A Revisit to Koh Samui - 17 Years Later

[PatMacGroin]

Hello Fellow Punters,

I'm thinking about a very last minute trip to Thailand and I'd appreciate some advice from your collective knowledge.

I first visited Thailand in 2002 and returned several times uptil around 2009. In that short spread of time I noticed it change massively. As it has now been over 17 years since I was last there, I imagine it is probably unrecognisable to me now.

Koh Samui has always been my favourite part of the country and I usually stay in a mid range hotel on or near Chaweng Beach. I have started looking at what's available for flights and accommodation From Weds/Thursday this week staying there for 7-8 nights. The quick search suggests it's looking like £1,600 return for the flights, plus £600 for a mid range 3 star hotel (I don't need luxury and I'm disappointed that I can't seem to find many of the little bungalow style resorts. One's I've stayed at in the past seem to be gone, and alot of what's on offer are the 2-3 storey blocks built to cram in as many rooms ontop of each other as possible. They remind me of the spanish resort hotels, they're just not building them quite as tall yet. Actually, a virtual street view wander around Koh Samui has me wondering if I really want to go back there at all.)

So before I go booking anything the questions I'd like to ask are:

1) Is there a resource somewhere that tells us punters how receptive the individual hotels are to bringing back guests?

2) I was always used to picking up a bar girl, or selecting one from one of the salons with a big line up. Does anyone know if that is still easy to do in Chaweng, with plenty of bars/girls to choose from? (I hear the area has become more family focused).

3) My usual practice used to be to pick up a girl and keep her for the night, probably buy her breakfast in the morning. It sounds like it is becoming more common for them to take on short booking punters. Does anyone know the average price for the night these days?

4) I've never taken a bar girl on as a Thai girlfriend for the week. As I am going on my own I'm thinking it might work out well, for the company and some advice about restaurants, tailors etc. Although, I would want one that is up for us find other girls to join us for 3somes most nights. Anyone know what the going daily rate is for a "Thai Girlfriend"?

I know this information is probably already in other threads, but I did a few searches and nothing jumped out at me. Plus, I don't really have the time right now to do a full on research dep dive.

I would appreciate any advice you can provide.

Kind Regards

PMG

[METEOR]

Koh Samui is totally different from when I first went in 2012, even though it's my favorite place I've not been since 2019. Way too many tourists and high prices niw

[FLYING BLUE]

It has changed massively, not in a good way for punting IMHO - I last visited 5 years ago and was really disappointed.
Busy, noisy, thousands of motorbikes and hardly any SP's - my usual hotel was full of families.

The same happened in Phuket - last time I went was 2017 & vowed to never go again - prices were higher than they were in the UK at the time, plus quality was very low (again - it's IMHO)

[PatMacGroin]

Thanks for the response guys. That's not sounding too promising.

Is Pattaya the only real punting destination left in Thailand? Facebook keeps feeding me reels of Pattaya street walks. Looks much the same as I remember it, maybe even more women hanging outside the bars. I only went to Pattaya once and I didn't like it, too full on for me and the beach was horrible.

Just did a search for YouTube video's of Koh Samui. Noticed a few spots I recognised, like Green Mango, The Islander, Tropical Murphys. My memory can be a bit flakey sometimes, I was sure there was a huge reggae bar just off Chaweng main strip, I'm surprised none of the videos show it. Does anyone know if it's still there? Otherwise big changes, it definitely gives off vibes of more Spanish islands holidays now. Most of the videos looked very busy, but 1 from last month had commentary saying how quite it is compared to usually, and I'd actually prefer that. I got the impression there is less of a bar girl presence, some of the interior shots of bars showed guys sitting on their own looking bored. That was unheard of when I used to go.

I'm very much in two minds. Spend probably atleast £4 grand on a trip away, or use that for a lot of short but quality punts here in London. 

I need to decide quickly though.

[METEOR]

I remember that reggae bar.
Yeah agree about Pattaya being over the top. I went for the first time this year as stayed on Koh Samet so thought I'd see what it was like.
Bangkok I think is the best for punting but staying in a big city like that isn't great for your whole holiday. Phuket is stupidly expensive now and ruined by the Arab biker idiots.
I personally stay in Chiang Mai for the bulk of my time but I don't go to Thailand purely for the women.

[Steely Dan]

A part compromise is staying in Jomtien.  Beach a bit nicer.  Plenty of Gent's Clubs and massage places, but quieter, not in your face.  And Walking Street only 10 min bolt away.

