Krabi in Thailand

This seaside province is located in the Andaman Sea. The province is full of white sandy beaches, crystal clear seawater, beautiful islands, verdant forest with caves, and waterfalls, including more than 100 offshore islands.

Krabi is located 814 kilometres from Bangkok, covering an area of 4,708 square kilometres. From archaeological discoveries, it is believed that Krabi was one of the oldest communities in Thailand dating from the prehistoric period. It is also believed that Krabi was once the town of Ban Thai Samo, one of 12 royal cities that used a monkey as the town symbol. Krabi was a dependency town of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom. Another legend indicates that the town may have taken its name after the meaning of Krabi, which means sword. This may have stemmed from a legend that says an ancient sword was unearthed prior to the city's founding. Later, the sword became a symbol of Krabi.

The province consists of mountains, hills, plains, and mangrove forests, including more than 130 large and small islands. Krabi town has a 5-metre-long river, which flows through town and ends at the Andaman Sea in Tambon Pak Nam. There are several canals in Krabi including Khlong Pakasai, Khlong Krabi Yai and Khlong Krabi Noi, all of them originate from Phanom Bencha mountain range, the highest mountain range in Krabi.

Krabi is administratively divided into 8 Amphoes (districts): Amphoe Mueang, Khao Phanom, Khlong Thom, Plai Phraya, Ko Lanta, Ao Luek, Lam Thap, and Nuea Khlong.

How to get there
Distances from Amphoe Mueang (Town) to Neighbouring Districts .

Distances from Phuket to Neighbouring Provinces

Car : From Bangkok, drive on Highway No.4, passing Phetchaburi-Prachuap Khiri Khan-Chumphon-Ranong-Phang-nga-Krabi. The route is 946 kilometres from Bangkok.

From Bangkok, drive on Highway No. 4, at Chumphon travel onwards on Highway No. 41, passing Amphoe Lang Suan, Surat Thani to Amphoe Wiang Sa, and then drive on Highway No. 4035 to Amphoe Ao Luek, and drive back to Highway No. 4 to Krabi. This route is 814 kilometres from Bangkok; From Phuket, drive on Highway No. 402 and No.4. The distance from Phuket is 185 kilometres or 4 hours.

Bus
Non-air-conditioned buses and air-conditioned coaches leave for Krabi daily from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal. Air-conditioned buses, varying in 3 types, depart from Bangkok at the following times.

- VIP Bus - 6 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.
- Standard 1 Bus - 7.30 a.m., 7 p.m., 7.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- Standard 2 Bus - 7.30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- The schedule mentioned above may be changed.

Rail
There is no direct train from Bangkok to Krabi. Visitors may take a train from Bangkok Railway Station to Trang or Thung Song, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and then ride a bus or a taxi to Krabi. For more information on trains, contact the State Railways of Thailand at tel. 1690, 223 7010, 223 7020 or visit www.srt.motc.go.th.

Air
Thai Airways operates daily services to Krabi. For more information, contact tel. 02 219 1722.

Krabi is a southern province on Thailand's Andaman seaboard with perhaps the country's oldest history of continued settlement. After dating stone tools, ancient coloured pictures, beads, pottery and skeletal remains found in the province's many cliffs and caves, it is thought that Krabi has been home to homo sapiens since the period 25,000 - 35,000 B.C. In recorded times it was called the 'Ban Thai Samor', and was one of twelve towns that used, before people were widely literate, the monkey for their standard. At that time, c. 1200 A.D., Krabi was tributary to the Kingdom of Ligor, a city on the Kra Peninsula's east coast better known today as Nakhon Si Thammarat.

At the start of the Rattanakosin period, about 200 years ago, when the capital was finally settled at Bangkok, an elephant kraal was established in Krabi by order of Chao Phraya Nakorn (Noi), the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat, which was by then a part of the Thai Kingdom. He sent his vizier, the Phra Palad, to oversee this task, which was to ensure a regular supply of elephants for the larger town. So followers many emigrated in the steps of the Phra Palad that soon Krabi had a large community in three different boroughs : Pakasai, Khlong Pon, and Pak Lao. In 1872, King Chulalongkorn graciously elevated these to town status, called Krabi, a word that preserves in its meaning the monkey symbolism of the old standard. The town's first governor was Luang Thep Sena, though it continued a while as a dependency of Nakhon Si Thammarat. This was changed in 1875, when Krabi was raised to a fourth-level town in the old system of Thai government. Administrators then reported directly to the central government in Bangkok, and Krabi's history as a unique entity separated from the other provinces, had begun.

