Introduction
Krabi
is a southern province on Thailand's Andaman seaboard
with perhaps the country's oldest history of continued
settlement.
After
dating stone tools, ancient coloured pictures, beads,
pottery and skeletal remains found in the province's
many cliffs and caves, it is thought that Krabi has
been home to homo sapiens since the period 25,000 -
35,000 B.C.
In
recorded times it was called the 'Ban Thai Samor', and
was one of twelve towns that used, before people were
widely literate, the monkey for their standard. At that
time, c. 1200 A.D., Krabi was tributary to the Kingdom
of Ligor, a city on the Kra Peninsula's east coast better
known today as Nakhon Si Thammarat.
At
the start of the Rattanakosin period, about 200 years
ago, when the capital was finally settled at Bangkok,
an elephant kraal was established in Krabi by order
of Chao Phraya Nakorn (Noi), the governor of Nakhon
Si Thammarat, which was by then a part of the Thai Kingdom.
He
sent his vizier, the Phra Palad, to oversee this task,
which was to ensure a regular supply of elephants for
the larger town. So followers many emigrated in the
steps of the Phra Palad that soon Krabi had a large
community in three different boroughs : Pakasai, Khlong
Pon, and Pak Lao.
In
1872, King Chulalongkorn graciously elevated these to
town status, called Krabi, a word that preserves in
its meaning the monkey symbolism of the old standard.
The town's first governor was Luang Thep Sena, though
it continued a while as a dependency of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
This
was changed in 1875, when Krabi was raised to a fourth-level
town in the old system of Thai government. Administrators
then reported directly to the central government in
Bangkok, and Krabi's history as a unique entity separated
from the other provinces, had begun.
During
the present reign, the corps of civil servants, the
merchants, and the population generally of Krabi and
nearby provinces have together organized construction
of a royal residence at Laem Hang Nak Cape for presentation
to His Majesty the King.
This
lies thirty kilometers to the west of Krabi Town on
the Andaman coast.
Population
Krabi's
estimated population, as of September 1999, is 344,610
Geography
Krabi's
mountainous physical geography is broken by highlands
and plains on the mainland.
The
provincial administration also covers more than 130
islands in the Andaman Sea.
Natural
forest cover is chiefly mangrove and Cassia trees.
Krabi's
sandy clay soil conditions are perfect for a variety
of agricultural products, including rubber trees, palms,
mangos, coconuts, and coffee.
The
Krabi River flows 5 kilometers through the city and
falls into the Andaman at Tambon Pak Nam.
There
are other streams as well : the Khlong Pakasai, the
Khlong Krabi Yai and the Khlong Krabi Noi in the province's
highest range of mountains, the Khao Phanom Bencha.
Climate
Weather
in Krabi is typically that of the tropical monsoon,
providing the province with just two seasons, the hot
season from January to April, and the rainy season from
May to December.
Monsoon
winds, which change according to season, blow from the
southeast, the southwest, and the northeast.
Temperatures
range between 16.9 and 37.3 degrees Celsius and the
yearly rainfall averages 2,568.5 millimeters.
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