Koh Samui - 1980’s vs Now 

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 👍👌🙏

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Loved seeing past and present memories in your video! I love Koh Samui and always enjoy exploring the island.

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.

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

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.

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. 😎🙏🤙

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. 🪷

Hey Karl, I love these "Then & Now" videos!!! I wish I would have been more of a picture and videographer back in my day. Lots of great memories. Keep up the good work!

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

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

Hi Karl, Great vid. Always amazed that you still have so many date stamped pictures of your first visits. Incredible memories and nostalgia of your former travels. Kudos for documenting all of this. I have to say that after visits to Samui in 2001 and again in 2014, it never really enchanted me. Guess because I was fortunate enough to spend lots of time in Krabi, Trang and Ko Lipe. Hope to see you again soon. Chok dee, Eddie BTW: Malee has a visa and will come to London next month.

Fascinating video Karl must’ve been a great experience for you seeing the changes 30 years apart! Samui is an amazing island and I’m lucky to have visited back in 2020 stayed mostly in Chaweng but I can’t wait to go back and see more of the island

Just arrived to Koh Samui today. Staying in Lamai Beach. It’s very pricy at resorts. I wish I was able to visit back in the good old days like 1980’s and 1990’s.

Thanks for posting this! We've only lived in Thailand since 2015. Two years on Samui and seven years on the mainland. I'm obsessed with vintage photos and videos of Samui, and Thailand in general.

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.

This was an awesome video! I really enjoyed the comparison then/now photos!

First went in 1994, a true paradise, what I dreamed a tropical island should be like. Great memories, thanks for taking us old timers back.

Very much enjoy, Then and Now, videos like this. Keep 'em coming.

I first visited in 1970 - from NZ and aged 19. I first went to Koh Samet in 1980. Hardly any Westerners there back then and really basic accommodation. Almost deserted except for locals during the week who mainly worked on the mainland as there wasn't much tourism except for Thais over the weekend. I hardly ever told anyone about it as I wanted to keep the secret destination. But eventually in the late 90's it started to be commercialised with locals developing accommodation for guests to stay longer.

Koh Samui was improved dramatically since you were there the first time. It may have seemed like a paradise when you got there the first time, but it was under developed, they didn't have proper electricity, no proper roads, and the people were struggling to survive and get medical attention. It was a place with vast potential, which 99% of the backpackers didn't notice then, and fail to understand now..... This video is a trip down a memory lane with an old man who still imagines the world was a better place when he was young..... Personally I am a little older than you & I've been involved in the birth of the full moon party on Ko Pan Ghan & The Goa party scene in India since the early 90s both of which improved life for the locals dramatically, paved roads, and put fresh drinking water into villages where they had neither before we got there.... And now that weed is legal in Thailand we expect to seen a huge increase in property development and tourism throughout most of Thailand, and thats great news for the country, its people and ultimately for the tourists.... sure there will be a few old dry sticks in the mud that don't want change, but they're all old, or getting older and will eventually die out, or see the light and stop moaning. That is the cycle of life everywhere. Thailand has a great deal of catching up to do, after the dramatic destruction the pandemic caused to their tourism industry, which sadly wiped out thousands of small businesses there.. so to be honest , the sooner these changes occur the better, as change is long over due..

Thanks a lot Karl, all your clips are so insightful and bring back wonderful memories, I visited Ko Samui and other parts of Thailand with a friend in 1991. Wonderful memories and you help bring them back, thank you very much. Kind regards from Switzerland

I love your videos, Karl. Your photos from then and now are so fascinating, and your memory of people and places from the 1980s is uncanny. Keep up the great work!

What a gem of a vid. I love just randomly coming across videos like this on RU-vid. Thanks for sharing the memories. Even though I've never been to Thailand I felt like I'd been there watching the footage.

I am a new generatiin backpacker and went tl samui for the firsy time 12 years ago. Already a fully developed place but from all the places i saw in asia samui is my favourite island. How magical must it have been in the 80's and 90's without all the distractions from technology.

Excellent video mate, the nostalgic recap was wonderful to see. Samui is always magical ❤️

Absolutely loved this !!! Find it fascinating to see the comparisons and what it used to be like . Loved the old pictures to see the changes over the years of the island and you and your friends. Life moves quick so got to make the most of it 🫶

Always fun and revisiting old places you've visited a long time ago. Good job Kalle👍

Such a cool video! Thank you for sharing all of that history!

Another fascinating video mate, loved seeing you retrace your memories from the 80’s and 90’s! Cheers!

Great content, Karl. The context you offer in your Vlogs is your point of difference. Absolute quality, never compromise.

I love this!!! Anything before and after is right up my street and this is a beautifull place too...thank you for making this!

Love the memories and old photos, thanks for sharing.

Great video Karl on your trip down memory lane. Thoroughly enjoyed this. I myself am going to recreate my journey overland from England to Vietnam in November, on a 6 month trip that I originally did back in 2016 and also visiting places I travelled in the 80's and 90's. Keep your videos coming as they are fantastic viewing and you are a great presenter.

Just brilliant, can't beat reminiscing but to have the photos to look back on is even better, happy safe travels...

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

Brilliant. I love these memories you have kindly shared. And such a sharp mind. I can't remember most of my yesterday's here let alone decades ago. Nice to see your wife and friends. Thank you again. Great storytelling

Thanks for sharing mate - I thoroughly enjoyed joining you on your trip down memory lane 👍🏻 getting a sense of what life on Koh Sumui was like back in 1987 was pretty awesome.

Fantastic walk down memory lane. I enjoyed that. Thanks Karl.

What a Journey Karl I was completely captivated by the video knowing you and Thong and also having been a lover of Koh Samui. What an incredible journey and experience to have grasped days gone by and the present moment. That’s gotta been the best you’ve done yet and it’s possible to feel the connection you have there, what an emotionally rewarding experience you must have had and thank you for taking me on that journey sat here in my armchair. Great video. I look forward to more like this one !

Amazing video my friend! Thanks for taking us on a trip down memory lane. It was a great time hiking with you in Koh Samui!

Thanks for your reply to my comment. I've been an avid reader of your vids since discovery, i really enjoy them, the hiking views i find quite breathtaking and commend you on doing what are most of time very difficult hikes. I also find your commentary very interesting/well delivered and fun. The fact that you speak Thai fluently is also a credit to you, keep up the great work.

Fascinating to see Samui back then. Great that you have footage to show.

That was brilliant 👍. The production was so good with the music.

Such a great vid. Thanks for sharing this.

gday karl, great vlog mate, brought back so many memories when I started going to Samui in 92. they were golden years and never to be forgotten, absolute best days, cheers

Great "then-and-now" photos. Appreciate the storytelling. This playlist of your experiences has been very entertaining and educational. Thanks, Karl. Cheers!

Thanks a lot for this video. I was just in Samui 2 months ago, and it's so fascinating to see how it was and what's not changed.

Thank you Karl i really enjoyed your video like other subscribers it brought back lots of memories thanks again.

I first visited when I was 16 years old. 35 years ago. What a wonderful Video showing the old and new. Thank you for the share. I’ll be a subscriber for sure!

I have just subscribed to your channel. They are great, love your stories especially the past experiences. I watched your fight club one where you lived, I don’t know why but it wouldn’t let me leave a comment even though there were 148 listed comments so I’m putting it here. Looks a great place with huge rooms, such easy interesting vlogs. Keep it up please.

I really enjoyed watching this. I’m impressed that you’re able to remember so many details and paint such vivid pictures. I first went to Samui in 99 and of course fell in love. It was quite developed by then but it was still special and full of Thai flavors ❤ A good friend of mine went to Koh Phangan in the late 80s when there was only one guest house on the whole island. I can only imagine how wonderful things must’ve been way back then🙏❤️thanks much for sharing

By far the best vid I have ever seen of the island and i've seen some........kudos and thank you...........................

congratulations on your giant leap in your # of views. your content has a depth in familiarity of a region over a lifetime. keep,up the great work.

Thanks so much Karl, brings back so many lovely memories, just what I needed! Got yourself a new subscriber 👍🏻🙏🏻🙂☀️🇨🇭

Very refreshing video that, what would we be without memories eh? This guy has enough past photos to link the past with the present too, well done friend 👍🏻

Karl. Thanks for that, it brought back so many memories of lamai and your pictures of the dirt track down to the lower road are just as i remember it the first time i was there in 1990. i went back several Times over the years and am planning to go back next year after a 14 year gap. love your stories from back in the day mate

Really enjoyed this ...I had a very similar experience myself, the good ole days ahhhh ....nice one Karl , subscribed. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Seeing photos of you on the porch of ur bungalow, laundry drying on the line behind you. I have similar pics of myself on the porch of my bungalow on Koh Chang taken at the same time period. Wonderful blissful memories 😊😊😊

Brilliant. That was a good trip down memory lane. Happy Daze x

I'm glad you went back and made this fantastic video. I have not returned from my stay in November-December 1986 (after Samui I moved to Koh Pangan for a month). My favourite view from Sunflower Bungalows was over to the five island group called (appropriately) Koh Ha. It was a truly crazy time - I needed medical care on three occasions (two were traffic accidents).

