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A little information about the southern province of Trang with some brief impressions of the amphoe muang district.

Thailand - Trang

Trang is yet another location in Thailand where a horrible English transliteration has become standardised and widely accepted. Say 'Trang' to a Thai in a standard English accent and it is unlikely you will be understood. Add a southern USA drawl or a rising Australian inflection and you definitely won't be understood.

However, if you pronounce it 'Trung' you will stand a better chance of being understood and if you can make the initial consonant sound like something halfway between a 'D' and a 'T', as in 'Dtrung', you won't have any problems.

For many years in Thailand I have made a big effort to stay away from mainstream tourist areas. I am not fond of tourists and I get irritated by greedy Thais who prey on ignorant tourists as an easy source of money.

Even parts of Thailand that were once 'backwaters' 10 years ago are now beginning to go mainstream so I find myself trying to get further off the beaten track.

Trang was a province I first visited in early 2004 to attend a wedding. The girl's house was way out in the sticks and although the wedding ceremony was interesting, I didn't see much of Trang. Subsequently, I passed through Trang many times on the way to Phang Nga, Krabi, Phuket and Koh Lanta but never stopped off for any length of time.

On the Koh Lanta trip I spent a few hours there waiting for a minivan and it looked like it could be an interesting place to spend a weekend so a couple of weeks later I spent the weekend there. I booked two nights at the Thumrin Thana hotel.

This seems to be about the biggest and best hotel in town but it's not that expensive. The reason it isn't expensive is because there isn't a beach. If there was a beach there would be thousands of farangs turning up throwing their money around and prices would go through the roof.

The Thumrin Thana cost me just over Bt1,100 a night and compared to the Bt1,900 I was asked to pay for a grotty bungalow near the beach on Koh Lanta with cockroaches and a bathroom that smelt like a sewer, it was a bargain. Wherever there are lots of tourists the prices are stupid so that's another reason for avoiding tourist areas.

The hotel has a non-smoking floor where the smoking ban actually seems to be observed. This is amazing for Thailand. As usual though, even if you book a non-smoking room they never give you one when you turn up and you have to ask again when you check in.

One disappointment was the lack of a room safe which was specifically mentioned in the web site information I looked at.

Not only is the Thumrin Thana a sleeping place for tourists; it also seems to be the central nightspot in town for young and trendy local Thais. There is a huge disco that pumps out music so loud it can be heard 12 floors above.

The hotel is popular with middle-class Thais from Bangkok who stay overnight and head off early the next morning for one of the nearby islands. It is also popular with farang group tours which generally consist of an older crowd of people. Other farangs in Trang tend to be backpacker types making their way to Koh Lanta who always stay in cheap guesthouses near the train station.

In front of the train station is a square and on the other side of the square are a line of the typical Thai travel agents who specialise in dealing with backpackers.

They can point them at guesthouses with optional bathrooms (some backpackers don't regard bathrooms as being essential in Thailand apparently - click on the thumbnail image to the right to see what I mean), pack them into minivans to get them to the nearest island, or tell them where to buy baggy fisherman pants and bandanas.

Trang also appears to be the town of choice for a few expat farangs but it will only suit those people who are happy living without a lot of Western comforts. There isn't a lot of Western food on offer, only a few Western style shops and I didn't see a cinema or anything.

Seeing what Trang lacks made it quite obvious why Hat Yai is now being flooded with foreigners. Hat Yai has a very Thai feel to it still but also has plenty of Western food and English language cinemas, supermarkets, etc, to make farangs feel at home.

My first day in Trang was spent just wandering around the area near to my hotel and the train station. It wasn't particularly interesting and I couldn't work out why Lonely Planet goes on so much about Trang being such a clean city. With respect to cleanliness, it was about average for a Thai city, no better and no worse than anywhere else.

The locals were friendly and not money grubbing. In Thailand there is a direct relationship between how greedy the locals are and how many farang tourists are in the area. The worst Thais are found in the busiest tourist areas.