During the present reign, the corps of civil servants, the merchants, and the population generally of Krabi and nearby provinces have together organized construction of a royal residence at Laem Hang Nak Cape for presentation to His Majesty the King. This lies thirty kilometers to the west of Krabi Town on the Andaman coast.

Administration
Krabi is divided into eight districts : Amphoe Muang (Krabi Town), Khao Panom, Khlong Thom, Plai Phraya, Ko Lanta, Ao Luk, and Lam Thap and, Nhua Khlong.

Size, Location and Boundaries
Krabi is on the Andaman Sea coast of south-west Thailand, between 7' 30" and 8' 30" north latitude, and 98' 30" and 99' 30" west longitude. Total area is 4,709 square kilometers bounded thus.

Population
Krabi's estimated population, as of September 1999, is 344,610

Locale and Landscape
Covering an area of approximately 4709sq km, Krabi province is bounded by Phang Nga and Surathani provinces from the north, Trang province and the Andaman Sea from the south, Trang and Nakorn Si Thammarat provinces from the east and Phang Nga province and the Andaman Sea from the west. Krabi's landscape is undulating and dotted with hills and mountains, the highest of which is Khao Phanom Bencha at 1,350m. Along the 160km coastline of Krabi are alternately bays and capes - which viewed from the air reveal a jagged outline with outcrops of limestone mountains rising up from the sea waters.

Much of the coastal area is covered by mangrove forest which serves as a natural breeding ground for Krabi's diverse aquatic life. Inland, Krabi's extensive deciduous forest area are mainly reserved and feature high flora and fauna biodiversity.

Weather
Weather in Krabi is typically that of the tropical monsoon, providing the province with just two seasons, the hot season from November to April, and the rainy season from May to October. Monsoon winds, which change according to season, blow from the southeast, the southwest, and the northeast. Temperatures for the year range between 16.9 and 37.3 degrees Celsius; yearly rainfall averages 2,586.5 millimeters.

Geography
Krabi's mountainous physical geography is broken by highlands and plains on the mainland.The provincial administration also covers more than 130 islands in the Andaman Sea. Natural forest cover is chiefly mangrove and Cassia trees. Krabi's sandy clay soil conditions are perfect for a variety of agricultural products, including rubber trees, palms, mangos, coconuts, and coffee. The Krabi River flows 5 kilometers through the city and falls into the Andaman at Tambon Pak Nam. There are other streams as well : the Khlong Pakasai, the Khlong Krabi Yai and the Khlong Krabi Noi in the province's highest range of mountains, the Khao Phanom Bencha.

Climate
Weather in Krabi is typically that of the tropical monsoon, providing the province with just two seasons, the hot season from January to April, and the rainy season from May to December. Monsoon winds, which change according to season, blow from the southeast, the southwest, and the northeast. Temperatures range between 16.9 and 37.3 degrees Celsius and the yearly rainfall averages 2,568.5 millimeters.

Communications
Mail and Postal Services Open: 8am to 4.30pm. The Thai post service is usually reliable. Urgent or important items can be sent by EMS services.

This is faster and safer but the cost is higher. Krabi Town's main post office is located on Uttarakit Road, near the Customs Pier (See Map).

Telecommunications/Internet International phone calls, bureau fax, and Internet services are widely available throughout Thailand. Krabi Town's post office and most hotels can provide telephone and fax services and Internet services are springing up in all the main tourist areas, catering for Internet savvy tourists.

Banks
Krabi Town has a number of banks that provide standard services, Mondays to Fridays, except public and bank holidays, between 8.30am and 3.30pm. Check our town map for location details. Currency exchange centers also operate from 7.00am to 9.00pm, seven days a week including holidays.