Why you shouldn’t have your Photos Taken with Gibbons in Koh Samui

Picture of Thai Gibbon

Upon booking a stay at the luxurious Shasa Resort & Residences at Koh Samui, many guests often decide where to go or what to do in their bedrooms. Contemplating which of the many Koh Samui attractions should be visited first can be a daunting task for anyone riled up with the sheer thought of endless possibilities.

However, not all of these crowd-drawers are in the best interest of all parties involved, especially entrepreneurs who deal some sort of business involving the use of gibbons.

Although it is illegal in Thailand to extract these animals from the wild due to their dwindling numbers, businessmen are still placing orders for as many gibbons as needed to continue their businesses’ operations.

Nine species of gibbons within SE Asia are currently listed in Appendix 1 of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In Thailand, the scarce number of these furry little beasts is attributed to several factors, including the destruction of their natural habitats.

In addition, ShaSa Resort management employees explain that these mammals are being poached for their meat, their medicine, and pet trade – all of which has the potential to rake in hefty amounts of cash, which is why the law of gibbon extraction is repeatedly broken.

In order to acquire gibbon babies, their protective mothers are shot dead. The stolen babes are then sold as expensive pets, or used in business establishments as attractions. At some bars, they’re locked up in cages as eye-candy for incoming customers.

By the time they reach the age of six or seven, these gibbons tend to get aggressive. Owners of these apes then resort to filing their canines down and placing a collar around their necks. Other entrepreneurs often resort to killing their “crowd-drawers”, and replacing them with newborn gibbons.

At popular beaches, vendors who approach tourists and offer them a chance to have their pictures taken (in exchange for a certain amount of money) with gibbons usually subject these animals to harsh living conditions. Moreover, keep in mind that up to ten gibbons can be shot dead in order to obtain a single baby gibbon.

The management of ShaSa Resort frowns upon such practices, and firmly believes that these beasts should have never been included in the list of legit Koh Samui attractions as displayed at other websites. To help put an end to this cruel trade, vacationists are advised to resist the temptation of having their pictures taken with the poor monkeys.

Active Lifestyle in Koh Samui

Wake boarding is one of the many things you can do in Koh Smaui  to enjoy a healthy lifestyle 

Sports-minded tourists or travellers with lifestyles revolving around physical fitness need not forego of their activities when visiting the island of Koh Samui in southern Thailand. As a matter of fact, the Koh Samui highlights of their visit can include various sports and similar recreational activities. 

The tourist accommodations at the island’s beach destinations offer many choices in water-based sports and recreational activities. Among these are jet skiing, kayaking, kite boarding, snorkelling, and scuba-diving.

Tourists with an active lifestyle will be delighted to note that lists of Koh Samui things to do also include many land-based recreational pursuits. Some beach resorts, such as those at the southern tip of the island, feature their own fully equipped fitness centres. 

These facilities are at par with Western standards. Resort visitors who have a training regimen to keep will have at their disposal modern exercise equipment, such as electronic treadmill and state-of-the-art workout machines, in addition to the traditional free weights.

Many Koh Samui resorts also maintain tennis courts with lights for evening matches. Moreover, tourists who want to improve their lobs and volleys can avail of tennis lessons designed specifically for adults and kids. Those more inclined toward table tennis will likewise find the facilities they need in some beach resort clubhouses.

Visiting duffers won’t be away from their woods and irons either. Koh Samui is home to the Santiburi Samui Country Club located at the mountainous northern part of the island. This 6,930-yard, 18-hole, par 72 layout promises championship calibre of play. 

Its links are striking, taking golfers across winding fairways traversing coconut groves and creeks amid wondrous views of the Gulf of Thailand, cliffs, and mountains. The Santiburi course offers challenging play with its up-and-down-hill configuration.

Mini golf too is an option for Koh Samui tourists yet to earn their spurs in the full version of the royal and ancient game. A mini golf course is located near the Santiburi Samui Country Club at the forests overlooking the Choeng Mon beach resort. Called Mini Golf International and a member of the World Mini-Golf Federation, this is the only professional mini golf course in Thailand.