Great job! Loved the effort you put into this! Subscribed as well 😊

Hiya Karl. Lovely video. Thank you for taking us back on your journey. Love the before and after footage. Love the old pictures. Wonderful memories. Beautiful drone shots. Haha. Those cookies. Thank you for sharing your memories and stories. Sorry to hear you lost your friend, Mike. Great video. Liked and shared. My son and my daughter-in-law. Spent their honeymoon in Koh Samui in March. 3 weeks. On their honeymoon. Have a great evening and weekend.

Great video Karl I enjoy all your clips of past and present Thailand ❤

Thanks for sharing those memories. I was there first time in 1983. Chaweng beach. Grass bungalows small restaurants and lots of fun. I wish I still had my photos

What's a great well-informed video thank you mate🎉🎉

Another gem Karl, thank you for sharing…🍀🍀🍀

First time viewer, this was really well done and totally relatable

Awesome, Karl! I have never been to Samui, but I'm hoping to visit sometime this year. Love the video as always! Keep up the adventures, my friend!

Hi Karl I finally sat and watched a complete video/story of your travels and just wanted to say how informative it was and wish I had had the opportunity to have done what you have and still do. Who knows I might still rock up and see you one day. Take care x

Hi Karl great Vid I was also there in 1990 and stays after, I remember our regular bar would let us run a tab for food and drink when the ATM was down for days and we had completely run out of cash, great chilled people and many happy days spent on the Island

Fabulous memories. I was there too in 87 . Great video. Thank you dude.

Really great and interesting video 👍 Great stories

Fantastic. Some quality stories in there mate. I had 3 months in Thailand (mostly Samui) in 2000 and I love watching Samui vids on RU-vid. I hope to go back one day

What a great video. Thanks for sharing.

Nice ! I love that you can contrast from 36 years ago and have the footage and stills to compare. Always good to remember the good old days. Greetings from Canada.

Thanks for sharing and posting! Great video. In 1989, my initial visit to Samui remains etched in my memory as a truly undiscovered paradise. The lush greenery, breathtaking beauty, and serene ambiance mesmerized me completely. There was no need for helmets or worry about traffic back then, making it a purely magical and peaceful place.

Nice video, and wonderful you have that footage, video, and stills from 1990 that can compare to today's scene. Great to reminisce on olden days past and the joys of youth. Koh Samui was the first and only place I ever waterskied when in Thailand, which was near Lumai Beach in late December 1990.

Really enjoyed watching this , thanks for the upload

Thanks for sharing your memories ,really enjoyable.

Thank you for sharing great times and memories ! Enjoy ,,,,

Great ..I love this kind of videos,I went to Thailand 2006 first time and in love since then,I was there also last year.Take care

Really enjoyed your trip down memory lane. I visited Koh Samui a total of 5 times from 2000 to 2005 from a lone traveller to finally my honeymoon. Was great seeing your old photos.

Time go so fast so sad to think about when l was there good old days on the beach. Thank for the video

It's very rare that I sit through a Thailand RU-vid video and don't take my eyes off it but your video and memories are truly wonderful. I first went to Thailand 20 years ago and spent a bit of time in Samui. My accommodation was called the Sunrise Bungalows which were in Lamai. I'd have loved to have been there many years earlier but Samui was still pretty quiet in the 00 decade. I last went back in 2007 with an English girlfriend and I still enjoyed it. My first visit to Thailand will never leave my memory. This is a truly wonderful piece of nostalgia and I thank you for sharing it.

Fantastic. Love it, went to Thailand in 2004 just before the tragedy of the tsunami and again in 2013 and couldn’t believe the level of development. Beautiful place and wonderful people. Love Samui. Great vid Karl

Wonderful video. Thanks for sharing ❤🎉.

Samui is my Favourite Thai Island :) Thank you again for showing the beauty's of Thailand Karl xx

Thanks for another great video.

lovely video great to see how you put the past with the new just wish it was longer makes you feel like you're there

Hi Karl, What a wonderful video! Thanks for sharing your memories in Samui. My first trip to Samui was in the year 1999. Second trip was in 2010 and I was blown away by the changes. Sealed roads and modern hotels and shops in Lamai, Chaweng etc. Since then, I've been visiting Samui about 3 or sometimes even 5 times a year excluding the 3 pandemic years. For 2023, I've been to Samui twice already and hopefully may be there again sometime in end August. I love Koh Samui. Please shoot more nostalgic videos. Thanks and stay safe mate!