Reading Samui Magazine in May 2007 you could get some really good information about Samui’s history: “It “is the fact that the island’s first residents were not necessarily Thai. Many Hainanese emigrated to Southeast Asia the colonial period and their descendents can be found here today. (Hainan is China’s second largest island and although its beaches resemble those on Koh Samui, it is 100 times larger, covering an area of 30,000 square kilometers with a population of more than 8 million.)
Traveling merchants and fishermen by trade, they knew exactly which crops to grow in order to ensure their survival. In fact, according to some of the island’s older generation, it is a little known fact that cotton was the island’s first export. For many years raw cotton was transported back to China by sea on specially constructed boats …
Unfortunately, this initial economic success was relatively short-lived on Samui, when an infestation of worms completely destroyed the island’s cotton harvest…
Nevertheless, Samui’s resourceful settlers quickly switched to coconuts as an alternative subsistence crop…
Such enduring traces of Samui’s past, combined with a strong sense of identity within the local Hainanese community, ensure that the spirit that inspired the island’s original inhabitants lives on.”
At the northern coast of Samui (Maenam) the old wooden less attractive Chinese temple has recently been replaced by a brand-new colorful building. We recommend a visit of this really beautiful temple not far from the beach.
The building has been completed some weeks before Chinese New Year 2007. This Chinese temple is not only used for religious purposes but also for meetings and ceremonies of the Chinese population.
The “council of elders” made the final decision to build the temple. Individuals and companies as hotels contributed towards a fund.
You will quickly realize the difference to Thai temples. By the way, there are no monks at the Chinese temple.
We wish you a pleasant time on Samui and happy hunting. If you are interested to a short trip to the mainland we recommend to visit the cache "Pink Lady" (https://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC693Q4&title=pink-dolphin&guid=57b78788-2459-4f6c-a07c-56f8127e4b1d)
Karen & Thomas