Ranong

Travellers are slowing starting to catch on to the natural wonders of Ranong Province as while it is one of southern Thailand's sleepier provinces, Ranong nevertheless boasts peaceful island getaways, virgin rainforests, natural hot springs and world-class diving.

Most visitors to the province are coming to the same-named capital to do their "visa run" across to Burma to give themselves another 30 days in Thailand, but it's well worth sticking around a bit longer. If you have the time, try to combine a visit to Ranong town with a few days on one of two nearby islands, Ko Chang and Ko Phayam.

With about 162,000 inhabitants, Ranong is Thailand's least-populated province, but they're a diverse bunch at that. Burmese, Chinese and Thai Muslims have all played roles in the history of the region and each group retains a visible presence on the streets of the provincial capital. Mainstays of the local economy include fishing, white clay extraction for porcelain, rubber production and cashew nut farming.

Ranong receives more rain than any other province in Thailand, with an average of 4,200mm in a year. The driest months are between November and April, and this is when most tourists are about. Several dive schools now use Ranong as a launching pad for the largely unexplored islands of the Mergui Archipelago, which runs up the Burmese side of the Malay Peninsular. The waters contain some spectacular and unspoiled dive sites, including the Burma Banks and Black Rock.

 

The same-named provincial capital, Ranong is situated at the northernmost point of Thailand's Andaman Sea coast at the junction with Burma. It has a large ethnic Chinese population and also a significant Burmese Muslim presence and you'll see as many signs in Chinese and Burmese as you will in Thai along Ruangrat Rd, Ranong's main drag. All the action takes place along this one street and unlike other Thai cities it doesn't sprawl, nor is it built on a grid system.

Ruangrat Rd meanders gently north from Phetkasem Rd, where the bus station is located. Two busy food markets lie about the midpoint of Ruangrat Rd, and there's a low-key nightlife district a little further up.

The access road to Ranong's star attraction, the hot springs, is a few hundred metres east of the bus station, while the bustling port district of Saphan Pla (the departure point for visa runs to Burma and the islands of Ko Chang and Ko Phayam) is about 5km west of the main city. Ranong Airport is about 20kms to the south.

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