Ko Samet (Cajeput Island; , ) is one of the eastern seaboard islands of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It is in the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

off the coastline of the Thai province of

Rayong Rayong (, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of ''tambons'' Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within Mueang Rayong dist ...

, approximately southeast of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. Ko Samet is part of the Phe () Subdistrict of the Amphoe Mueang Rayong (, the capital district, or

Amphoe Mueang An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to counties. The chief district ...

), of Rayong Province. Ko Samet is the largest and westernmost of a cluster of islands not far from the coast. Ko Samet measures from north to south. At its closest point to the mainland, the island is south of mainland Rayong Province; however the actual travelling distance from the main commercial tourist pier in the town of Phe to the island's closest tourist beach is about . Popular with foreign tourists and as a weekend getaway for residents of nearby

, most of the island (excluding the Na Dan area) is in the

Khao Laem Ya–Mu Ko Samet National Park Khao Laem Ya–Mu Ko Samet () is a Thai marine national park in the Gulf of Thailand off the coastline of Rayong, approximately 180 km southeast of Bangkok. In 1981, the Royal Forest Department declared the archipelago of Ko Samet, alon ...

. In 1981, the

Royal Forest Department The Royal Forest Department (Abbreviation, Abrv: RFD; , ) is a department in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Thailand), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), part of the Government of Thailand. History On 18 Se ...

declared the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

of Samet, along with nine other small islands, the headland of Khao Laem Ya, and the Mae Ramphueng Beach to be a national park, and thus Ko Samet is under the protection of the National Parks Division of the Thai government.

History

The Thai government restricted overnight stay on the island until 1981 (even though Bangkokians had known of the beauty of Ko Samet for decades). In that year, on 1 October, the Forestry Department of Thailand declared Ko Samet and environs to be a national park.

Geography and climate

Located from the capital in the Gulf of Thailand, Ko Samet is approximately in size, and shaped somewhat like the letter "t". Along the length of the "t" (north-south) the island measures approximately , and measures across the "t" (west-east). Forests blanket up to 80 percent of the total area. Closest to the mainland, lies the small island port village of Na Dan, commonly known as Ko Samet Village, with its nearby beach, Hat Sai Kaeo (Glass Sand Beach; ), the longest beach on Ko Samet. Most of Ko Samet's beaches lie along the eastern shore of the island. Other beaches on the island include: Ao Phai, Ao Wai, Ao Kio Na Nai, Ao Cho, Ao Kio Na Nok, Ao Wong Duean, Cape Kut, Ao Toei, and Ao Karang at the southern tip, and Ao Phrao on the western shore of the island. Just off the southern tip of the island are three small rock-islands, Ko Chan (Moon Island; ), Ko San Chalam (Shark Fin Island), and Hin Khao (White Rock; ). Ko Samet is one of the driest archipelagos in Thailand. Ko Samet gets significantly less rainfall than Rayong Province, even though it is only a few kilometres offshore. The island's "rainy season" extends only from May to July, but even during this season it has less rain than other islands in Thailand. The island, despite being

arid Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...

, consists of lush forested hills, covered with evergreen and

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest and cajeput trees grow abundantly (the name "samet" means "cajeput"). Owing to the lack of rain, Ko Samet must import

potable Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

water from the mainland.

Administration

Ko Samet is administered by the Phe Sub-district,

Mueang Rayong District Mueang Rayong (, ) is the capital district ('' amphoe mueang'') of Rayong province, Thailand. The provincial administration is in Tambon Map Ta Phut. Geography Neighboring districts are (from the west clockwise) Ban Chang, Nikhom Phatthana, ...

, Rayong Province. Ko Samet is also under the aegis of the national park area (

), and all foreign visitors are required to pay a 200

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

(approximately US$5.60) entry fee upon arrival.

Transport

There are two main arteries on Ko Samet: the northern route connects Hat Sai Kaeo to Ao Klang and Ao Noina. The central route consists of four smaller roads. The first road links Sai Kaeo beach to Ao Phai and Ao Phutsa. The second road connects the center of island to Ao Wong Duean. The third road connects the first road to Ao Thapthim and Ao Nuan. The fourth road connects the first road to Ao Phrao.

Songthaew A songthaew (, , ; , ; ) is a passenger vehicle in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar adapted from a pick-up or a larger truck and used as a share taxi or bus. Overview The songthaew takes its name from the two bench seats fixed along eith ...

s are the chief means of public transport. There are five piers: Ao Klang, Ao Phrao, Ao Wong Duean, Ao Thian, and Ao Wai. Ao Klang Pier is the port to mainland. The rest are piers for diving and excursions.

In popular culture

During the 19th century the poet

Sunthorn Phu Phra Sunthorn Vohara (Phu) (, , ; 26 June 1786 – 1855), known as Sunthorn Phu (, , ), was a Thai poet. He is often referred to as the "Shakespeare of Thailand." Born four years after the founding of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, he entered royal ...

(1786–1855), set part of his

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

work, ''

Phra Aphai Mani Phra Aphai Mani is a 48,700-line epic poem composed by Thai poet Sunthorn Phu, who is known as "the Bard of Rattanakosin" (). It is considered to be one of Thailand's national epics. With 48,686 couplets, it is listed as the longest Thai single ...

'' (sometimes transliterated as ''Pra Apaimanee''), on the shores of the island. Statues of the title character, Prince Aphai Mani and the siren/

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

which guided him to Ko Samet can be found on Hat Sai Kaeo Beach.

Gallery

File:Ko Samet Thailand Mermaid on Main Boat Port.JPG, Welcoming statue of the

ogress at the main port File:Ko Samet Beach Shore at Night.JPG, Samet beach at night File:Ko Samet from Space.png, Ko Samet from Space

References

External links

*
Khao Laem Ya - Mu Ko Samet National Park
{{Coord, 12, 34, 4, N, 101, 27, 17, E, type:isle_region:TH_scale:1000, display=title Geography of Rayong province Samet Islands of the Gulf of Thailand