Every traveler in Thailand has an opinion about Ko Samui. Chaweng's party is better than Bangkok's, say some; it's paradise well and truly lost, say others. What is clear is that this island is same, same but very different to when backpackers first set foot on its palm-fringed shores in the 1970s. Today Ko Samui is more holistic spas and five-star hotels than bucket showers and beach shacks. One look at that powder-soft sand and aquamarine sea, and all seem to agree that Ko Samui still feels idyllic.