If you want really nice beach in that area you need to get a TF girl or a bar girl to go with you to Ko Lan.  I guess as the beaches get nicer, the girl get scarcer.

[PatMacGroin]

A part compromise is staying in Jomtien.  Beach a bit nicer.  Plenty of Gent's Clubs and massage places, but quieter, not in your face.  And Walking Street only 10 min bolt away.

If you want really nice beach in that area you need to get a TF girl or a bar girl to go with you to Ko Lan.  I guess as the beaches get nicer, the girl get scarcer.

Cheers for the suggestion. The actual beach definitely looks nicer, based on a Google street view. But there's not much of a strip to speak of. It actually looks a bit industrial across the road from the beach.

I'll give it some thought and do some more research on the area if I'm making another trip in future. But I still think my previous experiences of Pattaya will put me off.

[PatMacGroin]

I have bit the bullet and booked my flights and accommodation.

While making the rest of my holiday preparations I've come across another change that hadn't occurred to me. When I was last there cash was king. Nowadays in the UK I use digital payments for practically everything except my favourite hobby, so it's no surprise Thailand is leaning that way too. I assumed I'd be fine to just use my Monzo card, but I'm surprised to hear some street vendors will only accept a PromptPay QR code, which can only be used via various apps.

Is that correct? How wide spread is it that I'll need to use Thai Apps to make payments or withdraw cash without being rinsed?

I've generally been very wary of QR codes, after seeing warnings on consumer shows here in the UK. I'm even less likely to trust a QR code offered to me by some random Thai.

I'm a bargain hunter at heart, so I don't mind a bit of leg work to save a few quid. E.g. walking down the road to the best Currency Exchange rather than use the Hotel Lobby exchange or shopping around and haggling in several clothes vendors. It's all part of the experience to me. What I've read so far sounds like it's full of potential land mines where you can put money on an app but maybe can't use it, or end up paying over the odds in fee's or bad exchange rates. The way google AI keeps mentioning traps to avoid makes me feel like I should be extra wary.

I'm looking into these options now

- TrueMoney Wallet App
- TAGTHAi App with PAY&TOUR Prepaid Card
- Applying for a Wise/Revolute account (but not sure any card will get to me by Thursday)

- Ignore the whole thing. Just use cash and jog on if anyone insists on a digital payment.

Anyone got any pointers about the options to use?

Thanks Again

PMG

[JohnHerts]

I loaded up my Revolut account with Thai baht last year then had trouble spending it. Cash is very much still king in most bars, clubs and small/independant Thai restaurants. And of course for the girls.

As for the £1400 flight, that’s only because you left it last minute . A few weeks/months out you can get direct from London to BKK for £850 or so

[southcoastpunter]

I agree with johnherts- cash is king when there! It’s not like the uk at all - hotels and big restaurants etc will take cards but many places will not!
The best rate you can get is to take clean crisp unmarked  £50 notes and change them there - but otherwise ( which has many advantages anyway) is to use a bank card and cash machine withdrawals! Again it’s not like the uk - there are cash machines everywhere!

[Carpy]

I use wise and it’s always been fine making card payment or using contactless with phone.

Bolt & Grab and the two best apps for taxi and food deliveries and generally work all a round the country.

However as others have said cash is king still and as far as I can see will be for a long time over there.

Agree with others take new £50 notes to change and you will get a better rate. I generally use cash for everything and then card/phone payments for taxi and food deliveries.

[toon972]

If you use a cash machine to change money it will ask you if you want the money collected with their exchange rate. Always say no to this or you will receive less money with their rate.

[Dulmenite]

Just make sure your British banknotes have no creases , marks , ink stains or tears . If so , they will NOT exchange them . Really check them very carefully.

[Poet]

In terms of resource use international sex guide. I like picking up the ‘genuine’ massage girls for extras.

[Swapmeister]

I have been to Koh Samui 2 years ago. The punting opportunities are limited. The tourists are usually families plus Russian couples. Its a Chicken and Egg situation ie Is the dearth of punting opportunities caused by the type of tourists? Or vice versa?

[PatMacGroin]

Thanks again for your responses.

