Trat

History

Trat was already an important seaport in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya. Under King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Trat and Chanthaburi provinces 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. 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.

Most-observed species

• Brahminy Kite

  Haliastur indus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  170
• Little Egret/Western Reef-Heron

  Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  137
• White-nest Swiftlet

  Aerodramus fuciphagus (Thunberg, 1812) · Aves
  125
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  117
• Spotted dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  108
• White-throated Kingfisher

  Halcyon smyrnensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  104
• Great Myna

  Acridotheres grandis Moore, 1858 · Aves
  100
• Yellow-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus goiavier (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  98