A holiday destination with nature and wildlife in abundance, Pararambah epitomises the beauty of the Andaman Islands. This island is also home to a lone indigenous tribe, the Sea Gypsies. Known for their colourful attire, they are also known for their skill of catching fish by only observing their movements in the sea.
Travellers come here to witness different communities and people who live a full and meaningful life. With natural beauty and wildlife abounding, the place has a special charm for nature lovers.
Contents
Pararambah Island History
The Pararambah Island which is located in the Ratchaburi Province, Thailand has been under occupation since prehistoric times. This island was used to offer deer sacrifices and Hindu rituals. After Marco Polo’s visit, they gave it a name as “Kingdom of fromua”, referring Lord Nakula.. King Choengphu sent his son Ariaprabumi to an uninhabited area for performing forest game performances at that time.
In the reign of King Taksin, the island was used as a residential area. During that time Thonburi River fell into ruin and because of improved transportation to new inland areas after 1880s this river became less utilized before being abandoned completely in the 1900s since they were surrounded with debris from greater Bangkok’s rapid development
Climate
The climate is tropical monsoon of type. There are two rainy seasons, one in the winter and another from April to June. Peak temperature averages 26 C but it can reach up to 33C during summer that last until December while coldest month is January with a peak average 17 C degree .
The island has a rare distinct climate because of its position within the boundary between Chao Laem valley and mountainous Malay Peninsula behind it. During storm season, rain clouds rise from tropics in north causing eastern Thai provinces to get more rains while western hills have dry seasons.
Culture
Pararambah Island is inhabited by many Thai ethnic groups, such as The Karen and the Lisu. Because of its proximity to Bangkok Metropolitan Area without being within it, there are some considerations for cultural exchange between them (for example with sports).
Exporting Thailand culture through tourism has not really taken off yet but may in time since there are sites on the island that have become recognized landmarks over time due to their historical importance or beautiful settings.
The people are friendly to visitors and can provide many services but tourists must understand that they live in a poor rural area that avoids modern influences except what they receive during holiday times like holidays.
Tourism
Pa-ram Bangkhraichit of Bangkok, is an island near the eastern coast in Thailand. The name Pararampah means Endsease (meaning “end” or finishing) because it was once known for its bad weather that would bring about the end of fishing season.It has a tropical monsoon climate and lies on southern part of Songkla River starts exactly at Putthaphon Pattani border with Mantadia district .
The total area of the island is approximately 145.7 square kilometers and its southeastern side that lies on Malay Peninsula has a coastline almost 13 km, with sharp rocky cliffs along the sea front. The topography consists of steep hills seaward, some also inland with narrow plains among mountains in all directions.
Transport
Today there is piers for tourists and fisherman as well-known Pararampah fishing pier on the island, across from its main town San Sathit ( “King’s place”) a trading post serving local fishermen. Hence, most days fisherfolk are seen sailing their boats near this pier making it an ideal tourist spot to view everyday life of Thai people especially on the weekends where locals go further down along river into sea with their families in areas that tourist have not yet explored.
Pararampah Island is designated as a nature reserve for commercial purposes, but recreational fishing is allowed. The island attracts foreign tourists from neighbouring areas in Thailand and countries far away to view fishermen working at the pier with small villages hidden along river shoreline where young couples make an effort to greet visitors that come into their houses during weekends when they stay overnight or visit Parambang market selling fish and other goods.
Cuisine
Pararampah Island has large scale seafood farming for fish, vegetables and fruit in most of its shoreline areas. The island is famous for dried snapper which caught from Pararampah Bathon fishing pier with number of restaurants serving the fresh dug out local fresh fish that an average tourist can only guess at by tasting it.
There are also a couple others eating stalls selling dishes made mostly during weekends but easily available throughout weekdays when shops are not open (mostly “sampan” style restaurants on boats that offer food and drinks from stalls in the market places; coracles or rattans tied with floating sandbags, built to one side of a small boat through out its length at an angle is common).
International products can be bought at local markets including fresh snapper.
Wildlife
It is home to endangered Siamang and Asian Elephant whose habitats are in central provinces of Thailand. The species are common in forests and jungles of the provinces, but ecologically important only to small range.
Asian Elephants play a major role as tourist attraction and include shows when they lift weights by pulling chains found during feeding ground above sea level at Narathiwat River according to daily schedule.
It is home to some species of land and sea wildlife like pangolins, snakes and freshwater turtles which dwell in the forest. There are also a couple types of birds that can be seen on daily basis including hornbills (a group of large herbivorous bird) kingfishers, green-tailed wagtails at local parks (reservoirs), buttonquail; ducks like mandarin ducks / teals etc
Conclusion
While it is not specifically a unique tourist destination in Thailand, there are enough differences from other parts of the country to make visiting Hat Yai interesting without being too much different that makes one’s heart yearn for going back. Credit should be given to Thais rather than tourists who have co-operated with my survey and provided information about their hometown town or enclave.
I believe it would be appreciated when few important points mentioned here get covered by local people and get appreciated. Since this is an early post in the series, I would try to clarify some points that remain ambiguous or got misunderstood by visitors from other parts of Thailand who are unfamiliar with life as a Thai citizen living anywhere else than Bangkok suburbs or industrial zone town in central provinces.
FAQs
1.How Long Is The Journey From Singapore To Pararambah Island?
Ans: The usual 60-70 hours is a little too long in my opinion. You can transit via Kuala Lumpur which will shave off 50h to get back at the end of trip. I am also aware that there are several other places/routes you could go via Bangkok, Chiang Mai or Phuket but I decided to use mainly direct northern route so as to not disrupt our plans for Thailand on this trip when we were first planning it
2.What Are The Attractions Of Pararambah Island?
Ans: At the moment, nothing much except that it is a town where almost everyone speak Thai and most local people are friendly. No polar bears / walruses to behold there (if you’ve never been to Arctic before), no IMAX movie theatre for your viewing pleasure.
3.What Is The Weather Like In Pararambah Island?
Ans: Hot and humid with the average temperature being 28.3 degrees celsius – very much like Bangkok but without flying insects or mosquitoes (only species found which is paraspoilar variety).
Comparing it to Singapore where we take incessant precautions against houseflies, cockroach in our food cabinets etc meant that I wouldn’t introduce any measures such as a bed sheet over my head just because of laziness when visiting Para Island.
Leave a Reply