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Phang Nga is a coastal province on the Andaman Sea with scenic forests and islands. The province offers superb natural beauty both onshore and underwater. Phang Nga is also the name of the city that serves as the provincial capital.
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History
Phang Nga was originally inhabited by small communities and named Kraphu-nga. During the reign of King Rama II, nearby areas (including Thalung, now known as [wiki=dd38c4ce6700ee7992d922b1bcbbbc19]Phuket[/wiki]) were occupied by the Burmese and so many people fled to Kraphu-nga. In 1824, Siamese troops defeated the Burmese and the invaders were expelled. King Rama III renamed the area Phang Nga and in 1933 the town was expanded to be a province.
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People
Phang Nga is a melting pot of Buddhists, Thai-Chinese, Muslims and even sea gypsies. The majority of the rural population is Muslim. Phang Nga, however, is free of religious tension and the populace live in peace and harmony. Outside of the provincial town, the rural folk speak with a thick Southern dialect which is difficult for even other Thais to understand.
Given its mix, Phang Nga is always celebrating something, be it part of Thai Buddhist, Thai-Chinese or Thai-Islamic tradition.
Situated on the small island of Ko Surin is a community of Moken sea gypsies who still live their traditional lives as seafaring people. These sea gypsies speak Yawi dialect and are welcoming to tourists. However, just as is the case of the long-necked Karen in Mae Hong Son, some Moken complain that their village has come to resemble a human zoo with hoards of tourists walking around gawking at the villagers. Nevertheless, there are organized tours from Phang Nga which go there.
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By car
First route: From Bangkok, take Highway No. 4, passing the provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, and Ranong, then drive straight to Phang Nga town. It is 788 km from Bangkok. The trip takes around 12 hours.
*Second route: From Bangkok, take Highway No.4 to Chumphon, from there, take Highway No. 41 to Amphoe Tha Chang, then go straight to an intersection where a right turn is made to Highway No. 401, keep driving to Amphoe Ban Ta Khun for about 50 km, and then take Highway No. 415 for 30 km, take a right turn to Phang Nga town.
*Visitors travelling from Phuket should use Highway No. 402, passing Sarasin Bridge to Ban Khok Kloi, take a right turn to Amphoe Takua Thung. It is 87 km from Phuket. The journey takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes.
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By plane
There is no airport here. The closest ones are in [wiki=dd38c4ce6700ee7992d922b1bcbbbc19]Phuket[/wiki] or [wiki=b4951566039b6d829c52c671904ada62]Krabi[/wiki].
[url=http://www.nokair.com/]Nok Air[/url] offers flight+minivan service from Bangkok to Phang Nga v.v. by flying with Nok Air from Bangkok to Krabi and transferred on a minivan to Phannga. This can be booked directly from their website.
From Krabi airport you do not have to go to the Krabi bus station to get a bus to Phang Nga, as the buses coming from the South pass by the airport on the highway. To catch a bus walk out to the highway (100m), cross over and go about 50m to the right where you will see a yellow shelter on the left side of the road. In May 2015 a bus (big and air conditioned) to the Phang Nga bus station cost 100 baht and passed by at 9:30am after waiting for less than half an hour. Make sure you hail down the bus. Frequency and times unfortunately unknown, so if this sounds too uncertain for you, make your way to the Krabi bus station and get a bus from there (price to Krabi bus station displayed inside the airport was 80 baht).
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By train
There is no train station here. You must catch a bus for [wiki=67ece24e35facdcb080dfe2e4f8fe7f4]Phunphin[/wiki], near [wiki=75d32d219c5589eb557db3ac58ea8407]Surat Thani[/wiki].
The State Railways of Thailand operates daily train services between Bangkok and Surat Thani. A trip to Phang Nga can be made by getting off at the Surat Thani Railway Station and then take on a bus for another two hours. For more information, call Bangkok’s Hualamphong Railway Station [http://www.railway.co.th] tel. 1690, 0 2223 7010, 0 2223 7020.
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By bus
Buses from Phuket, Takua Pa and Krabi pass through Phang Nga. During the day there are many buses from the bus station to Phuket, Krabi, Takua Pa, and Surat Thani. In the evening, however, there are few buses, but if you're lucky you might catch a bus on the Phuket-Krabi road. (4 km from the city) The phone number of the bus station is +66 76 412 014.
The bus from Phuket number 2(new) bus station is B60, and a minibus from there is B100. The minibuses leave every hour.
Buses from further afield (e.g. Trang) generally don't always pass through Phang Nga (they take the 415 road instead), so you may be dropped off at the intersection. The most common way into town is by taxi-cycle, which costs 50฿ (March 2013). Due to the steep price it may be worth checking to make sure the bus you catch does pass through Phang Nga.
Travel time from Trang bus station is 3h15m, costing 200฿ (March 2013).
There are daily bus services from Bangkok to Phang Nga. Air-conditioned buses, varying in 3 types, depart from Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal at the following times:
*VIP Bus: 18:30
*Standard 1 Bus: 19:30
*Standard 2 Bus: 06:30 and 16:00
Travelling time is ~12 hours. For more information, call the Southern Bus Terminal at +66 243 5119 9200 or the Phang Nga Bus Terminal at Tel: +66 76 412 300 or +66 76 412 014.