Talking of the locals, the Thais are a funny bunch. Before my first visit to Trang a Thai friend told me not to drink any water I was offered as it would be drugged and I would be robbed. Before the trip described here another Thai told me to be very careful. Natives of Songkhla, apparently, do not trust Thais from Phattalung, Trang, Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat.

I had known for a long time that Nakhon folk have a bad reputation (which isn't justified, incidentally) but hearing similar things about the other provinces surprised me. Of course, you can't generalise like this by saying that everyone from a certain place is either good or bad but this is what a lot of Thais do.

Nothing bad happened to me. I was chatted up by several young girls near the train station working in travel agencies. They flirted outrageously but all they really wanted was to sign me up for a tour or book some accommodation on a nearby island. They were just trying to get business by using their feminine charms; there was nothing deceitful.

As they talked to me they kept looking over my shoulder for other farangs and would rush off whenever they saw more potential victims. Such is the insincerity of many Thais who rely on tourists for a living. They only think of money.

In the evening I went to one of the small restaurants near the train station that cater for backpackers because I had an urge to eat some Western food. While there I observed one of the most boring individuals I have ever come across in Thailand.

He was an American guy who knew a little Thai but was trying to make out he could speak Thai fluently. He couldn't; not by a long way. He was with a Thai woman - probably his wife - and my guess is that he had been in Thailand for a fair while.

He liked the word, "Kapom," which is what Thai males use as an informal acknowledgement. He used it continuously. It's not a word farangs really use but he was being a smart arse. My other guess is that he lived in Trang and liked going to tourist haunts around the station to try to impress tourists who cannot speak a solitary word of Thai by pretending to be able to speak the language.

As he entered the restaurant he told his wife, "Theenai gor dai," which means anywhere is OK. There was no need to say it but he was trying to show off in front of a few farangs. He made a smug comment to the waitress about her having to speak English because there were a few tourists there, trying to give the impression that with him there was no need.

In the next 20 minutes we heard his complete repertoire which consisted of single words and two-word phrases. There were lots of, "Chai's," and "Mai's," but when he actually needed to say something to his wife which was more than two words he reverted back to English. If he had actually been able to hold a conversation in Thai I might have been impressed but he couldn't. What a complete tosser.

It seems to be an American thing that Americans abroad have to have more knowledge about the country they are in and the language spoken there than anyone else. It's commendable that they learn some of the language (I can't understand people who live in Thailand for 10 years and don't speak a word) but trying to give the impression they can speak the language properly when they can't just looks stupid.

As I left and paid my bill the waitress asked about my meal because I had left some. I said it was good but I was full. She asked if I was speaking the truth and I told her I was. This was all spoken in Thai and for the first time the loud Yank went silent. I think he realised that while he had sat there trying to impress everyone there was someone who could see straight through him.

My second day proved to be more interesting. I headed for the clock tower and started to understand why Lonely Planet have an obsession with Trang being a clean city. That area is quite clean but it is fairly small. Just for the record, I would say that Songkhla is about the cleanest city I have seen in Thailand.

Different parts of Thailand have their own culinary specialities. In the city of Trang this is grilled pork and the locals eat it for breakfast. There are so many pig bits hanging up it is a real porkfest. I am not keen on eating pork in Thailand (although I do eat it in other countries) so I didn't try any.

My next stop was something I saw on the free map of Trang that I picked up at the hotel. It said, "Prime Minister's House." However, I didn't know which Prime Minister, when he was in office and even if he was still alive.

While looking for the house I noticed a nice looking garden that looked to be open to the public. I went inside and it was the Prime Minister's House but there were no signs. I was greeted by a man I later found out was the ex-PM's brother.

He introduced me to another man, the ex-PM's advisor who also advises Apirak, the Bangkok Governor. We had a chat and covered some political issues.

It was interesting for me to get the views of someone with a lot of political experience in Thailand. He had governed some southern provinces before stepping into a central government advisory role.

I was still unaware whose house we were in but then found out it was that of Chuan Leekpai. He served two terms in office. The first was between 1992 and 1995 and then he came back into office after the Southeast Asian economic crisis. He served until 2001 when Thaksin came to power.

