Surat Thani, Administrative province in southern Thailand.
Surat Thani is an administrative province in southern Thailand with flat coastal plains in the east and limestone mountains of the Phuket range in the west. The landscape alternates between rubber plantations inland, rice paddies along the rivers, and mangrove forests on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand.
The region stood under the influence of the Srivijaya kingdom from the third to the thirteenth century, which controlled large parts of Southeast Asia from Sumatra. Chaiya developed at that time into an important administrative center with Buddhist temples and trade routes along the coast.
The name means City of Good People and appears today on road signs along main highways in both Latin and Thai script. Travelers see traditional wooden fishing boats along the coast that return with fresh catches in the morning.
Most visitors travel through the province on their way to the offshore islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Public minibuses connect the larger towns, while local buses run regularly along the coastal road.
The Tapi and Phum Duang rivers meet at Tha Kham and form a branching delta with dozens of channels and small islands. Many of these islands are covered with mangroves and change their shape with the tides.
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