Even after experiencing something of a boom in the construction of new hotels and guesthouses in recent years, Bophut is one of the few places on Samui that retains some of the island’s original Thai-Chinese atmosphere. The traditional core of Bophut, the self-styled Fisherman’s Village, occupies the east side of the curving 2km beach, while the new 5 star hotel developments and some remnants of the original bungalow resorts are located to the west of the bay. Confusingly, Bophut is also a postal sub-district (tambon) that includes a large portion of Chaweng and much of the north and west of the island. If you want to stay in the Fisherman’s Village (hopefully with us!) make sure your hotel has a Moo 1, Bophut, street address.
The Fisherman’s Village is clearly the product of a caring community that has, until now, dissuaded the more unsavoury elements of Thai nightlife from setting-up shop and better meets the preferences of couples and young families.
Despite the new construction, the beach road, which runs through the village, has kept much of its charm. Old Chinese shop-houses line the narrow street, many (but not all) with sympathetic conversions to modern use as clothes boutiques, restaurants and cafés. Several massage and small spa operations crowd the narrow approach road to the pier (above) and a market style shopping area at the mid-point of the Fisherman’s Village extends to line the beach road with stalls of an evening, in high season.
The rickety pier, centre of so much of the village’s activity, rarely survives a monsoon without losing a substantial part of itself to the sea. Such is the commercial importance of the pier to the local community whether ferrying divers to Koh Tao and beyond; Full Moon party hedonists to Koh Pha Ngan or kayakers and snorkelers to Ang Thong, the pier is returned to serviceability annually by an assortment of its commercially dependant, long before the peak tourist season of Christmas and the New Year. Insomniacs or early risers may be interested in the ‘farmers market’ style event that occurs most mornings from 05h30 at the foot of pier for the convenience of local families and restaurateurs, but which dissolves as readily as it appears by 08h00.
The village has a 7-11, 24hr convenience store, two pharmacies, two banks, half a dozen ATM machines and two or three diving outfits. A couple of locals and a Frenchman offer fishing trips and toward the western end of the Village, as well as the jet-ski rental guys and beach masseuse, there are plenty of speedboat operators ready to take you or your party to the neighbouring islands or Marine Park for the day. Yoga classes are available, close to the hotel.
The Fisherman’s Village also boasts many fine restaurants offering a wide choice of specialty cuisines in addition to the selected Thai dishes that all restos carry on their menu. French, Italian, BBQ, Indian and seafood outlets predominate, but there is a Mexican restaurant, a tapas bar, several pubs and two bakeries offering standard European style snacks and typical British, Irish and Australian ‘Pub Grub’. There really is something for every taste; currently some 40 bars and restaurants are located in little more than 700m of the village street, before it curves inland to join the ring road.
Activities in the Fisherman’s Village are pretty much limited to the beach, which is quite narrow and drops off rapidly near the middle of the village. Jet ski hire operators are located (mercifully) at the far, western end of the Village, as are several beach massage set-ups and other diversions. A Go-kart track can be found on the main road adjacent to the village. Bophut is famed for its sunsets, fine restaurants, numerous pubs and complete absence of girly bars. Thai Massage, (temporary rejuvination on the beach or in one of the village’s numerous mini-spas) manicure and pedicure treatments are bargain spends for pamper-seeking visitors of either sex.
So is skin art! Not being aquainted with the genre or the European cost of tattoos, it came as something of a surprise to learn that some afficionados holiday in Samui simply to add new tattoos to their skin, at bargain prices. There is so much more to the tattoos of Thailand and its neighbouring buddhist populations than in the west. While tattoos can still be the frivolous impulses of an overpaid or iconoclastic youth, some tattoos (Sak Yant) are accepted by buddhists adherents as a special part of their complex belief system, that most young western bucks may be unaware of.
The beach itself encompasses some 2 km of a course, pale sandy shoreline, fringed by coconut palms, demarcated from the beaches of Maenam further west and Bangrak to the east by rocky, wooded headlands. Protected to some degree by the reassuring presence of neighbouring Koh Pha Ngan, the normally calm waters of Bophut’s crescent bay make this a popular, generally uncrowded spot, for playing relaxing or simply, catching the rays.
Increasingly popular among western visitors is a trip to one ofSamui’s superb dentists. So uniformly good are the dentists, several of which are established in Bophut, and reasonable their prices, that medical vacationing is a growing tourism segment in Samui. Some visitors arriving just to receive extensive dental treatment locally, at a fraction of the European cost and homeopathic-sized price compared to the American equivalent. Samui’s four major international hospitals each have dental departments, but there are numerous other excellent dental clinics to choose from, usually at lower cost. All conduct restorative or general dentistry from a basic inspection, cleaning and polish, routine fillings, extractions and root canal work, but several specialise in much more complex oral issues, including a broad spectrum of cosmetic treatments for the vain. It’s noted that laser whitening is on offer at several dentists in Bophut for around ฿ 8000 (US$ 220), but this may come down as the recession bites (sorry).
