Trat
ตราด
Town
Trat Airport
Trat Airport
Trat is located in Thailand
Trat
Trat
Coordinates: 12°14′30″N 102°30′45″E / 12.24167°N 102.51250°E / 12.24167; 102.51250
Country Thailand
ProvinceTrat province
DistrictMueang Trat district
Time zoneUTC+7 (ICT)
Calling code(+66) 39

Trat (Thai: ตราด, pronounced [tràːt]), also spelt Trad, is a town in Thailand,[1] capital of Trat province and the Mueang Trat district. The town is in the east of Thailand,[2] at the mouth of the Trat River, near the border with Cambodia.[3][4]

Etymology

Trat is believed to derive from Krat (กราด), the Thai name for the tree Dipterocarpus intricatus, common to the region and used to make brooms.[5][better source needed] It is also spelt Trad.[6][7][8]

History

A traditional wooden Thai house built on stilts in Amphoe Bo Rai, Trat Province, Thailand.
Night market in Trat, Thailand.

Trat was already an important seaport in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya.[citation needed]

Under King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Trat and Chanthaburi province were briefly occupied by the French. In a complicated exchange of territory, Trat (and Chanthaburi) was returned on March 23, 1906, but Thailand relinquished the area around Siem Reap and Sisophon in present-day Cambodia.

When the Vietnamese pushed the Khmer Rouge out of Cambodia in 1985, Pol Pot fled to Thailand and made his headquarters in a plantation villa near Trat. It was built for him by the Thai Army and nicknamed "Office 87".[9]

Geography

Trat Province is located in the eastern part of the central region of Thailand, in the extreme southeast of Thailand near the border with Cambodia. It is just over 300 km from the capital Bangkok.

Economy

Trat, favored by its proximity to the Cambodian border, is of some importance as a trading city. The area around Trat is rich in gemstone mines, whose yield (rubies and sapphires) is processed right in the town. Fruit growing is also important: durian, rambutan and mangosteen are the main products.

For tourists, Trat is more interesting as a starting point to the large islands of Ko Chang and Ko Mak.

The city of Trat had 10,207 inhabitants as of 2012.[10]

References

  1. ^ Kato, Kenichi (2014-12-22). From ancient to present : Trat, Thailand Photo collection 01: Trat, Thailand Photo collection 01. makewthus product team.
  2. ^ (Eastern Part of the Gulf of Thailand): Trat, Chantaburi, Rayong. 1986.
  3. ^ Gray, Paul; Ridout, Lucy (2002). The Rough Guide to Thailand's Beaches and Islands. Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1-85828-829-1.
  4. ^ Planet, Lonely; et al. (2017-08-01). Lonely Planet Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Northern Thailand. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-78701-007-9.
  5. ^ "Trat, General Information". www.thai-tour.com. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  6. ^ "List of Plant quarantine station in Thailand" (PDF). 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Pred Nai Community Forest, Trad Province, Thailand (Book chapter)". University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  8. ^ Anheier, H.K.; Simmons, A.; Winder, D. (2007). Innovation in Strategic Philanthropy: Local and Global Perspectives. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer US. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-387-34253-5. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  9. ^ Shenon, Philip (6 February 1994). "Pol Pot, the Mass Murderer Who Is Still Alive and Well". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Department of Provincial Administration".

External links

Authority control databases
Category