At the bus station itself, there is a friendly travel agent (Mr Kean) who will quite gladly give you a map of the city and area, as well as offer tours for Ao Phang Nga bay (500฿ - half day, March 2013)
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By boat
The pier, Tha Dan, is 9 km south of the town.
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By taxi
From Phuket there are a variety of taxi and private car-hire services. However, there is a stranglehold on many of these agencies through local "associations" that demand high prices and disallow competition. It is a common complaint that passengers are made to stop at local gem and/or travel agencies allowing the drivers to collect a commission. To avoid this, demand the meter to be turned on or agree to price ahead of time, with no stops. Try to use licensed and certified agencies.
* Khao Lak Taxi [http://www.khaolaktaxi.com]
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Thai Airways International operates [wiki=3d147c6ba113929f5a004a5e9dcc832e]Bangkok[/wiki]-[wiki=dd38c4ce6700ee7992d922b1bcbbbc19]Phuket[/wiki] flights daily. From Phuket, take a bus or rent a car to Phang Nga, about 58 km. For more information, call Thai Airways [url=http://www.thaiair.com]]tel: 1566 or 0 2280 0060, 0 2628 2000 or Phuket office at tel. +66 76 360444.
*Bangkok Airways [url=http://www.bangkokair.com[/url]]has daily flights connecting Phuket Airport with [[Pattaya[/url]] and [wiki=97f7c52be83a193af0cb679f42e33627]Ko Samui[/wiki]. For more information, contact their Bangkok office at tel. 0 2265 5678. Reservations can be made at tel. 0 2265 5555 or Phuket office tel. +66 76 225033, +66 76 225034.
*Air Asia [www.airasia.com] also offers several daily flights connecting Bangkok and Phuket airport. Call 02 5159999 or Phuket office at tel. +66 76 351428, +66 76 369182 for reservations.
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The most popular form of transport in Phang Nga is by songthaew (public passenger pick-up vehicles). To get to and from other districts, there is a public, non-air-conditioned bus service or even cars for rent. And for a day out on the islands, there are long-tailed boats for hire.
You can use the songthaews for travel in the city. If you want to explore the area, it is better to rent a motorbike. You can rent a motorbike at M.T. Tour (Muang Thong Hotel: from the bus station, go to the exit, turn right at the main road, walk 100 m and it's on your left). If you have your own car or motorbike already, you still can go to MT Tour (+66 89 289 2566) to get a free detailed map of the area. In general, everything (tours, accommodation, food) in Phang Nga is cheaper than Phuket. It's not possible to rent a car in Phang Nga, but in Khao Lak, Krabi or Phuket you can rent a car.
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Heaven and Hell Cave (ถ้ำตาปาน) Within the town itself, about 1 km back towards Krabi from the bus station. On Tamtapan Road, some 500 m along, is a temple and a cave within easy walking distance.
It is patterned after the Hindu tradition which is, to a point, prominent in Thai Buddhism. You will see statues of various gods including Ganesha, as well as virtues like the Three Wise Monkeys.
But the most prominent feature is the statues of souls suffering in hell. These are very graphic and quite similar in some ways to the medieval Christian images of the same. They cover an area of about an acre or so.
To get here, you can take a songteow along the main road - they go quite regularly - and then walk along the road to the Temple.
On the way to the cave itself, you will pass to the right of the path, images of a judge and his two scribes who are judging. To the left of the path are two really scared souls (with what looks like a potential executioner on either side of them.) Behind these to the left,is an official dragging up another person to face the judgement!
Some people may consider this rather over the top, but, it is their tradition and religion, so please respect.
The cave itself has been upgraded this past year (now 2013), and is now lit, although dimly, but it is well worth walking through for the several hundred metres to get a really good look at the cave.
On your way out, again you will see the Buddhist Monks at the entrance.
If you want, you can get a blessing from them - the Monk ties a string around your wrist, and then chants the blessing as you kneel in front.
He will then offer you the offertory basin (usually filled with B20 notes coming from Thai people). Us "Farangs" should put in B100, after all, we are wealthy by comparison.
Please note that there is no pressure on you to do this if you do not want.
You can climb up the structure on the right before you head towards the cave(steep steps) and get a really good view of Phang Nga Bay, and the surrounding mountains. Well worth a look. As at Dec 2013, there were no feral monkeys anywhere within the Temple grounds.
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Phang Nga has a beautiful landscape with many waterfalls, mountains, islands, rivers, and hot springs. You can get a good map at M.T. Tour and visit the various attractions. Phang Nga has also special temples, each one with different characteristics. Attractions near the city are: The elephant mountain (temple), Sanong Manora waterfall, Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Park. Further away are: Namtok Lamru a 5-tiered waterfall, Khao Lak (beaches), Ko Similan National Park (diving & snorkelling), Ko Surin National Park (diving & snorkelling). There are also jungle tours with rafting and temple tours.
