A waterway that runs between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Already a busy waterway in ancient times, it is said to be the busiest waterway in the world today.

The Thais have long dreamed of cutting the East-West trade route short by digging a canal through Southern Thailand. If this project is brought to fruition, the canal would probably be the third largest in the world after the Suez canal and the Panama canal.