The view beyond
No longer a centre of tin mining, scenic Ban Tha Din Daeng in Phangnga province is forging a new identity
From damaged land after the era of tin mining, Ban Tha Din Daeng in Phangnga province is recovering as a new attraction. At a pond surrounded by mangrove forest, a group of tourists get paddles and jump on the kayak right away. They seem quite happy to be soaking in the nature and warm breeze. After enjoying swimming and kayaking, they end the visit with a yummy seafood meal and mouthwatering salad.
Ban Tha Din Daeng is a rural village. There is no hotel or shopping mall to lure travellers. But you can see visitors keep coming to it.
“The tourists love the nature here,” Bang Roan, or Patiphat Waharak, the leader of a local guide explains about his village. He adds that it took a long way to come this far.
“After mining, the land here was in very bad condition. The soil was totally destroyed. There were no nutrients left for the plants to survive.”
Ban Tha Din Daeng once was a very rich village with two tin mining operators during the 50s. The mining created a number of jobs in the area. Other, non-mining villagers can earn extra money from panning leftover tin dust from streams.
However, easy money did not last forever. When the tin mining concession ended 50 years ago, the villagers found they were left behind with emptiness. Most of them went back to fishing. Meanwhile, there was an attempt to recover the forest that was wiped out by mining.
“We knew it was difficult for reforestation, but we had to try. In late 1999, the villagers grew various trees that could survive on the bad soil or sand, such as cashew-nut and paperbark trees. Yes, our efforts are paying back now.”
He is standing before a young forest that spans over 79 rai. Thick dry leaves cover the sand. The leaves will decompose and add nutrients to the sand. Tree shade keeps the area not too hot during the day.
Bang Roan leads me to a pond that connects to a canal. There are ponds hidden among the forest. They are reminders of the mining ships that once dug all over the plain. Bang Roan gets on a sea kayak in bright colours and paddles through dense mangrove forest.
“In 2004, when the village slowly recovered, the situation turned worse when the whole coast was hit by a tsunami. The killer waves damaged the village’s fishery. Fortunately, the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations] stepped in to support the villagers. Programmes to promote hydroponic vegetable farming and local fisheries were introduced. Vegetables are a big source of income for us,” Bang Roan explains while making his way through the canal on the kayak.
But vegetables are not the magnet that attract tourists to this village.
It is the mangrove forest, abundant seafood and stunning sea that attract tourists. The mangrove forest spans far away on both sides. These forests partly saved the village from the killer waves.
The canal cuts through the forest and links with a bigger canal of Khlong Hin Lat that runs into the Andaman Sea. Bang Roan gets to another side of the big canal, disembarks and leads me through vast grassland.
After walking under bright sun for a kilometre, I find myself right before the stunning azure sea of Thai Muang Beach.
“Beautiful?” Bang Roan asks, knowing that this is a surprise for anyone who walks through the extremely hot and dry grassland.
There is nobody on the sandy beach that stretches kilometres. I sit under the shade of the tree, listening to the sound of waves. The whole beach is very clean and inviting for a swim, like a well-kept gem.
I think Ban Tha Din Daeng has found its way to proceed now.