The next surprise was to find out that Chuan was at his Trang home and there was a good chance I could meet him. After about 10 minutes he came down and we chatted. I didn't feel it was appropriate to ask any searching political questions so it was mainly just small talk. He came across as a very modest, humble and compassionate man; just like Thaksin.

The rest of my day consisted of more wandering around but the weather was damn hot even though it was still a couple of months away from the peak of the hot season. There was nothing outstanding but for me it was nice to experience an authentic slice of Thailand rather than just another tourist trap.

Thailand is developing incredibly quickly and the rate of change is exponential. It is nothing like the country I first visited in 1987 and in 20 years time there probably won't be much of the 'real' Thailand left.

In the afternoon I spotted a huge VIP coach full of German tourists, complete with a German guide on board giving them a running commentary over the onboard PA system. There are a number of tour companies now going into areas away from the main tourist trail but they tend to attract older, wealthier tourists.

I saw a similar thing at Thale Noi in Phattalung province. It's a bit ironic that the grey-haired package tourists are venturing into unknown areas of Thailand while the young, 'adventurous' backpackers still traipse around the same old path that people have been following for 25 years.

Outside of the main city there are a number of islands nearby but I am not really an island type of person so have no great desire to visit any (although Morakot Cave on Koh Muk looks very scenic). I'll leave them to the backpackers.

Trang province has a lot of caves, waterfalls and areas of natural beauty which I would like to see more of but it would probably be sensible to rent a car in order to explore.

Trang is famous (is that the right word?) for its underwater wedding ceremony held on Valentine's Day each year. Personally, it sounds incredibly tacky and the sort of thing people might do if they can't get to Nevada to be married by an Elvis look-a-like in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. It takes all sorts, I guess.

Conclusion

It's not fair to jump to any conclusions having spent so little time in Trang. I hate it when people stay two days where I live in Thailand and then tell the world what a crappy place it is. I quite liked it. What I hate are places crawling with farang tourists so I appreciate being somewhere that isn't.

There isn't much of interest in the Amphoe Muang main town but the same applies to most Thai provincial towns and cities. If you want excitement, go to Bangkok. Being in the provinces is a completely different experience to being in the crazy capital.

For beach, island and nature lovers there is a lot to keep you busy but Westerners who can't live without hamburgers and pizzas would probably be better off going to Phuket, Pattaya or Samui. There's not much for the sex tourists in Trang either which is another plus point.

TAT Information

The Tourist Authority of Thailand publish a good little booklet about Trang that you should try to pick up in Thailand. It's free. In case you don't have a copy, here are some of the main points.

Historically, Trang was an important port for foreign trade and it was the first place in Thailand where rubber was planted. Credit goes to Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahison Phakdi for bringing this important and valuable commodity into Thailand from Malaysia in 1899.

The coastline of Trang is about 199 kms long and the province includes an archipelago in the Andaman Sea which consists of over 46 islands. Of these, 12 are in Amphoe Kantang, 13 in Amphoe Palian and 21 in Amphoe Sikao.

The sea is calmest from November to April and this is the recommended time of year to visit.

The province has a total area of 4,941, 439 square kms and is divided into nine Amphoe (Kantang, Huai Yot, Yan Ta Khao, Palian, Sikao, Wang Wiset, Na Yong, Ratsada) and one King Amphoe (Hat Samran).

The distance from Trang to other southern provinces is:

• Nakhon Sri Thammarat - 123 kms
• Satun - 134 kms
• Phattalung - 56 kms
• Krabi - 131 kms
• Hat Yai - 148 kms
• Phuket - 312 kms
• Surat Thani - 226 kms
• Phang Nga - 221 kms
• Chumpon - 378 kms
• Songkhla - 176 kms

Trang Tourism Coordination Center

Ruenrom Road, Amphoe Muang, Trang 92000.

Tel. +66 (0)75 215867-8; Fax. +66 (0)75 215868

Web site: Tourism Thailand

E-mail: tattrang@tat.or.th