Just had a lesson in how much you can't trust AI and need to validate the answers some times. ChatGPT was off on a hallucination tangent going on about QR codes and Thai apps. But Gemini reaffirmed what you guys have said, cash is king with a spattering of Monzo payments for services that are totally digital like bolt and food delivery (doubt I'll be doing any of that, don't even do that in the uk other than pizza). That TrueMoney App ChatGPT suggested isn't even really for tourists, you need to have a Thai Mobile number for it to work.

Not sure about the cash point suggestions. My info says Thai machines usually charge almost £5 per transaction, which could quickly add up. Plus Monzo only gives me a maximum £200 cash withdrawals per month while aboard, over that and they whack on a 3% surcharge. I'll save that for any emergencies.

Got my cash from the bank yesterday. They were going to give me ratty £20's. But I specified crisp £50's and now have a brown envelope full of them. So thanks for that tip too.

This is all adding up though. Found out the insurance I get through my bank wont cover me for any medical emergencies related to my "Pre-existing Conditions" like High Blood pressure. Hundreds extra to upgrade the cover, got a sperate policy through a comparison site, but still expensive for what it is. I do need it though, I must have wound up in a Thai hospital at some point during every visit I've made. Plus, it looks like I might have to fork out some more for an emergency travel pharmacy to update my shots. Whatever happened to just getting on a plane and going?

[southcoastpunter]

Have a great time !
A couple of points - maybe for others rather than for you. Yes the cash machine usually charges 220 baht plus your bank often adds on a small amount ! But my bank card lets me withdraw 20,000 baht per time so it’s only maybe £20 ish in total ( depending of course how long you are there for and how much you spend) - that amount is acceptable to me for not having the hassle of getting the cash at home, the risk of carrying it about etc and having to make trips to a money exchange when there!
Also my Bolt account allows me to pay in cash! I do not have a card associated with my Bolt app! Maybe that has changed in the last couple of years??

[PatMacGroin]

Have a great time !
A couple of points - maybe for others rather than for you. Yes the cash machine usually charges 220 baht plus your bank often adds on a small amount ! But my bank card lets me withdraw 20,000 baht per time so it’s only maybe £20 ish in total ( depending of course how long you are there for and how much you spend) - that amount is acceptable to me for not having the hassle of getting the cash at home, the risk of carrying it about etc and having to make trips to a money exchange when there!
Also my Bolt account allows me to pay in cash! I do not have a card associated with my Bolt app! Maybe that has changed in the last couple of years??

I could easily be wrong about Bolt being totally digital. I've never used it, but the way it was described online I assumed it was like Uber.

[clivethomas]

Hello Fellow Punters,

I'm thinking about a very last minute trip to Thailand and I'd appreciate some advice from your collective knowledge.

I first visited Thailand in 2002 and returned several times uptil around 2009. In that short spread of time I noticed it change massively. As it has now been over 17 years since I was last there, I imagine it is probably unrecognisable to me now.

Koh Samui has always been my favourite part of the country and I usually stay in a mid range hotel on or near Chaweng Beach. I have started looking at what's available for flights and accommodation From Weds/Thursday this week staying there for 7-8 nights. The quick search suggests it's looking like £1,600 return for the flights, plus £600 for a mid range 3 star hotel (I don't need luxury and I'm disappointed that I can't seem to find many of the little bungalow style resorts. One's I've stayed at in the past seem to be gone, and alot of what's on offer are the 2-3 storey blocks built to cram in as many rooms ontop of each other as possible. They remind me of the spanish resort hotels, they're just not building them quite as tall yet. Actually, a virtual street view wander around Koh Samui has me wondering if I really want to go back there at all.)

So before I go booking anything the questions I'd like to ask are:

1) Is there a resource somewhere that tells us punters how receptive the individual hotels are to bringing back guests?

2) I was always used to picking up a bar girl, or selecting one from one of the salons with a big line up. Does anyone know if that is still easy to do in Chaweng, with plenty of bars/girls to choose from? (I hear the area has become more family focused).

3) My usual practice used to be to pick up a girl and keep her for the night, probably buy her breakfast in the morning. It sounds like it is becoming more common for them to take on short booking punters. Does anyone know the average price for the night these days?

4) I've never taken a bar girl on as a Thai girlfriend for the week. As I am going on my own I'm thinking it might work out well, for the company and some advice about restaurants, tailors etc. Although, I would want one that is up for us find other girls to join us for 3somes most nights. Anyone know what the going daily rate is for a "Thai Girlfriend"?

I know this information is probably already in other threads, but I did a few searches and nothing jumped out at me. Plus, I don't really have the time right now to do a full on research dep dive.

