MANGROVE FOREST

Time was when every tidal mud flat in the Gulf of Thailand was covered by mangrove forest-all 744 square kilometers of it. Now, much of this vegetation that thrives in salt and brackish water and fosters some of the most productive environments on Earth. But enough remains-and more is being regenerated-for you to see what it is. As a first impression, it’s spooky. A good place to start is Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park in Prachuab Khiri Khan where the mangroves are extensive and well-developed enough to generate some atmosphere. You’ll find yourself navigating an eerily quiet, enclosed world, moving from one twisted exposed root to the next. The canopy is barely above your head and lateral vision and orientation is similarly limited by the roots around you. But this protected world is an ideal habitat for a wide variety of land and water life. As all this goes about its business-the small creatures finding shelter, the larger ones food-the mangroves feed off their own fallen and decomposed leaves and constantly colonies new territory. They thus protect the coastline from storms and help to build up new land. Their timber was greatly prized for firewood and charcoal as were the barks of some species for dye. Mangroves were particularly valuable when the central Thai lifestyle was water-based. Most easily accessible by small boat, they were a kind of larder. Today, much of the cultural ambience of mangroves has been lost as food comes more easily from the local store and cooking fuel out of a gas canister. But search out your own small patch somewhere along the coast and spend some time in it. This was an important part of what it was to be a coast-living Thai.