At Koh Samui, tourists can also have a sampling of Thailand’s home-grown sport muay thai or Thai kickboxing. Besides this Thai national sport, more traditional sporting activities are also widely played in the island. Several football clubs and associations in Samui regularly conduct tournaments and pick-up matches. More sedate games such as petanque and badminton also have many adherents in the island.

Cockfighting in Koh Samui

Cockfighting matches can be quite exciting

Is flying halfway across the planet worth a few days’ break in this tropical island? For almost every single individual who’s been here before, the answer is yes. Koh Samui attractions come in all sorts of forms to draw in the consistently massive stream of tourists throughout most of the year.

Koh Samui travel guides say that cockfighting is one of the most popular sports in Thailand today. Locals within the country have fallen in love with this form of competition since the establishment of Ayutthaya as the Thai Kingdom’s capital back in A.D. 1350.

Records indicate that by 1562, the Ayutthaya Kingdom was placed under Burmese occupation. Burma then decided to take Crown Prince Naresuan captive by the time he was seven years old in order to ensure the fidelity of his father, who was already a prominent prince during that time.

Naresuan was then trained by the Burmese King Bayinnuang in literature, martial arts, and military strategies during his stay in Burma, and was even regarded as one of the princes within the Burmese Palace. Amongst the many things the Crown Prince saw or learned during his nine years in the foreign nation, Naresuan developed a liking for cockfighting as well.

Today, this sport has managed to garner the attention and active participation of locals throughout Thailand. Unlike other Koh Samui attractions, making or losing money during each fight is possible, as spectators are permitted to bet.

A large number of participants and crowds in attendance have the potential to rake in plenty of cash for the ring operator. One big fight can generate more or less 200,000 baht (around USD6000), which is a large sum of money in Thailand.

While other countries that also participate in this sport usually attach a sharp blade or spur to the leg of each battling cock before a fight – which means the chickens will be fighting till one is severely injured or dead – Samui cockfights exclude such weapons.

This crowd-drawer is like the other Koh Samui attractions wherein no blood is shed (except for Muay Thai bouts). The winner of a cockfighting match is declared when his opponent either tires or stops fighting.

Lastly, although gambling is illegal in Thailand, guides say that fight promoters are usually able to obtain exemptions, thereby allowing big bets to be wagered.

Thai Dialects in Focus

There are various Thai dialects spoken across the country

Extended tourists’ stay in the island of Koh Samui, a very likely possibility given its many attractions besides beaches, will mean a prolonged exposure to one of the four major dialects spoken in Thailand. Southern Thailand, where this tourist destination is located, is a melting pot of Thai Chinese, Buddhists, and Muslims.

It is said that in venturing outside of the island’s tourist areas, the locals who will be encountered speak with a thick southern dialect, which can be hard to understand even for northern Thais. Hence, picking up a few phrases in the local dialect can serve as one of the Koh Samui highlights of a visitor enamoured to the island. 

This southern Thai dialect is called Paktay. It is generally spoken south of Prachuap province, and it is estimated that 4.3 million Thais speak this dialect or approximately 8 per cent of the country’s population. This dialect has several different varieties, with a very striking contrast between the rural and the educated Paktay. Speakers of standard Thai, the national language of Thailand, will more easily understand educated Paktay than rural Paktay.

Thai-Lao Dialects

A Koh Samui travel tour, which extends to central Thailand will more or less enable such a comparison. The dialect spoken in this part of the country is called Thaiklang, which is similar to standard Thai. This dialect is more dominant than its southern counterpart. Among the estimated 25 million standard Thai speakers, 14.4 million also speak Thaiklang. Notably, standard Thai is the dialect spoken in the central part of Thailand. Being the national language, standard Thai is used by the government and the media.

The areas in the northernmost part of Thailand speak kam muang or yuan, the northern Thai dialect. Essentially, these regions include the Thai provinces north of Tak, Sukhotai, and Uttaradi. Roughly 4.8 million locals speak this dialect, or almost 9 percent of the Thai population. Speakers of the northern Thai dialect can often understand standard Thai, which is used in schools and in the media.

The northern dialect and standard Thai, however, aren’t mutually intelligible. Isaan Thai is the dialect in northeastern Thailand. It is actually a Lao dialect but has been heavily influenced by the Thai language because of people-to-people contact among nearby regions. All told, there are about 12.2 million Thai-Lao speakers, accounting for a little less than 23 percent of Thailand’s population. 

