Largely overlooked as a necessary stop in route between Bangkok and some of Thailand’s most famous islands, Surat Thani is a quiet but authentic city that has avoided the overtourism that has impacted the country elsewhere
When I was planning my Thailand itinerary, I was a bit ambitious with the travel logistics- I figured it would be a quick trip down from Bangkok to Koh Samui, one of Thailand’s most touristy islands. I casually mapped the route and noticed that the bus would take around 12 hours to make it to the central city of Surat Thani, a transportation hub connecting the islands to the mainland. After that, the ferry port was a couple hours away from the town and the ferry itself was another 2-4 hours to the islands, meaning the journey required an overnight bus or train or a one-night stay in Surat Thani.
The thought of a sweaty, sleepless night on public transportation didn’t seem ideal at the time (though now I’d recommend this approach), and I was able to snag a $20 flight from Bangkok to Surat Thani that cut the 12-hour journey into 3, accounting for the pre-departure lounge drinks, flight time, and the one-hour drive from the airport to the city center.
Main road in Surat Thani
It was a rainy afternoon in Surat Thani. One of the things that stood out most is that the city felt very local. Most tourists were concentrated in one of the many travel agencies waiting for vans to take them to the port or bus terminal, and the city didn’t have the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Bangkok that I had witnessed.
Local restaurants and colorful Thai signs dotted the main road along with swerving tuk tuks that permeate Thailand’s roads. My hotel was a modest guesthouse tucked away in a quiet alley a few minutes away from the center owned by a friendly, English-speaking Thai woman. I was alone and the sun had already set, but I wanted a taste of what a typical Thai city was like.
Surat Thani night market
Fortunately, there was a night market not too far away from the hotel. Thai cuisine is not my area of expertise, though I could recognize the stands of mango sticky rice, fruit shakes, mystery meat skewers, tiny trinkets, and unsurprisingly Pad Thai. I would later venture more into the country’s cuisine, but I was busy enjoying feeling immersed in the market, browsing the local food items with mostly local Thais, save for a handful of other tourists who towered over the crowd. The market took up a few blocks whose lit-up stands lined the street from both sides.
While Surat Thani is hardly off the tourist trail, it was a refreshing experience from the chaos of Bangkok. I got more comfortable with traveling alone and being in an unfamiliar place here and thought it was a worthwhile recovery night during this long journey.
7/10