Thai Red Cross Society, Khao Lan

Khao Lan, in Khlong Yai district near Thailand’s Cambodian border, is where the Thai Red Cross Society ran a Cambodian-refugee relief operation from 1979 to 1986 — not a working aid office, and not on the Myanmar border. Queen Sirikit, Patroness of the Thai Red Cross, granted royal approval on 26 May 1977 to establish the site; over the following years it sheltered, fed, and treated tens of thousands of people fleeing the Khmer Rouge collapse and the Vietnamese invasion. The former camp is now a museum, free to enter, open Thursday-Monday 09:00-15:30 (closed Tuesday-Wednesday).

The museum building, “Sala Rachagurun” (Hall of Royal Compassion), blends Thai and modern design under a glass-topped golden dome — the architecture itself won recognition as Trat province’s outstanding design of the year. Princess Sirindhorn laid the cornerstone in 1992, and Queen Sirikit opened it on 26 May 1994, marking the anniversary of the camp’s founding. Inside, photographs, artwork, mannequins, and belongings that refugees carried with them document what the camp looked like during the crisis years, alongside displays on the Thai Red Cross’s medical and humanitarian response. It’s a small, specific museum — closer in scale to a provincial heritage room than a national institution — but the story it tells is a real and significant chapter of Thailand’s regional history that most visitors to the eastern seaboard never hear about.

Insider Tip: Trat’s tourist trail runs almost entirely to Koh Chang and Koh Kood; Khao Lan sits well off that route in Khlong Yai, close to the Hat Lek border crossing into Cambodia. If you’re already heading that way — or crossing the border overland — it’s a worthwhile stop that most Trat itineraries skip entirely.

Beyond the museum, Khao Lan still functions as an active Red Cross training and retreat ground, with hiking trails, a herb garden, camping ground, and a beach available to book directly with the center. That side of the site is unrelated to the museum hours above and runs on its own booking schedule.

Watch out: public transport to Khlong Yai is thin — the practical way in is by car or booked transfer from Trat town or Trat Airport, roughly an hour’s drive. Confirm the Thursday-Monday schedule before making the trip, since it’s the opposite pattern to most Thai museums that close Mondays.