Trat, also spelt Trad, is a town in Thailand, capital of Trat province and the Mueang Trat district. The town is in the east of Thailand, at the mouth of the Trat River, near the border with Cambodia.

Etymology

Trat is believed to derive from Krat (กราด), the Thai name for the tree Dipterocarpus intricatus, common to the region and used to make brooms. It is also spelt Trad.

History

Trat was already an important seaport in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Under King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Trat and Chanthaburi province were briefly occupied by the French. In a complicated exchange of territory, Trat (and Chanthaburi) was returned on March 23, 1906, but Thailand relinquished the area around Siem Reap and Sisophon in present-day Cambodia. When the Vietnamese pushed the Khmer Rouge out of Cambodia in 1985, Pol Pot fled to Thailand and made his headquarters in a plantation villa near Trat. It was built for him by the Thai Army and nicknamed "Office 87".

Geography

Trat Province is located in the eastern part of the central region of Thailand, in the extreme southeast of Thailand near the border with Cambodia. It is just over 300 km from the capital Bangkok.

Climate

Trat experiences a tropical monsoon climate, with the dry season taking place from November to April and the wet season lasting from May to October.

Economy

Trat, favored by its proximity to the Cambodian border, is of some importance as a trading city. The area around Trat is rich in gemstone mines, whose yield (rubies and sapphires) is processed right in the town. Fruit growing is also important: durian, rambutan and mangosteen are the main products. For tourists, Trat is more interesting as a starting point to the large islands of Ko Chang and Ko Mak. The city of Trat had 10,207 inhabitants.