Thailand's dim sum coast — caves, islands, and the best breakfast in the south
Trang province is the section of Thailand's Andaman coast that international tourists skip, mostly to the benefit of those who find it. The provincial capital is a Chinese-influenced market town famous across Thailand for its morning dim sum culture — a culinary legacy of Hakka Chinese settlers. Offshore, the Trang Islands scatter across clear water from Ko Ngai to Ko Libong (a dugong sanctuary), all reachable by longtail from Pak Meng pier, all significantly less visited than their Krabi equivalents.
Trang was on the ancient Indian Ocean tin trade route since at least the 1st century BCE. Hakka Chinese immigrants arrived in significant numbers in the 19th century to work the tin mines, bringing the dim sum breakfast culture that still defines the town's mornings. Trang's most famous son is Chuan Leekpai, Thailand's prime minister for two terms (1992–95, 1997–2001), credited with guiding the country through the 1997 Asian financial crisis.