Ko Kret

Ko Kret (Thai: เกาะเกร็ด, pronounced [kɔ̀ʔ krèt]) is a small island in the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province. It is some 3 km (1.9 mi) long and 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. It has seven main villages, the largest and most populous being Ban Mon. The island is served by ferries.

Ko Kret
Native name:
เกาะเกร็ด
Leaning pagoda of Wat Paramai Yikawat
Geography
LocationChao Phraya River
Coordinates13.9069362,100.4733154
Coastline13 km (8.1 mi)
Administration
Thailand
Demographics
Population6,174 (2012 Census)
Ethnic groupsThai, Mon

History

Ko Kret was created in the reign of King Thai Sa in 1722. The King wanted to solve the problems with the duration of the water transportation and the sailing delay. Moreover, he wanted to develop economy of the Ayutthaya period. So, he tried to solve the problem by the digging of a canal to bypass a meander in the Chao Phraya river.[1] The digging of the canal was a success that made sailing faster. During this period people called the canal Klong-Lat-Kret-Noi. Thereafter, people began to call it Klong-Lat-Kret and the beginning of the canal or the mouth of the canal was called the Pak Kret. With time passing, Klong-Lat-Kret was eroded by the tide until it became a river. The land area at the peninsula that was the same as island called Ko Sala Kun.[2][3]

Ko Kret has thrived since the Ayutthaya period because the temple on the island were the main art of Ayutthaya. But when the Burmese occupied the city, the island was deserted. After salvage of independence, King Taksin allowed Mon people to settle down on Ko Kret. Later, when Pak Kret was set the name of the district and the sub-district, Ko Kret was set as the name of the district until now.[3][4]

Administration

Central administration

Ko Kret also has a status of one of 12 tambons (sub-districts) of Amphoe Pak Kret subdivided into seven administrative villages

No. Name Thai
01.Ban Lat Kret (Ban Mon)บ้านลัดเกร็ด (บ้านมอญ)
02.Ban Sala Kun Nokบ้านศาลากุลนอก
03.Ban Sala Kun Naiบ้านศาลากุลใน
04.Ban Khlong Sa Nam Oiบ้านคลองสระน้ำอ้อย
05.Ban Tha Namบ้านท่าน้ำ
06.Ban Sao Thong Thongบ้านเสาธงทอง
07.Ban Ong Angบ้านโอ่งอ่าง

Local administration

The area of the sub-district is shared by local government.

  • the subdistrict administrative organization (SAO) Ko Kret (องค์การบริหารส่วนตำบลเกาะเกร็ด)[5]

Tourism

Despite being only a small island that is the residence of Mon, Ko Kret has six temples, one of which is a deserted temple, one masjid, two schools, and one hospital. The most prominent temple is Wat Paramai Yikawat, an ancient Mon temple on the banks of the Chao Phraya river. The most notable thing of this temple is a leaning white Mon style chedi at the corner of the island where the Chao Phraya river and Lat-Kret with Om-Kret meet. It is considered a landmark of Ko Kret.[6] [7]

At present, Ko Kret is promoted as a cultural tourism destination of Nonthaburi. Visitors will experience the way of life of locals and learn about pottery making which is their main occupation, or renting a bicycle to ride around the island without any time limit. Moreover, still have the opportunity to sample many rare foods which is mostly Mon food such as khao chae, fried flower and thot man no kala, a variation of Thai fishcake, that mixed no kala (Alpinia nigra). It is a local food that is not found in other places. [8]

Ko Kret is accessible from many ferry routes such as from Wat Sanam Nuea to the pier in front of Wat Paramai Yikawat or from pier under the Rama IV Bridge to pier between Wat Phai Lom and Wat Paramai Yikawat etc.[9]

Ko Kret is open for visitors only on Saturday–Sunday and public holiday from 9:00 am to 05:30 pm. [8]

gollark: MBTI vaguely beeoid?
gollark: Fascinating. I have not picked an NEA topic.
gollark: Ah yes, "coursework".
gollark: I'll assign a few more Apiaristic Intelligences to jabu parsing.
gollark: I rewound it but somehow it kept doing exactly the same thing.

See also

References
  1. "Koh Kret". Bangkok Post. n.d. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  2. Chansongsaeng, Weerasak. หลังม่านต้นไม้ [Behind tree curtain] (in Thai). ISBN 974-92952-4-2.
  3. "เที่ยวเกาะเกร็ด เกาะกลางลำน้ำเจ้าพระยา" [Travel Ko Kret, the island in the mid Chao Phraya river] (in Thai). October 16, 2017.
  4. "ประวัติตำบลเกาะเกร็ด" [History of tambon Ko Kret] (in Thai). October 16, 2017.
  5. "ข้อมูลหมู่บ้านในตำบลเกาะเกร็ด" [Information of villages in Ko Kret sub-district]. Kohkred-sao.go.th (in Thai).
  6. "WAT PORAMAIYAKAWAS". TAT. n.d. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  7. "วัดในเกาะเกร็ด" [Temples in Ko Kret] (in Thai). Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  8. "เดินเล่นใน "เกาะเกร็ด" ชมวิถีชีวิตริมแม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา" [Stroll in "Ko Kret" experience lifestyle of Chao Phraya riverside] (in Thai). August 16, 2017.
  9. feelthai (2017-08-14). "วิธีไปเกาะเกร็ดจากท่าเรือใต้สะพาน" [How to go Ko Kret from pier under the bride] (in Thai). Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  • Ko Kret travel guide from Wikivoyage
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