Chaiya travel guide

Chaiya, once an important trading centre, lies on the east coast of the Malayan peninsula, just below the isthmus of Kra

It is worth a visit for anyone interested in history, particularly as part of as tour including Surat Thani, Ranong, Nakhon Si Thammarat and the province of Phang Nga. HistoryAs early as the 5th century Indian merchants from Madras were using the town as a base for their travels along the east coast of Thailand, as various archaeological finds have demonstrated. The Srivijaya kingdom(8th–13th centuries.) once encompassed the greater part of the Indonesian archipelago (Sumatra, Java, modern Malaysia) and southern Thailand as far as present-day Hua Hin. At that time Chaiya was an important centre for trade. Some historians even believe that Chaiya rather than Palembang on Sumatra was actually the capital of the kingdom. Nowadays there is little trace of the town’s former importance to Indian and Asian trade. Chaiya now lies somewhat inland, as if forgotten. It does still possess the magnificent Wat Phra Mahathat, the one and only well-preserved architectural relic from the Srivijaya period. There were once other such buildings, particularly in Nakhon Si Thammarat, but these have largely been left to ruin.

Chaiya travel guide by Marco Polo is this text outdated?

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