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31-583: Surat Thani is located near the mouth of the Tapi River on the Gulf of Thailand . The city offers no major tourist attractions in itself, and is mainly known to tourists as the jumping-off point to Ko Samui , Ko Tao , and Ko Pha Ngan . It is the regional commercial center, with a seaport dealing in the main products of the province, rubber and coconuts. The city received its name, which means "city of good people", by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1915. The name

62-501: A tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification Aw ). Like other parts of Southern Thailand, Surat Thani has only two seasons; wet and dry. Temperatures are fairly stable throughout the year, although the pre-monsoon months (March–May) are somewhat hotter. There is a short dry season from January to April, followed by the wet season that lasts from May to December. The heaviest rains occur in October and November. Surat Thani

93-492: A GPP per capita of 182,371 baht (US$ 5,883), more than double for Yala province, which is fifth and more than three times for Narathiwat province, lowest in the ranking. Southern Thailand is connected with Bangkok by railway and highway. Several regional airports are located at the larger towns. The transportation hub of all of southern Thailand is Hat Yai. Phetkasem Road , the longest road in Thailand, runs from Bangkok along

124-451: A sanitary district ( sukhaphiban ), which was upgraded to a town ( thesaban mueang ) on 7 December 1935, with a municipal area of 2.67 km (1.03 sq mi). The area of the municipality was enlarged to 6.95 km (2.68 sq mi) on 14 October 1958, and on 22 December 1994 it was further enlarged to 68.97 km (26.63 sq mi). On 4 May 2007, the town was upgraded to city status ( thesaban nakhon ). Surat Thani

155-614: Is 134 per square kilometre (350/sq mi). Religion in Southern Thailand (2015 census) Thailand is a Buddhist-majority country. About 93.46% in Thailand follow Buddhism. Buddhism is the majority religion in southern Thailand as well but makes up 75.45% of the region's people. The Thai follow Theravada Buddhism. Minority ethnic groups such as Khmer also follow Buddhism, and 10 of the 14 provinces in southern Thailand have Buddhist majorities. Islam constitutes 24.33% of Southern Thailand even though it constitutes only 5.36% of

186-422: Is a southwestern Tai language spoken in the 14 changwat of southern Thailand as well as by small Thai communities in the northernmost Malaysian states. It is spoken natively by roughly five million people and as a second language by the 1.5 million native speakers of Patani Malay , along with other ethnic groups such as the local Negritos communities, and other tribal groups. Although Central Thai

217-535: Is a southernmost cultural region of Thailand , separated from Central Thailand region by the Kra Isthmus . Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula , with an area of around 70,714 km (27,303 sq mi), bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus , the narrowest part of the peninsula. The western part has highly steep coasts, while on the east side river plains dominate. The largest river in

248-603: Is connected with Bangkok by the Southern Line of the State Railway of Thailand . Surat Thani Railway Station is the main station of the province. It is in Phunphin , about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Surat Thani. Surat Thani is connected to Nakhon Si Thammarat by Route 401. Asian highway AH2 also passes the city at Phunphin. Surat Thani International Airport is about 30 km (19 mi) from

279-402: Is followed by industry (12 percent), trade (10 percent), transportation (9 percent), tourism (8 percent), and construction and property (7 percent). For FY 2018, Southern Thailand Region had a combined economic output of 1,402 trillion baht (US$ 45.2 billion), or 8.6 percent of Thailand's GDP. Surat Thani province had an economic output of 206.869 billion baht (US$ 6.67 billion), which is equal to

310-808: Is formed by the Sankalakhiri range , sometimes sub-divided into the Pattani, Taluban, and Songkhla chain. At the Malaysian border, the Titiwangsa chain rises. The limestone of the west coast has been eroded into many steep singular hills. The parts submerged by the rising sea after the Last Ice Age now form many islands, like the well-known Phi Phi Islands . Also well known is the so-called James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay , featured in