Another great thing to do is community-based tourism. Communities around Phang Pga Province are opening up their villages to one day tours and overnight home stays. They usually come at a base price and list everything that will be included in the tour from batik painting to tin mining.
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Phang Nga City is not a tourist destination. There are many banks and ATMs in the city. There is a 'K' bank near the centre of the town which advertises a money exchange service, but it has not been checked/tested (March 2013). If you have cash, change it before 15:30 on weekdays.
Tesco Lotus carries all brand names and convenience food. Boots, the chemist, and other chemists and pharmacies are available.
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During the day you can get cheap and delicious meals at the market or at the restaurant in the Muang Thong Hotel. In this hotel it's also possible to have breakfast (eggs, toast, butter, & jam). There is a vegetarian restaurant on the main road if you walk south from the bus station. At night it is worth trying the restaurants on the riverside. Tuesdays and Thursdays there is a night market 500m south of the bus station (on the main road). Many guidebooks recommend Duang as a good place to eat. However as a tourist you will probably pay more than Thais.
* Cuisine from a real chef at fast-food price. New restaurant managed by a thai couple. Thai food, Java food and western food. The chef is local but he has been study chef course in Europe for 2 years (March 2015). Friendly staff, happy to see some foreigners.
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There are several hotels throughout the city, although they are all of relatively low standard and rather old. If you plan to see Phang Nga Bay and you want to stay overnight only for that reason you might want to reconsider your choice. In that case it might be better to stay in Phuket, Khao Lak or Krabi and take one of the frequent and inexpensive buses to Phang Nga early in the morning. You will likely get better quality of accommodation at comparable prices that way.
Right from the bus station road is: Phang Nga Guesthouse a few hundred metres along. On the other side of the road is the Muang Thong Hotel. A little further along the road and next door to the 7-11 on the right hand side of the road is the Rattanapong Hotel, followed a couple of hundred metres further along by the Phang Nga Guest House, which has fan or aircon rooms, as well as a restaurant onsite. Another 100m along is the Thaweesuk Hotel, which appears to be the most upmarket of the lot.
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Budget
All of the budget hotels are within 400 m of the bus station so it won't be hard to walk to them. Exit the bus station and turn right.
* Old hotel with free WiFi, TV, A/C, fridge and generally friendly staff. The office for booking tours of Phang Nga Bay is in the same building (MT Tours). The hotel is well worn but clean. The main problem as of March 2014 is the incredibly loud music at 6am and 6pm from the park across the road for the aerobics women. It quite literally blows you out of bed!
* Looks more decent from the outside and the rooms look better than in the other hostels/budget hotels. Rooms come with A/C, TV and free WiFi but are smaller than the rooms in other hotels in town. They seem generally cleaner, although also slightly mouldy.
* A clean, no frills hotel with large double bed rooms with ensuite and cold shower. Rooms are bare and uninspiring, but the price makes up for it.
* Very clean with free wifi and varying room sizes. If you're travelling in a group then it's definitely worth checking this hotel as the shared rooms are cheap for the area. Unfortunately the windows do not block out the sound too well, so the street noise is a problem. Room 12-1 is by the street and while clean it was very noisy and had mosquitoes. Conveniently next door to the 7 eleven and 5 mins walk from the bus station.
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Splurge
6 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms. Villas are laid out as 3 individual pavilions, each with pool and ocean views and designed with an overall contemporary Thai style, a fourth pavilion hosts the kitchen and staff quarters.
*. Located on the sunset side of the Andaman Sea and the pristine Natai Beach. The concept of "all suites, all private" is delivered at this resort. The accommodations range in sizes from 80m for ocean view lofts and pool suites to 600m for 2 and 3 bedroom beachfront villas.
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[wiki=c277cbbd9241d82cb367f3f5c557a49f]Ko Ra[/wiki] is a beautiful island on the [wiki=fcbecf5b1506cb983f246204dad88cf1]Northern Andaman Coast[/wiki]. You can do ecological tours and explore the lush green forest on the island.
[wiki=e1bf73bc805a067d85f1acc965fd9274]Phang Nga Bay[/wiki] is famous for its gravity-defying limestone formations. You can make the tour with Sayan [url=http://www.sayantour.com/]](in the bus station) or MT Tour (in the Muang Thong hotel, 100 m from the bus station). Half-day tours with transfer cost 800 baht as of May 2015 at either operator, bargaining seemed pretty much impossible, you may have better luck trying to get an additional cave added or adjust the itinerary to fit your needs. Full-day tours 1100 baht.
Bus to Surat Thani (Non aircon) will cost B150 at March 2014. It takes 2.5 hours. It terminates in Soi 33 in the centre of the city.
There are frequent buses to [[Phuket[/url]] from the bus station, minivans take you to the [wiki=3018b9d4eb3f83ba411aae7dacb9750d]Phuket Town[/wiki] bus station (old bus station) for 100 baht, while the big buses only go to the new bus station (bus station 2) outside of Phuket Town for 90 baht (May 2015)
[[WikiPedia:Phang Nga]]
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