Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
MERMAID STATUE
Ko Samet earned a permanent place in Thai literature when classical Thai poet Sunthorn
Phu set part of his epic 'Phra Aphaimani' on its shores. The story follows the travails of a
prince exiled to an undersea kingdom governed by a lovesick female giant. A mermaid as-
sists the prince in his escape to Ko Samet, where he defeats a giant by playing a magic
flute. Today the poem is immortalised on the island by the mermaid statue built on the
rocky point separating Ao Hin Khok and Hat Sai Kaew.
MONUMENT
KHAO LAEM YA/MU KO SAMET NATIONAL PARK
( 0 3865 3034; reserve@dnp.go.th; adult/child 200/100B; 8.30am-4.30pm)
In the early '80s, Ko Samet
began receiving its first visitors: young Thais in search of a retreat from city life. It was
made a national marine park in 1981, when there were only about 40 houses on the island.
Rayong and Bangkok speculators saw the sudden interest in Ko Samet as a chance to cash
in on an up-and-coming Phuket and began buying up land along the beaches. No one
bothered about the fact that it was a national marine park. When
fa·ràng
(Westerners) soon
followed, spurred on by rumours that Ko Samet was similar to Ko Samui '10 years ago',
the National Parks Division stepped in and built a visitors' office on the island, ordered that
all bungalows be moved back behind the tree line and started charging admission to the
park.
However, the regulating hand of the National Parks Division is almost invisible beyond
its role collecting fees at the admission gate. One successful measure, however, is a ban on
new accommodation except where it replaces old sites, ensuring that bungalows remain
thinly spread over most of the island.
NATIONAL PARK