341-959: Is home to the Surat Thani Football Club (nicknamed “Police Tero”, previously known as “The Roosters”) and the Surat Thani Futsal Club (nicknamed “The Chargers”) . Primary and secondary schools with English instruction include: The administration of Surat Thani city municipality is responsible for an area that covers 68.97 square kilometers (26.63 square miles) and consists of six subdistricts, 18 villages ( muban ), 132,040 people in 74,548 households. Category:People from Surat Thani province 9°8′23″N 99°19′50″E  /  9.13972°N 99.33056°E  / 9.13972; 99.33056 Tapi River, Thailand The Tapi (or Tapee ) river ( Thai : แม่น้ำตาปี , RTGS :  Maenam Tapi , Thai pronunciation: [mɛ̂ːnáːm tāːpīː] )

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372-507: Is still misleading. There are still a huge number of migrant or informal workers, temporary workers and even stateless people and a large expatriate population, which are not included. Most of southern Thailand is in Tenasserim-South Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests ecoregion . The Peninsular Malaysian rain forests and Peninsular Malaysian montane rain forests ecoregions extend into southernmost Thailand along

403-623: Is the Chiao Lan (Ratchaprapha Dam), occupying 165 km (64 sq mi) of Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani . The total forest area is 17,964 km (6,936 sq mi) or 24.3 percent of provincial area. Running through the middle of the peninsula are several mountain chains, with the highest elevation at Khao Luang , 1,835 m (6,020 ft), in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province . Ranging from

434-612: Is the longest river in southern Thailand . The river originates at Khao Luang mountain in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province , and empties into the Gulf of Thailand at Bandon Bay near the town of Bandon . It has a length of 230 kilometres (140 mi). The river drains an area of 5,460 square kilometres (2,110 sq mi) and in 1997 had a yearly discharge of 135.4 cubic metres per second (4,780 cu ft/s) or 4.3 cubic kilometres (3,500,000  acre⋅ft ) per year. The Phum Duang River (or Khiri Rat River), which drains another 6,125 square kilometres (2,365 sq mi) west of

465-537: Is the sole official language in Thailand and most people are able to communicate in Central Thai, the language is only the third largest native language in southern Thailand, with roughly four hundred thousand native speakers. In particular, it is native only among the Teochew, Hoklo, Hakka and Cantonese ethnic groups , particularly in their major ethnic enclaves like Hat Yai and Bandon districts; their dialect

496-610: Is very similar to the Krungthep dialect (the upper-class dialect of Bangkok) but is seasoned with some Southern Thai loanwords. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) identities Southern Thailand as 14 provinces. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) includes for Southern Thailand (east coast) also the two provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan and Phetchaburi. Southern Thailand has 9.454 million inhabitants and its population density

527-547: The Kra Isthmus and then along the west coast of the peninsula. From Trang, it crosses over to the east coast to Hat Yai, and ends at the Malaysian border. Two Asian highways run through southern Thailand: Asian Highway 2 runs mostly parallel to the railroad all the way from Bangkok. It crosses to Malaysia at Sadao , and continues on the west side of the peninsula. Asian Highway 18 begins in Hat Yai and runs south along

558-864: The Kra Isthmus to Phuket Island is the Phuket chain , which connects to the Tanao Si Mountain Range further north. Almost parallel to the Phuket chain but 100 km (60 mi) to the east is the Nakhon Si Thammarat, or Banthat, chain , which begins with Samui Island , Ko Pha Ngan , and Ko Tao in Surat Thani Province and ends at the Malaysian border at the Ko Ta Ru Tao archipelago. The border with Malaysia

589-719: The Tapi watershed, joins the estuary 15 kilometres (9 mi) west of Surat Thani in Phunphin district . The river was named on 29 July 1915, after the river Tapi in Surat , India, shortly after the town of Surat Thani was named after the town Surat in Gujarat , India. The island of Ko Lamphu (เกาะลำพู) is in the Tapi River, about 9 kilometres (6 mi) from its mouth, near Surat Thani town center. In 1975, an area of 29.6 square kilometres (11.4 sq mi) of swamp land on

620-549: The border with Malaysia. The Malay Peninsula has been settled since prehistoric times. Archeological remains were found in several caves, some used for dwellings, others as burial sites. The oldest remains were found in Lang Rongrien Cave, dating 38,000 to 27,000 years before present, and in the contemporary Moh Khiew cave. In the first millennium , Chinese chronicles mention several coastal cities or city-states. No exact geographical locations were recorded and so