I would appreciate any advice you can provide.

Kind Regards

PMG

Lived in Lamai most of 2012-20 and went back for a few holidays after the pandemic but not since 2024.  It has certainly changed a lot, especially since Covid.  The demographics changed massively.  Before the crowd was mixed now it's much younger, more families, digital nomads and Russians.

The development is insane, it reached a whole new level during the pandemic.  They have built everywhere they can and the pandemic saw a shift where lots of local businesses went and were replaced by more expensive ones run by BKK crowd or foreigners.

1) email hotel and ask if they are guest friendly.  Very few won't be.

2) Bar scene is diabolical.  Most of the scene is online now. Tinder and Thai Friendly and then the freelance scene Ark Bar and Soi Green Mango.  Lots of competition with young guys since the pandemic.  Before Covid the scene was more mixed, the girls friendlier and prices a lot lower.  Plenty of massage shops still where you can find gems if you are lucky.  You will absolutely not be finding bars with huge numbers of stunning girls to choose from though - flat out doesn't exist.  Best bet would be to hit Soi Green Mango after midnight or the apps.

3) Long time is less and less of a thing in general. Most want to fuck and go.  You can find gems though but it's not necessarily the norm anymore like the old days where you can't get rid of them and they want to be your GF for the entire holiday.  I would look for girls in their 30s+ if you want that.  LT expect quotes from 3-6k and ST 1.5-3k.  Average would be somewhere in the middle but a lot of the young party girls simply aren't interested in entertaining guys LT anymore but of course money talks. It's really changed a lot in a short period of time. Don't get me wrong though - great girls still exist and can be found it's just a bit harder to find the special ones.  It's not like it's terrible but just don't expect to be walking around Chaweng and having wall to wall stunners waving you into their bar/massage shop.

4) Threesomes are hard to find.  Girls might agree to go with you but often one waits in the bathroom and then rotates with the other - it's probably the thing that's the most consistent let down for guys, they pay huge money and expecting girls to be active with each other but they mostly will not do anything together and are shy for the other girl to see them naked at all. 

It's certainly changed and not for the better but it's not like it's crap and you can't have loads of fun.

[PatMacGroin]

Thanks for the tips. I'm here now. Recognising alot of changes, it's a whole new world in the digital era. I'm having to totally rethink my approach to Thai punting. Whats that saying "You can always revisit, but you can't go back", or maybe its a lyric?

So far not a full on punting holiday, but I've met a couple of nice girls. Hoping I've put in some ground work for a nice threesome before I leave. Actually just trying to see if TF allows any opportunities for some midday fun, about to read the wiki and see if I can find any tips. (I know, that is the first thing I should have read, but I'd forgotten all about it and believed that I was experienced!)

Even if I'm not getting everything I expected I'm still glad I came. But alot of that might be down to reminising on great memories, in a beautiful place with amazing friendly people.

[clivethomas]

Thanks for the tips. I'm here now. Recognising alot of changes, it's a whole new world in the digital era. I'm having to totally rethink my approach to Thai punting. Whats that saying "You can always revisit, but you can't go back", or maybe its a lyric?

So far not a full on punting holiday, but I've met a couple of nice girls. Hoping I've put in some ground work for a nice threesome before I leave. Actually just trying to see if TF allows any opportunities for some midday fun, about to read the wiki and see if I can find any tips. (I know, that is the first thing I should have read, but I'd forgotten all about it and believed that I was experienced!)

Even if I'm not getting everything I expected I'm still glad I came. But alot of that might be down to reminising on great memories, in a beautiful place with amazing friendly people.

Glad you are enjoying it.  The best way on Thai Friendly is just to be direct.  You may as well message everybody you like as 90% of them probably won't respond.

Where did you meet the women, what ages and how much did you pay?  I would still try Green Mango after midnight if you feel up to it.  Most freelancers and massage girls on the island will descend there at least a few times a week.

The death of the Samui bar scene I would summarise with this. Dates and monies approximate but ball park. Friend bought a corner unit bar in Lamai (the lease) for around 1M baht in 2016.  He sold it less than a year later to another friend for 800k.  The other friend sold it to a Malaysian who bought it for a bar girl for something like 500k in 2018.  The bar girl sold it to an Aussie guy for 300k about the start of 2019.  The Aussie guy gave the keys back just before the pandemic and a member of the landowners family ended up turning it into some kind of off license instead.

