These days, there are about 80 families who live here, in the fishing village built on the water.
Bang Pat used to be called Baan Bang Ling, meaning monkey, because of the large number of them in the area. Now, people have replaced the monkeys, who scrambled off into the forest once development occured.
The name eventually changed to Bang Pat, which translates to “developed”. Because Bang Pat is far away from Phang Nga city, the community is largely left to their own devices without much help from the government, so must develop the area themselves.
There are 12 homestays here now to welcome visitors, but the Hutsanee family set up the first one many years ago.
Mhaad Hutsanee told me that one day a family arrived in the area at midday and the children were hungry. They asked his mother where they could buy food, or if there was a restaurant around, but there was nothing.
So his mother cooked fresh seafood for them for free, and then word of mouth spread about the beauty of Bang Pat. Soon, Mr Mhaad’s mother was running a business selling cheap food, and eventually he and his wife Aree Hutsanee decided to open a restaurant with a homestay, called Bang Pat Homestay.