(An 18-minute read.)

June, 2006

The tsunami that struck Thailand’s Andaman Coast in December of 2004 caused greater after-shocks than most would have imagined.

While much of Phuket was back in business almost immediately, and is now enjoying pre-tsunami occupancy rates, the coast north of Phuket is still a morass of misery. The Thais believe the area is haunted by the ghosts of the thousands who drowned (many more thousands than anyone will admit), so little is being done to clean it up, and whatever funds trickled down, appear now to have dried up.

Since the late 1980s, Phuket has always been a destination for sophisticated travellers. As we all know that it is virtually impossible to determine the odds of another tsunami, let alone our being killed in the taxi enroute to our home airport, we shrug, and, of course, return to Amanpuri, the JW Marriott, and TRISARA. But…the growth rate of development has taken a hit.

More interesting is how the ripple effect of the tsunami is changing Koh Samui, Koh Chang, and Koh Samet. These islands are located within the Gulf of Thailand, and thus protected from the tsunamis that may again one day race across the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea. The peninsula of southern Thailand and Malaysia is a barrier to the fear—felt by less hardened travellers and local residents—that is affecting the clean up and redevelopment of the Andaman Coast. Thus the Gulf islands are experiencing a renaissance of interest. In fact, in the past twelve months, real estate values have doubled on Koh Samui, new resorts have sprung up on Koh Chang, and even tacky Koh Samet is cleaning up its act, to the extent that I have just financed a small beach restaurant there on Vong Duan Beach -‘Cheers.’

Speaking of renaissance, Marriott has recently acquired and rebranded a resort in Koh Samui, introducing its Renaissance© brand to Asia for the first time—RENAISSANCE KOH SAMUI RESORT & SPA. I flew in to take a look and spend a couple of nights at this romantic boutique resort.

Koh (Thai for ‘island’) Samui, one of Thailand's most rapidly growing resort destinations, is noted for its beautiful beaches, natural beachfronts, and waterfalls. It is Thailand's third largest island after Phuket and Koh Chang, and is easily accessible. There are numerous daily flights by Bangkok Airways from Bangkok, and Phuket. There are also direct international flights from Singapore and Hong Kong. The flying time from Bangkok and Phuket to Koh Samui is forty-five minutes.

The flight from Bangkok is fascinating. One normally takes off to the south, and just keeps going straight. The flight path takes you directly over Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River. Soon Hua Hin appears on the starboard horizon, and what seems like just a few minutes after that, the plane banks over a small neighboring island and lands at the Koh Samui International Airport.

It’s been nearly six years since I was last in Samui (see ‘Thailand’s Koh Samui’ http://www.edwardcarterstravels.com/archives/000015.php ) and even with such rapid development, things have changed for the better.

The airport has always been a charming cluster of thatched pavilions, and this time all the faces were smiling! A friendly gal bundled me and my three companions (my photographer, a buddy who was the High Commissioner to Canada from Australia and is now a real estate magnate in Hanoi, Bangkok, and places south, and his leggy date) into a slick van, and in no time, we arrived at the Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa.