Trat
Trat Province is in Eastern Thailand, and shares borders with Chanthaburi Province, with Cambodia, and with the Gulf of Thailand. Trat is a small province at the eastern-most frontier bordering on Cambodia with the Khao Banthat mountain range forming a natural demarcation, Trat is a resort town with over fifty large and small off-shore islands, long white sandy beaches and unspoiled coral ranges. It is also a major fruit-growing and fishing area.
Located about 315 kilometers from Bangkok. This small province borders on Cambodia with the Khao Banthat mountain range forming a natural demarcation. With 52 large and small offshore islands, long white sandy beaches and unspoiled coral reefs, Trat offers delightful scenery and a tranquil hideout for nature-lovers. The province also serves as a major fruit-growing and fishing area.
The city of Trat is a starting point for Ko Chang island group or forays into outlying gem and Cambodian markets. Those enthralled by shopping will be delighted as Trat has more markets for its size than almost any other town in Thailand due to Cambodian coastal trade.
Like Chanthaburi, Trat is a very important ruby-mining province, with the most famous gem market located in Bo Rai District, some 50 kilometers north of the Cambodian border.
With an area of 2,819 square kilometers, the province is administratively divided into the districts of Muang, Khao Saming, Laem Ngop, Khlong Yai and Bo Rai, and the sub-districts of Ko Chang and Ko Kut.
The weather in and around Trat is very comfortable with warm temperatures throughout the year. The region is influenced by the northeastern and southwestern winds, which sometimes limit sea transport to a group of islands particularly from May to October when the southwest monsoon blows. During this period the western coast can be wet and stormy and occasionally unsafe for ferries and smaller boats to lift anchor. However, visitors can still visit the islands via the normally more popular routes, most of which are to the northeast of Ko Chang, anyway.