651-581: The city by road. There are three main ferry companies that operate from mainland Surat Thani to the islands: Lomprayah, Seatran, and Raja. There are only two ferry piers in Muang Surat Thani: Tapee Pier, which Lomprayah's High Speed Catarman operates from, and Bandon Pier, which is for night boats only. Seatran Pier and Raja Pier are both located in Don Sak District , 65km (40mi) east of the city centre. Surat Thani has

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682-540: The east bank of the river in the Khian Sa District was declared the Nong Thung Thong non-hunting area. 9°11′50″N 99°22′57″E  /  9.19722°N 99.38250°E  / 9.19722; 99.38250 This article related to a river in Thailand is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Southern Thailand Southern Thailand , Southern Siam or Tambralinga

713-488: The east coast, crossing to Malaysia at Sungai Kolok . The southern railway connects Bangkok to Hat Yai and continues from there to Sungai Kolok. There are branches from Ban Thung Phoe Junction to Kirirat Nikhom . Two smaller branches of the railway run from Thung Song to Trang and Nakhon Si Thammarat and from Hat Yai Junction to Malaysia and Singapore. Southern Thailand has five international airports and six domestic airports. As of 2018 Thailand's transport ministry

744-1065: The identification of these cities with later settlements is difficult. The most important of those states were Langkasuka , usually considered a precursor of the Patani Kingdom ; Tambralinga , probably the precursor of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom , or P'an-p'an in Phunphin district, Surat Thani, probably located at the Bandon Bay Tapi River . The cities were highly influenced by Indian culture, and have adopted Brahman or Buddhist religion. When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya. The city Chaiya in Surat Thani Province contains several ruins from Srivijaya times, and

775-459: The movie The Man with the Golden Gun . The population of the growing region is projected to be 9,156,000 in 2015, up from 8,871,003 in 2010 (census count and adjusted). Although those figures are adjusted for citizens who have left for Bangkok or who moved to the region from elsewhere, as well as registered permanent residents (residency was problematic in the prior 2000 census), the figure

806-632: The south is the Tapi , in Surat Thani , which, together with the Phum Duang in Surat Thani , drains more than 8,000 km (3,100 sq mi), more than 10 percent of the total area of southern Thailand. Smaller rivers include the Pattani , Saiburi , Krabi , and the Trang . The largest lake in the south is Songkhla Lake (1,040 km (400 sq mi) altogether). The largest artificial lake

837-592: The whole country. Islam is mostly followed by the Malay people in Southernmost Thailand: Yala, Pattani, Naratiwat and Satun provinces, near Malaysia. There is also a small Thai Muslim population. Christianity makes up 0.21% of Southern Thailand's population. Sikhism makes up 0.05% in the region and is practiced by Indian immigrants. The bulk of the region's population relies on agriculture for 27 percent of its gross regional product in 2014. It

868-476: Was a tributary state of Sukhothai. During most of later periods, Nakhon became a tributary of Ayutthaya . The deep south belonged to the Malay sultanates of Pattani and Kedah , while the northernmost part of the peninsula was under the control of Bangkok. During the Thesaphiban reforms at the end of the 19th century, both Nakhon Si Thammarat and Pattani were incorporated into the central state. The area

899-588: Was given to the city due to the intense devotion of the locals to Buddhism . Previously the city was known as Bandon ( Thai : บ้านดอน ), meaning "village on higher ground". The name of the city is taken from the Indian city Surat in Gujarat on the Indian River Tapi. King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) gave this name to his city as he was impressed with the Indian city. On 21 December 1930 Surat Thani became

930-552: Was probably a regional capital of the kingdom. Some Thai historians even claim that it was the capital of the kingdom itself for some time, but this is disputed. After Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon Si Thammarat became the dominant kingdom of the area. During the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai , Thai influence first reached Nakhon Si Thammarat. According to the Ramkhamhaeng inscription, Nakhon Si Thammarat

961-598: Was subdivided into 5 monthon , which were installed to control the city states ( mueang ). Minor mueang were merged into larger ones, thus forming the present 14 provinces. With the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 the boundary to Malaysia was fixed. Kedah came under British control, while Pattani stayed with Siam. The largest native language is Southern Thai ( Thai : ภาษาไทยใต้ [pʰaːsǎː tʰajtâːj] ), also known as Pak Thai or Dambro ( Thai : ภาษาตามโพร [pʰaːsǎː taːmpʰroː] ), which

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