© Lonely Planet Publications 575 Lower Southern Gulf If you’re shopping for penny-pinching paradises, Ko Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan and Ko Tao prof- fer fabulous bang for your baht. Bobbing like plump, green apples in the Gulf of Thailand, the Samui archipelago epitomises an exotic Eden fantasy for a fraction of the price. Calm, gin-clear seas, warm as a bath and sparkling a million shades of green, stretch on forever. Swaying palms and long stretches of porcelain sand give you the choice of basking until bronze, reading trashy romances or sipping juice from a coconut. When it comes to turning beach dreams into reality, these islands are master magicians. Ko Samui is best for pampering, attracting a crowd of jetsetters, honeymooners, families and, unfortunately, men searching for love with Thai prostitutes. The villas here can come with private pools, restaurants are Michelin-star worthy and water sports are plentiful. LOWER SOUTHERN GULF LOWER SOUTHERNGULF Citizens of the world wanting to twirl firesticks and dance till dawn will find their answer in Ko Pha-Ngan. Not only is the backpacker Mecca legendary for throwing the planet’s best Full Moon parties, its ramshackle bungalows can go for less than three Singha’s at the bar. Divers enjoy mellow Ko Tao where open-water certification is cheap and the snorkelling is the best in the gulf. For an entirely different angle, head south along the mainland’s coast. Off the madly trod- den ‘banana pancake trail’, the Deep South is the crucible of Buddhist and Muslim cultures. Unfortunately, at the time of research, continued violence made travel to this region dicey. See the travel warning on p636 for more. HIGHLIGHTS Ko Pha-Ngan Lazing the day away on Ko Samui’s Ko Samui sun-kissed Chaweng Beach ( p586 ), Khao Sok then indulging in an oceanside massage National Park Experiencing the legendary Ko Pha-Ngan Nakhon Si Full Moon party ( p615 ) Thammarat Province Sleeping in a boutique hotel on tranquil and gorgeous Hat Bo Phut ( p586 ), Ko Samui’s rising seashore star Tramping around lost waterfalls and million- year-old rainforests in impressive Khao Sok National Park ( p582 ) Relishing the solitude on a picturesque beach along the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat Province ( p626 ) 576 LOWER SOUTHERN GULF •• History lonelyplanet.com lonelyplanet.com LOWER SOUTHERN GULF 577 ment over the next 50 years. Islamic traditions 0 60 km LOWER SOUTHERN GULF 0 40 miles FAST FACTS and the Yawi language were discouraged by Best Time to Visit November to April the region’s non-Malay administrators and systematic abuses of power contributed to Population 5.2 million growing separatist sentiments. Chumphon 4 Ko Samet Pak Ko Mattara In 1957 Muslim resentment against the Nam ruling Buddhist government reached boiling Ao Chumphon Chumphon History point and separatists initiated a guerrilla war CHUMPHON Pinnacles Indian traders first visited the Gulf of Thai- with the aim of creating a separate Muslim Hat Arunothai Ko Tao Laem Riu land around 600 BC and introduced Hindu- state in southern Thailand. The main armed Isthmus ism, which rapidly became the principal faith faction was the Pattani United Liberation of Kra Chong Tao in the area. By 230 BC, when Chinese traders Organisation (PULO), which launched a Sail Rock (Hin Bai) Ang Thong Ko Pha-Ngan showed up on southern shores, large parts campaign of bombings and armed attacks Marine National Park Hat Rin of Thailand had been incorporated into the throughout the 1970s and ’80s. The movement Chong Pha-Ngan kingdom of Funan, the first state in Southeast began to decline in the 1990s, when Bangkok 41 Ko Phaluai Hat Chaweng Asia. At its peak the state included large parts presented a peace deal consisting of greater Laem Sui Chaiya Ko Samui Don Sak Chong Samui of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam cultural freedom and autonomy for the south Ao Ban Don and had active trade with agrarian communi- and an amnesty for PULO members. Hat Khanom Phun Khanom Phin 401 ties along the Malay Peninsula, as far south as For a while the situation in the south sub- Surat Hat Nai Praet; Hat Nai Phlao; Hat Na Dand; Hat Pak Nam modern-day Pattani and Yala. Funan peaked sided and it seemed the separatist movement Thani Hat Tong Yi 401 Hin Lat Falls Sichon Hat Sichon as a nation under Jayavarman I, who ruled had diffused, but after Thaksin Shinawatra Hat Hin Ngam Hat Piti LOWER SOUTHERNGULF from AD 478 to 514, and then went into rapid became prime minister in 2001 PULO re- Hat Saophao To Khao Sok 41 National Park NAKHON SI decline. sumed its activities. (30km) THAMMARAT Following this decline a series of city- Violence in this region increased markedly SURAT THANI Khao Luang