Ko Pha Ngan
|
Ko Pha Ngan เกาะพะงัน |
|
|---|---|
| island | |
Ko Pha Ngan from the air
|
|
 Ko Pha Ngan
|
|
| Coordinates: 9°43′0″N 100°0′0″E / 9.71667°N 100.00000°E | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Province | Surat Thani |
| Area | |
| • Total | 125 km2 (48 sq mi) |
| Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) |
Ko Pha Ngan (or Koh Phangan, Thai: เกาะพะงัน, rtgs: Ko Pha-ngan, Thai pronunciation: [kɔ̀ʔ pʰa.ŋan]) is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in southeast Thailand in Surat Thani Province. It is part of the Samui Archipelago. It is famous for its Full Moon Party at Haad Rin Beach and as a backpacker destination. Ko Pha Ngan has two sister islands: the larger Ko Samui to the south and the smaller Ko Tao to the north.
The name Ko Pha Ngan derives from the word "ngan", meaning "sand bar" in the southern dialect, for there are many sand bars offshore.
Ko Pha Ngan has been a longtime favorite of past kings of Thailand. Rama V, or Chulalongkorn, for example, visited Ko Pha Ngan 14 times during his reign.
The Bronze Drum of Dongson Culture (500–100 BCE) that was found on Ko Samui in 1977 is evidence that there were settlements of people on Ko Samui, Ko Pha Ngan, and their islets more than two thousand years ago. Some historians and archaeologists believe that the first group who migrated to Ko Pha Ngan were the Muslim sea gypsies (Pygmy, Semung, and Proto-Malay) who travelled by boat from the Malay Peninsula. Today there are few Muslim inhabitants.
...
Wikipedia