Narathiwat Province

Introduction
Narathiwat is another southern province bordering on Malaysia. Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat's borderland is an important junction where the Thai southern railroad connects with another railway to the Tumpad Station in Malaysia. Narathiwat is the southernmost Thai coastal province facing the Gulf of Thailand and borders northeast Malaysia. Narathiwat is located some 1,149 kms south of Bangkok and occupies an area of 4,475 square kilometers. The province noted as a land of gold mines and boats extensive peat swamp forests, as well as seaside resorts along the coast of Indian Ocean. The inhabitants of Narathiwat (which means "the residence of good people") are largely farmers and fishermen. Narathiwat is the province having beautiful natural sceneries of both forests and the seaside resorts.

Dive Site: Losin Lighthouse
The southernmost diving site in the gulf of Thailand, Losin Rock. The notably rock formation that emerged from the sea is 55 miles distance from mainland. For navigation reason, a lighthouse was placed on the Losin outcrop. In general, the rock formation scatters lying in the depth 20-30 meters level. Healthy hard coral garden covers nearly a square kilometer. Losin is famous for its crystal clear water all year round and a variety school of fish.

- GPS Coordinate: Lat. 07 19 500 N. Long. 101 59 500 E.
- Maximum depth: 40 meters
- Marine lives: Various reef fish are common to see in this reef site. Manta ray and whale shark are expected to see in the dive site. It can be found some fish types that expect to find only in the Andaman Sea and no where else in the other gulf of Thailand sites.
- Underwater visibility: up to 10-13 meters


Topography
Narathiwat is on the eastern side of Malayu Archipelago. Two third of the area are delta plain that form by 4 rivers, namely Sai Buri river, Bang Nara river, Tak Bai river, Sungai Kolok river.


Climate
The weather in Narathiwat is generally warm and humid. The area experiences only 2 seasons in a year, summer and rainy seasons. The period that has a high chance of raining is between November and December. The average temperature is 27-29 degree celcius.


How to get there
Visitors may travel to Narathiwat by car, bus, train or plane.


By car
Drive along the highway No.4 via Nakorn Pathom, Ratchaburi (Using the highway No.35 or Rama II road, via Samut Sakorn, Samut Song Kram and turn into Highway No.4), Petchburi until getting to Chumphon. After that, using highway No.41 passing Luan Suan, Suratthani, Thong Song and Phutthalung to get


By bus
It takes 14 hours to get to Narathiwat. From southern Bus Terminal at Baromrat Chonna Nee Road, the public transport company services the buses to Narathiwat everyday. More details, please contact Southern Bus Terminal by telephone numbers 0 2435 1200 and 0 2435 1199. The Narathiwat bus station telephone number is 0 7351 1845 or website http://www.transport.co.th.


By Train
Fast trains and express trains to Narathiwat called Bangkok-Thun Yong Mus - Sungai Kolok leave daily from Hualamphong Station, Bangkok. Timetable is available at hotline 1690 or tel. (+66) 2220 4334, Sungai Kolok train station at tel. (+66) 7361 1162 and 7361 4060 or visit website http://www.srt.or.th or http://www.thailandrailway.com.


By plane
Thai Airways operates daily flights between Bangkok-Phuket-Narathiwat. For more information contact hot line 1566 or telephone number (+66) 2282 0060 and Narathiwat branch telephone numbers are (+66) 7351 1161, 7351 3090 and 7356 5157 website http://www.thaiairways.com