Surat Thani is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It lies 651 km south of Bangkok. It is the capital of Surat Thani Province. The city has a population of 130,000, and an area of 68.97 square kilometers. The city’s population density is 1,858.47 inhabitants per km².
Surat Thani is near the mouth of the Tapi River on the Gulf of Thailand. The city offers no major tourist attractions in itself, and is mainly known to tourists as the jumping-off point to Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and Ko Pha Ngan. It is the regional commercial center, with a seaport dealing in the main products of the province, rubber and coconuts.
The city received its name, which means “city of good people”, by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in 1915. The name was given to the city due to the intense devotion of the locals to Buddhism. Previously the city was known as Bandon, meaning “village on higher ground”. The name of the city is taken from the Indian city Surat in Gujarat on the Indian River Tapi. King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) gave this name to his city as he was impressed with the Indian city.
On 21 December 1930 Surat Thani became a sanitary district (sukhaphiban), which was upgraded to a town (thesaban mueang) on 7 December 1935, with a municipal area of 2.67 km². The area of the municipality was enlarged to 6.95 km² on 14 October 1958, and on 22 December 1994 it was further enlarged to 68.97 km². On 4 May 2007, the town was upgraded to city status (thesaban nakhon). Since 1969 Surat Thani is the seat of the Roman CatholicDiocese of Surat Thani, responsible for about 6,000 Catholics in southern Thailand.
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