going the other way in 1987. A really enjoyable watch mate.

[bikepacker]

I went there in 1988... Paradise. I remember you had to go to the post office and line up to make a phone call. Forang everywhere all saying send money (I wrote this before you said exactly the same thing in your video😂) A nights accomadation was the same price as a beer. Beer was relatively expensive back then. Australians, Canadians, English, Germans. I came for a week or two and stayed 9 months. I stayed at Simple Life bungalow. Great times. Thanks for the memory.