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About Thailandpeople & culture — climate — flora & fauna Thailand has five geographic and cultural regions, which comprise 76 provinces:
Thailand's main cities Bangkok
Bangkok is the biggest city in Thailand, and a colourful one - known for it's role as country's center of cultural ,industrial , political, commercial activities. In the thai language, Bangkok is known as "Krung Thep Mahanakorn", or "Krung Thep", literally meaning "City of Angels". It was named, in 2008, as the best city in the world by "Travel and Leisure" - and for a good reason. Bangkok evolved from a small Khmer trading post to the 22nd largest city in the world in just a couple hundred years, current reports are estimating it's population to up to 15 million people. Most tourists agree that Bangkok is never boring-you can find here big malls very close to 200-years old village homes and traffic jams and international cuisine restaurants next to Thai classics and golden Buddhist temples. There are three seasons in Bangkok's area , a cool one (by name, you will find it pretty warm, actually), a hot one, and the wet season, the one with the tropical storms. All of them are not too hard to enjoy, but most tourist prefer the November to February season when they choose to travel here. All Thailand's large commercial banks and financial institutions, many of them with over 1 billion dollars in total assets have headquarters here. And Bangkok has been chosen by other Asian companies as well, due to to lower operation costs. Bangkok and Pattaya are the two special administrative areas in Thailand were the citizens vote to choose their governor. Bangkok is subdivided into 50 khet, or districts, which are further divided into 154 kwaeng. Each khet has a chief,which is appointed by Bangkok's elected governor. There was a time when Bangkok was nicknamed "The Venice of the East", because of it's network of canals (or khlongs), but in the modern day most canals have been replaced by streets. Speaking of streets, the infrastructure is being actively rebuilt as the number of cars grows faster and faster, and the traffic jams are beginning to be a nightmare, although extensive work has been done to avoid them, by building expressways (up to 4 levels), tunnels and flyovers as well. Ayutthaya
Located in the Central Plains of Thailand, around 85km north from Thailand's capital city Bangkok, Ayutthaya (or Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya by it's full name) is a world heritage site, a historical city founded by King U-Thong in 1350, once the capital city. It's name has several spellings in English, "Aytthaya" meaning actually "the undefeatable city", name given by King Naresuan the Great when he defeated the Burmese. The Siamese Kingdom (currently known as Thailand) had Ayutthaya as the Capital city for 417 years - with 33 kings ruling the kingdom from this city. Since the Bowring Treaty, from 1855, signed by King Mogkhut, the opening to the western trade and influence has started. Only ruins of that glorious city remain now, and they are , since 1991, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chiang Mai
Fifth-largest city in Thailand, Chiang Mai is located on a plain, and surrounded by mountains and lush countryside. A large number of expats are living here, giving the city a cosmopolitan air, and the surname of "the Rose of the North". Chiang Mai literally means "New Walled City", and it's the longest inhabited settlement, as it was founded in 1296 AD. Chiang Mai has more than 30 temples, in different styles (Burmese, Lanna, Sri Lankan), and from different ages, the most famous being the Buddhist temple Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, located on the Doi Suthep mountain, 13 km away from Chiang Mai. Kanchanaburi
Located at the confluence of the rivers Kwai Yai and Kwai Noi, Kanchanaburi is the capital of Kanchanaburi Province, and it has a population of over 52,000 inhabitants. Tourists are coming here for the beautiful waterfalls and national parks of one of the most beautiful provinces in Thailand. A tourist attraction is also the Bridge over the River Kwai, well-known start of the infamous World War II Death Railway to Burma (Myanmar). Nakhon Ratchasima
Nakhon Ratchasima is the 6th largest city of Thailand, and the provincial capital of Nakhon Ratchasima Province. It can be found 260 km away from Thailand's Capital city, and it's closely related to the Khmer kingdom.The city is well known for the clay pottery products manufactured here, and for museums with both artifacts and sites. Pattaya
Pattaya is a one of the most sought after resorts in Thailand, located on the North Gulf Coast, just 147 km south-east of Bangkok.It is now considered a travel destination for the whole family, and not just by Europeans, but by local Thai, and North and South Asioan tourists.The quality of the beaches has been improved over the past few years, and now over 5 million tourists are visiting Pattaya yearly. More about Pattaya at Pattaya.com Sukhothai
Sukhothai, which translates "the dawn of happiness", is the capital of Sukhothai Province, located near the ruins of the ancient Sukhothai city, the Thai capital during the 13th Century AD. |