Tips for Avoiding Sunburns in Koh Samui

Don't let this happen to you!

The Koh Samui weather will be reaching its highest temperatures between March and June. This hot season is something that many vacationists look forward to, as temperatures average around 34°C, which is perfect for having a little fun under the sun at the island’s white sand beaches.

However, the management at ShaSa Resort & Residences say that the heat can elevate anywhere from 37 to 40°C, making it even easier to develop nasty sunburns through prolonged exposure to the planet’s closest star. They also warn that the cool breeze coming from the ocean can easily fool tourists into thinking they aren’t getting burned by that big ball of fire hovering in the sky.

Considering the dangers involved, several measures must be taken by any vacationer to negate the risks of developing sunburn. First tip is to lather on a little organic coconut oil – available for sale at local pharmacies -- all over the body before heading out to the beach. Alternatively, applying the innards of a ripe avocado to the skin may provide some protection from the sun as well.

Second tip is to be wary of the “broken-cloud-effect” – although very cloudy days (like the ones accompanied by rainfall) means less UV ray absorption for beachgoers, partly cloudy overcast Koh Samui weather has the tendency to amplify these harmful rays, especially UV-B frequencies, by up to 25 per cent.

For those looking to get a few tones darker during their tropical vacation, the third tip is more of common sense, but is often neglected: don’t get impatient to get brown. The management at ShaSa Resort would like to remind its valued guests that Thailand is pretty close to the equator, meaning the intensity of UV rays will always be stronger in comparison to that of countries further away from the earth’s middle portion.

Fourth and last tip is to set a time limit the duration of sunlight exposure – very light-coloured individuals are advised to start with ten minutes of exposure before 11am, or after 3pm, to be safe.

Always keep in mind that Koh Samui weather is quite deceptive, especially with all that sea breeze blowing in from the ocean. The management at ShaSa Resort would also like to remind tourists to pack sunblock and sunglasses before departing for this sizzling hot island, as well as limit their duration of exposure to the sun to steer clear of painful sunburns.

Top Five Dishes in Koh Samui

There are many must try dishes in Koh Samui including the depicted Som Tom  

No matter where any individual is in the world, there’s bound to be a restaurant that serves Thai cuisines. These mouth-watering dishes have made significant impacts on culinary industries across various nations, and have helped foreigners understand Thailand’s local culture a little better through the appreciation of good cooking.

Koh Samui itself is a holiday destination of choice through many aspects, including tongue-tantalizing meals. Those staying in ShaSa resort are given an excellent selection of local chow to feast on courtesy of Beyond the Sea. Alternatively, they can also head out to various other restaurants outside the establishment to see how well those businesses fair in preparing local gourmet food.

But when stumped as to what to order, Samuians have come up with a list of the top five best dishes to order, of which the first one is Moo-Sa-Te. This tasty meal consists of sweet-flavored grilled pork sticks laced with juicy sauce derived from curry powder and turmeric.

The second must-try dish is called Kai Pad Med Mamuang Himmapan, which is basically stir-fried chicken with cashew nuts. This slightly sweet and salty bird isn’t spicy, so it’d definitely be a great choice for those who can’t handle the level of spiciness of other cuisines. Also, the crunchy cashew nuts included in the meal helps accentuate the unique flavorful of the chicken.

Third on the list is Tom Yam Koong, which is spicy shrimp soup in English. This cuisine batters the tongue with spice and sourness with the use of kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallot, chili pepper, and fragrant herbs.

Tom Yam Kai is the fourth entry on this list – commonly referred by westerners as spicy chicken soup, this cuisine features an impressive blend of lime, chili, and fish sauce that’s guaranteed to please any tourist who can handle a little spice in their meals.

Fifth, we have Panaeng – also identified as meat in spicy coconut cream, this dish is prepared using beef, pork or chicken. Those who’ve sunk their teeth in this tasty treat say that its flavors resemble that of Thai red curry. However, a notable difference between the two meals would be Panaeng’s thicker and richer coconut milk sauce.

It’s imperative that the Koh Samui highlights of any vacationer’s holiday include food tasting. Those staying in ShaSa Resort have the outstanding opportunity to experience authentic Thai dishes within the business’ restaurant, as well as other diners nearby.