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Samut Prakan (Thai: สมุทรปราการ) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand, established by an Act which came into force 9 March 1946. It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Neighbouring provinces are Bangkok, to the north and west, and Chachoengsao to the east. Suvarnabhumi Airport is in the Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan Province. Geography: The province is located on the coast on low lying land in the Chao Phraya Delta. It was only populated in recent times as a result of silting up of the Chao Phraya Estuary. History: Samut Prakan province was created during the Ayutthaya period, with its centre at Prapadaeng. As the province lies to the east of the Chao Phraya Estuary it became strategically important and during the reign of King Rama II a series of forts was built. These were involved in the Paknam incident of 13 July 1893, which ended the Franco-Siamese War with a French naval blockade of Bangkok. Tourism: Within such easy reach of Bangkok, Samut Prakan is becoming popular for day trips particularly for locals anxious for some respite from city life. The Ancient City is best known consisting of its Thailand-shaped park with life-sized & scaled-down replicas of prominent buildings & monuments. |