Same story across Thailand though - Ao Nang had a nice little scene especially in the complex behind Burger King.  The dancing poles are still there but now the bars are full of Western couples watching guys play acoustic love songs & the agogo style place looks like it has been shut for a long time. I went to Koh Chang last week, it was badly out of season and 2 days were no alcohol but the bars are basically derelict.  Just a handful of munters and ladyboys hanging around.

[southcoastpunter]

The best way on Thai Friendly is just to be direct.  You may as well message everybody you like as 90% of them probably won't respond.

Do you mean for that one location or generally. If generally, then I would suggest you are doing something wrong- unless you are messaging them before you get to Thailand or their town/city! TF knows your location and most girls won’t bother to reply unless you are in their location!

I generally get about a 50% response rate when I message them from their town/city! But if you are a paid up member you get unlimited messages anyway! If not, like me, you get to send one message every 10 minutes!

[clivethomas]

Do you mean for that one location or generally. If generally, then I would suggest you are doing something wrong- unless you are messaging them before you get to Thailand or their town/city! TF knows your location and most girls won’t bother to reply unless you are in their location!

I generally get about a 50% response rate when I message them from their town/city! But if you are a paid up member you get unlimited messages anyway! If not, like me, you get to send one message every 10 minutes!

I live in Jomtien and only message girls when here or you are just wasting their time and dare i say your own. 90% failure rate was exaggerated but amongst the hot girls 18-27ish (the only ones i usually message) they simply get so many messages that they often never even read them.   I met a girl who showed me her literally thousands of unread TF messages and thousands more on Line.  I think the best approach is if they're online message them and be direct.  It's probably better in Samui for responses though as less punters and by the time you're getting to girls in their 30s I'd be more surprised if they didn't respond as they are of course far more desperate. 

Genuine hotties are not easy to nail down though in my experience and I find it is actually a lot easier now just to go to freelancer bars and clubs & you'll recognize loads of them from endless TF scrolling    In the OP's case, a visit to Ark Bar, followed by a walk down Soi Green Mango will probably see him bump into half the freelancers on Samui

[PatMacGroin]

Where did you meet the women, what ages and how much did you pay?  I would still try Green Mango after midnight if you feel up to it.  Most freelancers and massage girls on the island will descend there at least a few times a week.

If you have read any of my reviews you'll notice I like details. I think it's a bit of a compulsion. So I will try to do a full update when I get back.

Basically, there has definitely been big changes to Samui. I think Covid fucked it, and the clever big money recognised the long term value and swallowed up everything it could. However, some of the old school bars managed to hang in there.

My hidden favourite has been "Shine Bar". It might not be to everyones tastes. It is not full 10 out of 10 stunners. The two nights I have been there were 4 good looking women aged 25 upto maybe 50 (I find it hard to tell, and they will be coy about their age). Some slim and toned, others with a fuller figure.

It was very quiet. I pretty much had the place to myself. So I was treated like a king by some very friendly women. Not getting blow jobs at the bar, or anything like that, but walk in from the Thai heat to have a gorgeous young thing cool me down by pressing a small ice cold towel all over me while looking deep in my eyes like she wanted to fuck my brains out, felt like heaven. 🫠 And then she was so enthusiastic and grateful when I agreed to pay the 500bht (roughly £11) bar fine to take her back to my hotel. 😁

I think it's a hidden gem because when you look down that soi you see the rainbow flag for 1 Pride bar, and everyone assumes the road is a gay area and are afraid to walk down there. But it is lined with quiet bars with a selection of women. Again, might not be what everyone is looking for. It's an old school place (do not go if you need to take a shit!), but in my opinion it was much better value for money than the ST TF girls.

Time for me to get in my morning swim, in the sea, right on my doorstep! For me Samui is still paradise. 😊

[SharperCarper]

Interesting thread so far
Recommendations for hotel in chaweng? Quite like the idea of love beach club. Looks a cool vibe, on the beach, fire shows, right by ark bar & guest friendly. If no recommendations will probably book than up for Jan 2027

[Cactus]

Interested in hearing your thoughts when you get home Pat. My old man lives near Koh Samui on the mainland, he’s got a big birthday next year, so thought about a visit for that. Would probably look to visit KS when I was in the area. Went there 11 years ago, stayed in Chewang and had a great time, although only punted once. Went over to Koh Phagnan for the full moon party, which was an eye opener!

Have fun my man