Bang Khun Thian Mangrove Coast

Bangkok is a coastal city on a technicality: only Bang Khun Thian district in the far south-west reaches the Gulf of Thailand, along about five kilometres of muddy mangrove shore. What is happening there is the point. Coastal erosion has pushed the shoreline back by well over a kilometre since the 1950s - groundwater extraction causing subsidence, upstream dams cutting the sediment supply, mangrove clearance for shrimp ponds and sea level rise all contribute - and the old boundary marker for the city limit now stands in open water offshore, reached by boat, which has become the thing people come to see. Bamboo breakwaters and replanting schemes are visible along the shore. Boardwalks run out through the mangroves, there are stilt seafood restaurants over the water, and boats take visitors out to the marker and the shellfish farms. It is muddy, hot and not scenic in the conventional sense.

Highlights

• The submerged boundary marker - the old city limit stone now standing offshore.
• The retreating shore - over a kilometre lost since the 1950s.
• The mangrove boardwalks - raised walkways through the replanted forest.
• The stilt restaurants - seafood served over the water.

When to go

November to February for the cooler, drier weather. Boat trips depend on tide and conditions. Weekends are when the seafood restaurants are busiest.

What to expect

Muddy, hot and mosquito-heavy - this is not a beach. Boats are informal and arranged locally. It is a long drive from central Bangkok with no rail access. The interest is the erosion story rather than scenery.

Nearby

Central Bangkok is north-east; Samut Sakhon and the Mahachai fish market are west.