Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [202]
Getting Around
Motorbike taxis around town should cost around 20B.
AROUND TRAT
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Laem Ngop
Laem Ngop is the jumping-off point for Ko Chang (Click here). TAT (0 3959 7259; tattrat@tat.or.th; 100 Mu 1, Th Trat-Laem Ngop; 8.30am-4.30pm) has an information office right near the pier. Further north on the road to Trat there is an immigration office (0 3959 7261; Th Trat-Laem Ngop; 8.30am-noon & 1-4.30pm Mon-Fri), where you can apply for visa extensions.
Between the two, Kasikornbank (Th Trat-Laem Ngop) has an exchange counter.
See opposite for transport information to Laem Ngop.
SLEEPING & EATING
There’s usually no reason to stay here, as there are regular boats to Ko Chang during the day and Trat is only 20km away. If you do get stuck, try Laem Ngop Inn (0 3959 7044; s/d 300/600B; ), with a choice of simple air-con and fan rooms. It’s a five- to seven-minute walk along the road to Trat.
Near the pier in Laem Ngop are several seafood eateries with views of the sea and islands.
Beaches
The sliver of Trat Province that extends southeast along the Cambodian border is fringed by several Gulf of Thailand beaches. Hat Sai Si Ngoen (Silver Sand Beach) lies just north of the Km41 marker off Hwy 3. It’s good for sunsets and swimming, if the water is calm. Nearby, at the Km42 marker, is Hat Sai Kaew (Crystal Sand Beach) and at the Km48 marker, Hat Thap Thim (also known as Hat Lan); they’re OK for a walk along the water’s edge or a picnic in the shade of casuarina and eucalyptus trees. The only place for accommodation here is the Sun Sapha Kachat Thai (Thai Red Cross; 0 3950 1015; r 800B), which has comfortable bungalows with all the usual amenities and a restaurant.
There is accommodation at Hat Ban Cheun, a long stretch of clean sand near the Km63 marker. The 6km road that leads to the beach passes a defunct Cambodian refugee camp. There are casuarina and eucalyptus trees, a small restaurant and basic bungalows (300B) set on swampy land behind the beach.
HAT LEK TO CAMBODIA
The small Thai border outpost of Hat Lek is the southernmost part on the Trat mainland. There’s not much here apart from a small market just before the border crossing, and loads of touts to guide you through border protocols.
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MORN LAPKEON
As a writer, artist, traveller and cafe owner, Samorm ‘Morn’ Lapkeon brings a bit of Bangkok hip to small-town Trat. Partial to colourful headbands and baggy shorts, and often spotted riding a silver collapsible bike around town, Morn looks much younger than her 37 years. However, she runs Cool Corner Cafe (opposite) with a degree of sophistication and flair that makes obvious her life experience.
Morn was born and raised in Ayuthaya and earned a degree in Communication and Art from Bangkok University. She worked for a while in the casting departments for movie productions, but when an economic slowdown caused the loss of her job she headed to Trat. ‘I had friends who ran a guesthouse here,’ she explains, ‘so I came to visit, but I liked it so much I stayed.’ Enticed by the city’s ‘small size, good food, friendly people,’ and proximity to Bangkok, Morn decided to open Cool Corner.
When asked why she opened a cafe that caters to travellers, Morn cites her love of learning English – and, though it’s hard to believe, admits to once being very shy about speaking to foreigners – as well as her own enjoyment of travel. ‘We can share our experiences,’ she says. ‘Travellers come to see my life, but then tell me about places like Europe and India. It makes me want to travel, to see their lives.’
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Motorcycle and automobile taxis are available from Hat Lek into Cambodia for 50B to 60B. There is accommodation on the island of Krong Koh Kong in Cambodia, but little to keep you there. If you