Surat Thani (, ) is a city in

Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani Mueang Surat Thani (, ), or colloquially Ban Don District ( Thai/ Southern Thai: บ้านดอน), is the district of Surat Thani province in southern Thailand. Geography The district is at the mouth of the Tapi River, where it flows into ...

Surat Thani Province Surat Thani (, ), often shortened to Surat, is the largest of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. Surat Thani means 'city of good people', a title given to the city by King ...

, southern

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It lies south of Bangkok. It is the capital of

. The city has a population of 132,040 (2019), and an area of . The city's population density is 1,914 inhabitants per km². Surat Thani is located near the mouth of the Tapi River on the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

. The city offers no major tourist attractions in itself, and is mainly known to tourists as the jumping-off point to

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui), often locally shortened to Samui (, ), is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Mu Ko Samui, Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko Samui was granted munic ...

Ko Tao Ko Tao (, , ) is an island in Thailand and is part of the Chumphon Archipelago on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand. It covers an area of about 21 km2 (8 sq mi). Administratively it is a subdistrict (''tambon'') of Ko Pha-ngan Distr ...

, and

Ko Pha Ngan Ko Pha-ngan (, , ) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in Surat Thani Province of southern Thailand. Ko Pha-ngan has two sister islands: the larger Ko Samui to the south and the smaller Ko Tao to the north. * Estimated perimeter: (estimated 10 ...

. It is the regional commercial center, with a seaport dealing in the main products of the province, rubber and coconuts.

Toponymy

The city received its name, which means "city of good people", by King

Vajiravudh Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and pro ...

(Rama VI) in 1915. The name was given to the city due to the intense devotion of the locals to

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. Previously the city was known as Bandon (), meaning "village on higher ground". The name of the city is taken from the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n city

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

on the Indian River Tapi. King

(Rama VI) gave this name to his city as he was impressed with the Indian city.

History

On 21 December 1930 Surat Thani became a sanitary district (''

sukhaphiban Sukhaphiban (; translated as "sanitary district") were administrative divisions of Thailand. Sanitary districts were the first sub-autonomous entities established in Thailand. A first such district was created in Bangkok by a royal decree of King C ...

''), which was upgraded to a town (''

thesaban mueang Thesaban (, , , Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' ...

'') on 7 December 1935, with a municipal area of . The area of the municipality was enlarged to on 14 October 1958, and on 22 December 1994 it was further enlarged to . On 4 May 2007, the town was upgraded to city status (''

thesaban nakhon Thesaban (, , , Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' ...

'').

Transportation

Rail

Surat Thani is connected with

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

by the Southern Line of the

State Railway of Thailand The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) (, abbrev. รฟท., ) is the state-owned rail operator under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transport (Thailand), Ministry of Transport in Thailand. History The SRT was founded as the Royal State Rail ...

Surat Thani Railway Station Surat Thani railway station (SRT Code: SRN) is the main railway station in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. It is on the State Railway of Thailand's Southern Line, located 635.106 km from Thon Buri railway station. The station is on the ea ...

is the main station of the province. It is in

Phunphin Phunphin (, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in Surat Thani province in the south of Thailand. Tha Kham is the principal town of the district. In 2014, the population was 73,067. Geography Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise): Tha Chang, ...

, about from Surat Thani.

Road

Surat Thani is connected to

Nakhon Si Thammarat Nakhon Si Thammarat (, ; from ) is a city municipality (''thesaban nakhon'') located in Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat, the capital of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. Nakhon Si Thammarat Province is situated in the South of Thailand. It is about s ...

by Route 401.

Asian highway The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via hig ...

AH2 Asian Highway 2 (AH2) is a road in the Asian Highway Network running from Denpasar, Indonesia to Merak, and Singapore to Khosravi, Iran. The route is connected to M10 of the Arab Mashreq International Road Network. The route is as follows: ...

also passes the city at Phunphin.

Air

Surat Thani International Airport Surat Thani International Airport is an international airport in Tambon Hua Toei, Amphoe Phunphin, Surat Thani province in Southern Thailand. It is located west of downtown Surat Thani, and is also home to the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) squ ...

is about from the city by road.

Water

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.

Climate

Surat Thani has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''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.

Culture

Festivals

* Chak Phra - Celebrating Buddha's symbolic return to earth at the end of Buddhist Lent. Parade, floats and long-boat races. * Tham Bun Dern Sip (ทำบุญเดือนสิบ) - Southern Thai Festival of the Tenth Lunar Month * Surat Food Fair – Held annually in March (2019 dates: 8-16 March) along the Tapi River. The largest food festival in Southern Thailand. * Surat Thani Vegetarian Festival - Held annually in October (2018 dates: 8-15 October). Parades, more vegetarian options in restaurants and shops, and free food at the Chinese temples * ''Songkran'' - Thai New Year Festival *

Loi Krathong Loy Krathong (, , ) is a Thai festival celebrated annually throughout Kingdom of Thailand, Thailand and in nearby countries with significant Southwestern Tai languages, South Western Tai cultures (Laos, Shan State, Shan, Mon State, Mon, Tanintha ...

Sports

Surat Thani 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”)''.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Prince of Songkla University (PSU), Surat Thani Campus * Surat Thani Rajabhat University (SRU) * Tapee University * Suratthani Technical College * Surat Thani Vocational Education College * Surat Commercial Technology College * Surat Thani Polytechnic College

Primary and secondary

Primary and secondary schools with English instruction include: * Surat Thani International School (STIS) * Oonrak International Bilingual School * Joy Bilingual School * Sarasas Witaed Suratthani School

Secondary

* Suratthani School

Hospitals

* Ministry of Public Health **

Surat Thani Hospital Surat Thani Hospital () is the main hospital of Surat Thani Province, Thailand. It is classified under the Ministry of Public Health as a regional hospital. It has a CPIRD Medical Education Center which trains doctors for the Faculty of Medicine ...

- public hospital **Suan Saranrom Hospital - psychiatric hospital **Suratthani Cancer Hospital - cancer hospital * Military **Fort Wiphavadirangsit Hospital - military hospital **Wing 7 Hospital - Wing 7 Royal Thai Air Force * Private **Bangkok Hospital Surat - private hospital **Thaksin Hospital - private hospital

Administration

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 Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...

''), 132,040 people in 74,548 households.

Notable people

* Phukphong Phongpetra, police officer. *

Panipak Wongpattanakit Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit (; ; born 8 August 1997) is a retired Thai taekwondo athlete. A two-time Olympic champion, she is currently the top-ranked athlete in the women's 49 kg. Early life Born in Surat Thani Province, Surat Thani ...

, taekwondo athlete.

References

External links

Surat Thani City Website
(Thai only) *
Surat Website
{{Authority control Populated places in Surat Thani province Cities and towns in Thailand