1920] Ridley : Peninsular Siamese Plants. 75 



the principal village of the old state of Kra, now merged in 

 Renong : a couple of miles ahead on the Burmese side we 

 could see the police station and dak bungalow of Marang 

 on a low bare hill. 



From the landing stage backed by a few shops a well- 

 kept bridle path ran through rice-fields, which commenced 

 right behind the Nipas, to the Muang or town of Namchut. 

 Less than a mile inland are the office and house of the 

 Ampurr*^ a neat police station and some shops and houses 

 whence the track and telegraph wire continue northwards 

 to Chumpom and southwards to Renong. Beyond the 

 village is a wat with several wooden bungalows and a large 

 iron-roofed sala, or resting-place, and on a slight hill above 

 it a temple with thirteen images of Buddlia. There is a 

 pretty view from the temple showing the dried-up rice 

 fields, clumps of fruit trees, bamboo, secondary growth 

 and distant hills and forest : and the regular and dense belts 

 of Nipa palms along the river look like raised embank- 

 ments. We woke next morning to find everything drenched 

 with moisture and shrouded in a dense mist which did not 

 disperse until 8 o'clock. 



On the 25th we left the launch at 1.30 p.m. oJ^i a rising 

 tide and rowed up stream sounding as we went. Screens of 

 Nipa hid the country inland : at about 2^2 miles we jDassed 

 Marang dak bungalow on its bare hill and about 2 miles 

 farther up came to the first clear view on the west side — 

 steep banks of earth with the ground running back sharply 

 and level, covered with rice or grass. Above Marang houses 

 become more numerous but many of them are hidden by 

 the Nipas. At about live miles we came to Mamoh on the 

 Siamese bank and from thereon the view became more open 

 over rice fields with houses, low characteristic barns, clumps 

 of trees, palms, bamboos and partially forested low hills. 

 At about 7% miles we reached a substantial landing stage 

 and found a bungalow a hundred yards inshore and also 

 the termination of a good broad earth road coming in from 

 the N.E. This place was Tapli : a village lay half a mile 

 farther up stream and after interviewing the Phu-yai-ban 

 (headman) we set off on our return journey, arriving at the 

 launch at 8 p.m. 



On Feb. 26th we took the launch up river at low tide 

 touching once on a rock in mid-stream: anchored at Mamoh 

 after haJf an hour's journey. From here a track runs to 

 Tapli in about 40 minutes through small forest, scrub, 

 fenced-in houses and gai'dens. On both sides of the river this 

 district is fairly populated and must produce a good deal of 

 rice : it owns elephants and many buffaloes. 



A track southwards runs through ricefields and land 

 enclosed by bamboo fences, barbed wire and euphorbia 

 hedges. There is a modest wat on a small hill. The coun- 

 try, all under rice where irrigable, was now covered with 

 brown and tawny stubble pleasantly contrasting with the 



a District Officer. 



