If Koh Samui is well known today, the first reverent mention of the name was most likely heard in the packed downstairs restaurant of that dirty but charismatic tryst.
Amongst the pungent smoke billowing from the cook’s wok, word frequently passed around about an idyllic island in the south east of Thailand, very difficult to reach, a place with only walking tracks, and as close to being paradise as Mother Earth can possibly provide.
Furthermore, this was no tiny islet, but a large and mountainous tropical haven with rushing streams, thick forests, and dozens of deserted pristine palm-fringed beaches, the stuff of dreams and fantasy.
