My master notes on the lay of the land — the regions, the cities, and the Bangkok districts.
Part curiosity, part homework: I might move to Bangkok one day, and I want the map in my head
before the plane ticket. The interactive maps are linked at the bottom.
1The four regions
Thailand breaks pretty cleanly into four parts, and each one has its own personality.
The North — mountains and temples
Chiang Mai · Chiang Rai · Sukhothai
The old Lanna kingdom. Cooler air, forested mountains, hundreds of temples, and a slower rhythm than Bangkok.
Chiang Mai is the north's capital in every sense — big enough to live in, small enough to breathe.
This is also Yi Peng lantern-festival country.
A third of Thailand's land and some of its friendliest people. Famous for the spiciest food in the country
(som tum, larb, sticky rice), a strong Lao influence across the Mekong, and a proud local identity.
Korat is the gateway; Khon Kaen the commercial hub; Udon Thani sits near the Laos border.
Central Thailand — the plain and the capital
Bangkok · Ayutthaya · Kanchanaburi · Hua Hin · Pattaya
The Chao Phraya river plain — rice fields, old capitals, and Bangkok in the middle of it all.
Ayutthaya was Siam's capital for 400 years; Kanchanaburi has the River Kwai and Erawan Falls;
Hua Hin is the old royal beach town; Pattaya is the loud one two hours down the coast.
The South — islands and karsts
Phuket · Krabi · Surat Thani · Koh Samui · Hat Yai
Two coasts, two moods: the Andaman side (Phuket, Krabi) with its limestone cliffs, and the Gulf side
(Samui, Phangan, Tao) with its palm-fringed beaches. Hat Yai is the deep south's commercial city,
a stop on the way to Malaysia.
2Bangkok, district by district
Eighteen districts worth knowing, grouped by character. One line each — the full explainers live on the map.