THAILAND 7

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Mae Nam is the best resort Samui seems to offer. On a rainy day the east side is reminiscent of Isaac Levitan’s realist masterpiece "Deep Waters" restricted as it is from development by network of streams. The centre of the beach is more typically furnished with the staple palm tree and plays host to an array of pleasant bars and eateries facing north towards Ko Phangan. Lorries hurl along the main drag at break neck speeds, an indicator as to how Ko Samui has the highest incidence of traffic fatalities in the whole of Thailand. In spite of this Mae Nam is a delightful place with only perfunctory facets of the commercialism that mars so many other areas of the island. Perhaps best of all the residents are extremely friendly and their sense of humour can only be described as joyfully playful.

I love the postcard. My favourites are the antiquated coastal vistas that have faded in the light, drained of the overly rich colours that give the newer cards a feeling of unnatural artificiality. It succeeds where other forms of communication can not in establishing a tangible link between sender and recipient, and the journey on which the laminate undertakes is an adventure of Odysseyian magnitude.

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