Frog & Gecko: home to a popular Wednesday night Pub Quiz
Photo source: Kinumi Yoshidaコサムイ現地ガイド
Bophut – The Fishermans Village
Even after experiencing something of a boom in the construction of new hotels and guesthouses in recent years, Bophut is one of the few places on Samui that retains some of the island’s original Thai-Chinese atmosphere. The traditional core of Bophut, the self-styled Fisherman’s Village, occupies the east side of the curving 2km beach, while the new 5 star hotel developments and some remnants of the original bungalow resorts are located to the west of the bay. Confusingly, Bophut is also a postal sub-district (tambon) that includes a large portion of Chaweng and much of the north and west of the island. If you want to stay in the Fisherman’s Village (hopefully with us!) make sure your hotel has a Moo 1, Bophut, street address.
The Fisherman’s Village is clearly the product of a caring community that has, until now, dissuaded the more unsavoury elements of Thai nightlife from setting-up shop and better meets the preferences of couples and young families.
Despite the new construction, the beach road, which runs through the village, has kept much of its charm. Old Chinese shop-houses line the narrow street, many (but not all) with sympathetic conversions to modern use as clothes boutiques, restaurants and cafés. Several massage and small spa operations crowd the narrow approach road to the pier (above) and a market style shopping area at the mid-point of the Fisherman’s Village extends to line the beach road with stalls of an evening, in high season.
The rickety pier, centre of so much of the village’s activity, rarely survives a monsoon without losing a substantial part of itself to the sea. Such is the commercial importance of the pier to the local community whether ferrying divers to Koh Tao and beyond; Full Moon party hedonists to Koh Pha Ngan or kayakers and snorkelers to Ang Thong, the pier is returned to serviceability annually by an assortment of its commercially dependant, long before the peak tourist season of Christmas and the New Year. Insomniacs or early risers may be interested in the ‘farmers market’ style event that occurs most mornings from 05h30 at the foot of pier for the convenience of local families and restaurateurs, but which dissolves as readily as it appears by 08h00.
The village has a 7-11, 24hr convenience store, two pharmacies, two banks, half a dozen ATM machines and two or three diving outfits. A couple of locals and a Frenchman offer fishing trips and toward the western end of the Village, as well as the jet-ski rental guys and beach masseuse, there are plenty of speedboat operators ready to take you or your party to the neighbouring islands or Marine Park for the day. Yoga classes are available, close to the hotel.
The Fisherman’s Village also boasts many fine restaurants offering a wide choice of specialty cuisines in addition to the selected Thai dishes that all restos carry on their menu. French, Italian, BBQ, Indian and seafood outlets predominate, but there is a Mexican restaurant, a tapas bar, several pubs and two bakeries offering standard European style snacks and typical British, Irish and Australian ‘Pub Grub’. There really is something for every taste; currently some 40 bars and restaurants are located in little more than 700m of the village street, before it curves inland to join the ring road.
Activities in the Fisherman’s Village are pretty much limited to the beach, which is quite narrow and drops off rapidly near the middle of the village. Jet ski hire operators are located (mercifully) at the far, western end of the Village, as are several beach massage set-ups and other diversions. A Go-kart track can be found on the main road adjacent to the village. Bophut is famed for its sunsets, fine restaurants, numerous pubs and complete absence of girly bars. Thai Massage, (temporary rejuvination on the beach or in one of the village’s numerous mini-spas) manicure and pedicure treatments are bargain spends for pamper-seeking visitors of either sex.
So is skin art! Not being aquainted with the genre or the European cost of tattoos, it came as something of a surprise to learn that some afficionados holiday in Samui simply to add new tattoos to their skin, at bargain prices. There is so much more to the tattoos of Thailand and its neighbouring buddhist populations than in the west. While tattoos can still be the frivolous impulses of an overpaid or iconoclastic youth, some tattoos (Sak Yant) are accepted by buddhists adherents as a special part of their complex belief system, that most young western bucks may be unaware of.
The beach itself encompasses some 2 km of a course, pale sandy shoreline, fringed by coconut palms, demarcated from the beaches of Maenam further west and Bangrak to the east by rocky, wooded headlands. Protected to some degree by the reassuring presence of neighbouring Koh Pha Ngan, the normally calm waters of Bophut’s crescent bay make this a popular, generally uncrowded spot, for playing relaxing or simply, catching the rays.
Increasingly popular among western visitors is a trip to one of Samui’s superb dentists. So uniformly good are the dentists, several of which are established in Bophut, and reasonable their prices, that medical vacationing is a growing tourism segment in Samui. Some visitors arriving just to receive extensive dental treatment locally, at a fraction of the European cost and homeopathic-sized price compared to the American equivalent. Samui’s four major international hospitals each have dental departments, but there are numerous other excellent dental clinics to choose from, usually at lower cost. All conduct restorative or general dentistry from a basic inspection, cleaning and polish, routine fillings, extractions and root canal work, but several specialise in much more complex oral issues, including a broad spectrum of cosmetic treatments for the vain. It’s noted that laser whitening is on offer at several dentists in Bophut for around ฿ 8000 (US$ 220), but this may come down as the recession bites (sorry).