Pullman Khao Lak Resort is set to open its doors on December 1 this year, as it readies to present a new vision for hospitality in Phang Nga inspired by art, culture and nature. Located on Bang Muang Beach at the northern tip of the province, Pullman Khao Lak embraces the history of Takua Pa, a town relatively undiscovered despite its status in the 13th century during Srivijaya times as the finest harbour on the west coast. Trade flooded into the town across the Indian Ocean due to shipping routes forged with the Tamil kingdoms and it prospered from the deep source of minerals and tin found inland. By the 1900s it was a booming town full of Portugese and Chinese immigrants, with the iconic architecture of this era remaining to this day. Takua Pa was a cultural melting pot, very much like Phra Nakhon was in Bangkok, and with it came a treasure trove of art, artifacts and culinary creations utilizing the healthy spice turmeric, or kammin in Thai, found in plentiful supply in the area. Behind the town is Khao Sok National Park, a majestic green cloak stretching across 739 sq-km of land, 30-minutes from the resort. It is one of the world's most ancient evergreen forests, featuring soaring limestone cliffs, colossal indigenous trees of hundreds of years old, Cheow Lan Lake and an extraordinary biodiversity of birds, reptiles and other animals offering unparalleled nature trekking and elevated routes for cycling. It is the cultural history of Takua Pa and the astounding natural beauty of Khao Sok that have intersected to inspire Pullman Khao Lak, bound together by the warm and authentic southern Thai service culture in an area where people refer to themselves as "peuan" or friend in local dialect.