It was an inauspicious start to our trip. On the train to the ferry port we got talking to Paul, a young Irish guy who was heading to Koh Pha-Ngan (the next island over). He asked which island we were heading to and on hearing Samui a poorly disguised grimace crossed his face. According to Paul Samui was for 'honeymooners' and the main town Chaweng "might as well be the Costa Del Sol".

I was worried. Sure I'd heard Samui was touristy but I'd also heard it was beautiful and I wasn't expecting any great cultural experience. Furthermore Paul's other conversation topics were the low price of Valium in Laos and a story about magic mushroom milkshakes so what did he know?

It turns out that Paul knew quite a lot. I looked around the ferry. We had all been given stickers which either said Samui or Pha-Ngan. The Samui ones may as well have been subtitled as 'People Richard wouldn't want to talk to'. On Samui we picked the quiet Northern shore (Choeng Mon) as the guidebook described Chaweng as 'seedy and loose' and Lamai as 'slightly less seedy and loose than Chaweng'.

It was overcast and miserable. The accommodation resembled a big whicker basket on the inside. It was highest we'd paid in Thailand yet it was truly substandard.

The town behind the beach was a similar dusty strip to that which I had seen elsewhere in Thailand except it didn't seem to serve Thais. It was just a collection of internet, tour places and custom tailors. The place seemed totally devoid of life. I looked around and couldn't see a single word in Thai. The only traffic was a collection of Pick-up truck Taxis (songthaews), normal Taxis and fat suburnt white guys on Scooters. Every time a Taxi or Songthaew went by they would honk and honk again until I looked up and made it clear that I didn't want a taxi. I came to think of this incessant beeping as the 'Samui Hello'.

We changed accommodation to the place next door which was run by an eccentric Frenchman. The weather was still poor so in the evening we asked the owner if there was a cinema in the nearby town of Chaweng. He laughed, then he stopped and drew back in his chair. "Chaweng it is a cinema of life, a toilet'. He began to mumble. Only occasionally were words discernible; "Ladyboy" "Must-see" "Toilet" (again). He finished, looked up and smiled at us. We smiled back and shuffled off to the door.

Chaweng was horrible. It was a seemingly unending strip of gaudy neon. Again nothing was in Thai. There didn't seem to be a place to eat Thai food. We chose Pizza Hut. The prices were astronomical for Thailand. The people were all white European. I don't understand why any had come to Samui. The place is cheap (as it is in Thailand) but the cost and effort of getting her surely negated that. Was it because it was perceived as exotic? I don't think I've ever been to anywhere less exotic than Chaweng.

The next day the weather was no better. I wondered again did these people not feel shortchanged. There are nicer beaches in Spain and Greece. If cost and an exotic location were their criteria why not Turkey? I felt sad for Samui. I spoke to some waiters to see what they thought but they had moved from Northern Thailand as money was better here.

What had Samui gained from tourism? In just 20 years Samui's old way of life has been obliterated. How had the people benefited? Many of the extablishments were run by foreigners: British pubs, French resorts, Swiss restaurants. Why was Samui still encouraging tourism?

The next day the weather was better and the island looked more beautiful but if you looked for a second beyond the neon and 'party pubs' it was clear tourism had ruined Samui and it was hard to be happy to be a part of that.

Richard, Kuala Lumpur, August 24th