National Park Hat Sa Bua 401 states developed in the upper southern in the month leading up to the 19 September Laem Talumphuk G U L F O F gulf. Tambralinga, which had its capital at coup, when Thaksin and his government 41 Khao Luang Nakhon Si (1835m) Thammarat T H A I L A N D Khiriwong Ligor on the site of present-day Nakhon Si were peacefully ousted (see p40 ). It was 4015 Lan Saka Thammarat, was one of the most notable. hoped with the end of Thaksin’s regime and 403 KRABI 408 It became part of the Srivijaya kingdom, a his hard-line approach with Muslim separa- Thung Song Krabi confederation of maritime states that ruled tists, bloodshed would decrease. But at the Hua Sai southern Thailand and Malaysia from the end of 2006 the situation remained dire and 41 LOWER SOUTHERN GULF LOWER SOUTHERN GULF 403 408 7th to 13th centuries. The Srivijaya became the death toll had climbed above 1800. Most 4 Thaleh Noi hugely wealthy from tolls extracted from of the victims were innocent Thai bystanders, Wildlife Preserve Thaleh Luang traffic through the Strait of Melaka. Tambral- although a few foreigners were also killed. TRANG 4 Phattalung 408 inga and nearby states adopted Buddhism in The increase in terrorist brutality in No- Trang Thaleh Ko PHATTALUNG Sap the 13th century, while those further south vember 2006 led the government to close Lanta 404 Khukhut Waterbird fell under the influence of Islam, creating a all schools in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat 4 Sanctuary Ko Losin religious boundary that persists to this day Provinces indefinitely. Ko Li Hat Samila Bong Ko Songkhla in southern Thailand. On 22 November Wan Kadir Che Wan, Rattaphum Yo Losin Islam came to southern Thailand from Ma- leader of an umbrella organisation for south- 43 407 408 Hat 406 Hat Yai Laem laysia during the reign of Sultan Iskandar, ern separatist groups, told Arab TV network SATUN 4 Thepha Tachi Hat Talo Kapo A N D A M A N 43 43 Hat Panare reaching Pattani by 1387 and spreading as Al Jazeera that an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist S E A Ton Nga Chana Pattani Chang Yaring Hat Khae Khae far north as Songkhla. The Malay dialect of network was helping local insurgents stage the Falls 408 42 410 42 Hat Wasukri 42 Yawi became the main language of the Deep attacks. It is believed that much of the violence 4 Saiburi Ko Padang 409 PATTANI Tarutao Besar SONGKHLA South and Islam replaced Buddhism through is linked to younger separatists, but as yet no Ko Rawi Satun Sadao Khao Nam Khang Hat Talo Laweng the region. specific group has been identified. Ko Adang National Park Yala Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and For more on politics and safety in this re- 42 Ao Manao Pulau Narathiwat Langkawi the Andaman coast province of Satun were gion, see the travel warning on p636 . 7 Ban not officially a part of Thailand until 1902, YALA Tak Bai Taba when Rama V annexed them in an attempt Climate NARATHIWAT M A L A Y S I A to prevent Thai territory from being ceded The best time to visit the Samui group of Kheuan Sungai Banglang Kolok to the British, who were then in control of islands is during the hot and dry season, from 410 Malaysia. Culturally quite different from the February to late June. From July to October 1 Betong rest of the country, these provinces were com- (southwest monsoon) it can rain on and M A L A Y S I A prehensively neglected by the central govern- off, and from October to January (northeast 67 76 4 578 SURAT THANI PROVINCE •• Surat Thani lonelyplanet.com Book accommodation online at lonelyplanet.com SURAT THANI PROVINCE •• Surat Thani 579 the main pier – some 84km away – before the innovative scams involving substandard buses, ISLANDS FOR CHEAP last ferry for Ko Samui heads out, you’ll end nonexistent bookings and surprise ‘extra’ fees. You’re on Th Khao San in Bangkok, shopping around for combination tickets to Ko Pha-Ngan up sleeping in Surat for the night. (Usually, an Phantip Travel (%0 7727 2230; 442/24-5 Th Talat Mai) (or Ko Tao or Ko Samui) and the prices seem unbelievable: Bangkok to Ko Pha-Ngan straight for effective way of avoiding this dilemma is by is one of the more reliable full-service travel 350B? Sounds like a good deal, right? grabbing the earliest bus from your original agencies in town. Sometimes it is…and sometimes it’s not. Some unscrupulous bus companies make their profits destination, lessening the possibility of not by, well, stealing from travellers. Ruses have included bus personnel going below and rifling boarding the boat.) Sleeping through bags (while the bus is en route) and picking pockets while everyone is asleep (and There’s a string of banks – one on every At some of Surat Thani’s cheaper hotels, busi- the lights are off).