Betong is a town (thesaban mueang) in southern Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, near the boundary to Malaysia. It is the capital of Betong district

Amphoe Betong

Betong is the southernmost district of Yala Province, southern Thailand.-Geography:Betong is located at the boundary to Malaysia. To the north is Than To, to the east Chanae . To the south is the Malayian state of Perak, to the west Kedah.-History:In the past time, this area was under Mueang...

, the southernmost district of Yala Province

Yala Province

Yala is the southernmost province of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat. Yala is the only land-locked province in the south of Thailand...

. As of 2005, the town has a population of 24,688.

Betong is the southernmost town of Thailand. Across the Malaysia-Thailand border

Malaysia-Thailand border

The Malaysia-Thailand border consists of both a land boundary across the Malay Peninsula and maritime boundaries in the Straits of Malacca and the Gulf of Thailand/South China Sea. Malaysia lies to the south of the border while Thailand lies to the north...

 by the Keroh pass is the state of Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

. Betong is popular with tourists from nearby Malaysia.

Etymology

The name Betong is actually the Thai

Thai language

Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...

 corruption of Betung, its original Malay

Malay language

Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 name means 'bamboo'.

History

The town was created as a local administration unit on September 30, 1939, when the subdistrict municipality (thesaban tambon) was set up. The town was upgraded to thesaban mueang status on February 20, 2004.

Cuisine

Betong is also famous for her wonderful and gastronomic cuisine at an affordable price. A variety of Thai, Ethnic Chinese & Malay food has become a favourite to visitors especially from Malaysia.http://j2kfm.blogspot.com/2008/07/betong-town-right-over-border-part-1.html