Most of the Kingdom of Thailand (Ratcha-anachak Thai in the Thai language) faces south onto the Gulf of Thailand, an arm of the South China Sea. The country also includes the northern section of the long and narrow Malay Peninsula, which faces both east on the Gulf of Thailand and west on the Andaman Sea, an arm of the Indian Ocean. This page includes lighthouses of the eastern Gulf of Thailand coast; lighthouses of the greater Bangkok area are on the Central Thailand page and lighthouses of the Malay Peninsula are on Southern Thailand: East Coast and Southern Thailand:West Coast pages. Thailand is unique among southeast Asian nations in having maintained its independence throughout the colonial period. As a result the country's lighthouse history is also independent from all of the European traditions. Many of the country's historic lighthouses were built during or shortly after the reign of King Chulalongkorn (1868-1910), who was successful in modernizing the country while avoiding European penetration. In the Thai language the word for a lighthouse is prap̣hākhār (ประภาคาร), ko is an island, hin is a rock or reef, laem is a cape, ao is a bay, and maenam is a river. In Thailand the Gulf of Thailand is called X̀āw thịy. Coastal lighthouses in Thailand are operated and maintained by the Hydrographic Department of the Royal Thai Navy; lighthouses in the Bangkok area are operated and maintained by the Port Authority of Thailand. Special thanks to Andreas Köhler for permission to present his photos and for many useful comments on Thai lighthouses. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. THN numbers, where available, are from the Thai Navy's light list. Admiralty numbers are from volume F of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 112.
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: East: Cambodia | West: Central Thailand
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Posted February 28, 2006. Checked and revised May 11, 2025. Lighthouses: 35. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill