Fun Fact: The Coconut Supply Chain of Old Samui

A detail that brings old Samui to life: harvested coconuts were piled onto wooden carts hauled by water buffalo down to a makeshift wharf at Nathon, sold to traders, and shipped on to Bangkok for resale. Immediately after World War II - about twenty years before the island had anything like real roads - a fleet of heavy-duty ex-US military trucks was brought over from the mainland to service the plantations. Local accounts say some of these trucks were still running decades later and are a point of local pride. The whole chain - buffalo cart, Nathon wharf, cargo boat - explains why Nathon, not the beach towns, was the island's capital and remains its main port today.

Details

A detail that brings old Samui to life: harvested coconuts were piled onto wooden carts hauled by water buffalo down to a makeshift wharf at Nathon, sold to traders, and shipped on to Bangkok for resale. Immediately after World War II - about twenty years before the island had anything like real roads - a fleet of heavy-duty ex-US military trucks was brought over from the mainland to service the plantations. Local accounts say some of these trucks were still running decades later and are a point of local pride. The whole chain - buffalo cart, Nathon wharf, cargo boat - explains why Nathon, not the beach towns, was the island's capital and remains its main port today.

Highlights

• Coconuts moved by water-buffalo cart to Nathon wharf, then by ship to Bangkok
• Ex-WWII US military trucks worked the plantations from the late 1940s
• The trade made Nathon the island's capital and main port
• Coconut income shaped Samui long before tourism

Local tips

• Nathon's layout still follows its trading-port past - easy to see on an old-town walk

Frequently asked questions

How did Samui export coconuts before roads?

By water-buffalo cart to the Nathon wharf, then by cargo ship to Bangkok. After WWII, surplus US military trucks were brought in for the plantations.