Thailand - Koh Samui - Big Buddha Beach

Big Buddha Beach , Koh Samui is a popular beach for tourists, visitors and locals alike. There are plenty of access points to the beach from the road along its length. The view (left) is from the Big Buddha statue looking westwards over Big Buddha Beach towards Bo Phut Beach. Situated on the west side of the north east promontory Big Buddha Beach , Koh Samui is about 1 kilometre from the islands airport and opposite the small islands of Koh Som.

Typical Koh Samui Beach The beach is sheltered and has a backdrop of coconut palms and other tropical trees giving you that desert island feeling. The water here is generally warm, above body temperature and calm, but not clear enough to snorkel. The beach drops off quite steeply a few metres from the low water line so if you are not a good swimmer beware of that fact. We did not experience any strong currents. There at a few sharp rocks in places but these can easily be avoided. The sand is a coarse yellow, mildly abrasive and not suitable for sand castles!

There are a few hotel resort areas and restaurants, a fisherman’s village and of course Big Buddha Beach is overlooked by the Big Buddha Statue from where the beach derives its name.

Licensed hawkers and vendors all wear red tabards There are licensed hawkers and vendors that wear red tabards with their licence number clearly displayed on the back. They are constantly patrolling the tourist area selling ‘tourist tat’ or fake designer watches etc. To avoid being bothered by them just avoid eye contact with them or their goods. If they do approach you a wave of the hand to signal your disinterest is usually enough. If you use the beach for a couple of days they will recognise you and generally leave you alone. The Thais are a polite people that appear happy even though many are surviving in quiet desperation!

Barbequed sweet corn If you like (barbequed)sweet corn or fruit there are always a couple of (licensed) mobile barbeques and fruit sellers around between 10 am and on into the evening. They cook the corn on the cob to perfection, butter and salt it, so if you don’t want butter or salt tell them at the outset. The few baht's they charge are well worth the wait! They are hoping for repeat orders over the following days and their produce is top notch. You can sample Bananas, Pineapple, Watermelon and the sweetest Mangoes you can imagine. There are do nut, spring roll and ice cream vendors too. But we didn't see any drinks sellers so don’t forget to take your own bottled water.