Trang City

Trang Province

Thailand

April 24, 2026

Hello,

A late start today.  My guide needs a new battery for his phone.  While I wait, I wander around town.

We ride toward Na Muen Sri Weaving Village.  The shop sells colorful clothing made from the textiles that are woven here.  Out back two women operate the clattering shuttle looms.  The ladies are pleased to see us but concentrate on their work.

On our way back to town, we stop at the Robinson Department Store for an early lunch at the Food Court.  I order a soup.  The lady server warns me that it’s spicy.  I respond, No Problem.  Believe me, it was spicy! So I comment to the lady, Very Spicy!  We laugh!

Now we’re on a pilgrimage to visit several religious sites in town.  First a Buddhist temple known for its outstanding wall paintings.  Then a Cave Temple. Then a one-hundred-year-old Church.  Then a Mosque.  Then a temple with an enormous stupa.

A Christian Church?  The Trang Protestant Church (1915).  Nine to ten thousand Christians in the area. 1.5 % of the population.   

A Mosque?  Madinah al-Islam Mosque.  Muslims account for almost 20% of the local population. There are at least nine major mosques in Trang Province which is on the Malay Peninsula. The Malaysia border is 170 km or just 106 miles to the south. 

Finally, we ride out of town to visit a hilltop temple that is in its final stages of decoration.

An exhausting day.

What about dinner?

I walk to the Night Food Market.  My favorites are grilled chicken and mixed vegetables.

I’m not finished.  I need a souvenir.

At a clothing shop I spot the most outrageous shirt I can find. It’s one of just two in my size.  I buy them both.

This trip to Trang was important for me… an “ice breaker.”  For two years I hadn’t flown anywhere or been anywhere except my apartment in Bangkok or my little getaway at Jomtien Beach. (I’m not complaining!  I know I am fortunate.)  But… Did I lose the energy or the gumption to travel?

The short flights were surprising.  At my destination I just walk off the plane into the airport and out to a taxi.   No Immigration!  No Customs! 

Just wandering around town or making purchases at the Food Court or the Night Market is a delight.  I am in Thailand!

(Is Bangkok Thailand? Is New York the USA?   Is Pattaya/Jomtien Thailand?  Is Miami/Fort Lauderdale the USA?)

Trang town is busy yet calm.  In Thailand you never ever hear a horn beep. In Trang there are almost no other tourists.  I did see a young (Russian?) family one day and one or two foreigners at the mall.  Yet, I feel at home!  Welcome. Comfortable. Relaxed. Safe.  I am home.

 Also, I am illiterate.  I can’t read a sign or write a message or even understand a nearby conversation.  My spoken Thai vocabulary is modest.  I can say Delicious and ask Where’s the bathroom?  I can name the days of the week.  I can count.  I can ask the price and I understand the answer.

The Spicy Soup Lady at the mall? Conversation in Thai.  The Grilled Chicken Lady at the Night Market?  She assumes I don’t speak Thai so she holds up four fingers.  I respond “See sip Baht.”  Forty Baht. 

The shirt lady and the hotel reception staff speak English.  The cleaning staff?  Not so much.  I do my best and they smile.  

Thai people are so generous.  When I do speak a few words, they usually respond, “Put Thai Keng!”  Which means, “You speak Thai very well!”  I smile and respond, “Kop Khun Krop. Thank you.”  Apparently, I have a good accent in Thai.

Yet I Never Lost my New York City Accent. 

But, in Trang… I Found my Travel Mojo!

See ya,

Jan

PS On 16 June, I fly to Bandar Seri Begawan.

FYI  The Clock Tower Keeps Accurate Time.

Questions:   What is a Dugong?

                     Who is Kinaree?