How many provinces have you visited?

[ncr]

Another game in continuation of this (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?t=707). How many of Thailand's Provinces have you been to?

My count is at 75, with only one missing (I won't say which one, unless somebody really wants to know :) ). Can someone beat me?

Come on guys - get your maps out and count. Note: "just passed through" also qualifies under my definition.

And remember: if you go from BKK to Chiang Mai on the road, you will pass Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, Singhburi, Chai Nat, - but NOT Uthai Thani -, Nakhon Sawan, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak, Lampang and Lamphun. If you travel to Chiang Mai by train, you will pass Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Uttaradit, Phrae (> Den Chai), Lampang, Lamphun.

[The Enforcer!]

Sadly, having just counted them up I have only visited 39 provinces.

Must do better.

The Enforcer!

[von Hirschhorn]

Nice sport, I like this sort of listing.
I have to have a closer look at my records but I'll reach you, beating is another thing. Wait a few days.

[GWR]

Approx 61, although I suspect that I've actually passed through short stretches of a few more without realising it. I visited many of them on two traditional Thai 'rot tua' back in 1991-1992, which is one of those Thai-style coach tours where you cover about three provinces in a morning. You also get to watch endless Thai comedy videos, join in the onboard karaoke and stay overnight in temples. You buy endless different local versions of fruit, salty eggs, dried bananas (reputed to put lead in your impotent pencil) candy and khanoms; which you then share with everyone on the bus in an endless snack-attack.

NEVER AGAIN!

[ncr]

You also get to watch endless Thai comedy videos, join in the onboard karaoke and stay overnight in temples. You buy endless different local versions of fruit, salty eggs, dried bananas (reputed to put lead in your impotent pencil) candy and khanoms; which you then share with everyone on the bus in an endless snack-attack.The horror! :eek: (The worst thing being the comedy videos, of course.)

[jpatokal]

Sigh -- for once the lowest score in a travel-related poll (14 +/- 2), although I'm not entirely sure about my count as I don't have a good map handy (eg. what provinces are there along the way from Aranyaprathet to Bangkok?). I need to start flying less and taking trains/buses more..

[ncr]

Sigh -- for once the lowest score in a travel-related poll (14 +/- 2), although I'm not entirely sure about my count as I don't have a good map handy (eg. what provinces are there along the way from Aranyaprathet to Bangkok?). I need to start flying less and taking trains/buses more..Uh-oh, that's pretty low indeed. Shame on you, frequent flyer! :p (Just kidding.)

Well, for Aranyaprathet it depends on how you go there, of course. Usually (like, taking the Chonburi Motorway eastward out of Bangkok) it would just be Chachoengsao, then a bit of Prachin Buri, then Sa Kaeo. However, Bang Na - Trat Highway passes Samut Prakarn first. And if you travel via Rangsit / Thanyaburi (like I once did when I went to Angkor in 2000 by minibus - continuing by pickup from Poipet -) you will also pass through Pathum Thani and Nakhon Nayok before entering Prachin Buri.

[von Hirschhorn]

I had to dive into my archive, consult a few maps but find the solution: 67 on the teller and 9 more to go for the unpredictable future. So far not bad for an insiders out.
For any reader of this thread not familiar with the geography here a list in alphabetical order of all the Changwats, the provinces of Thailand.

Amnat Charoen – Ang Thong – Buri Ram – Chachoensao – Chai Nat – Chaiyaphum – Chanthaburi – Chiang Mai – Chiang Rai – Chon Buri – Chumphon – Kalasin – Kampheng Phet – Kanchanaburi – Khon Kaen – Krabi – Krung Thep – Lampang – Lamphun – Loei – Lop Buri – Mae Hong Son – Maha Sarakham – Mukdahan – Nakhon Nayok – Nakhon Pathom – Nakhon Phanom – Nakhon Ratchasima – Nakhon Sawan – Nakhon Si Thammarat – Nan – Narathiwat – Nong Bua Lum Phu – Nong Khai – Nonthaburi – Pathum Thani – Pattani – Phangnga – Phattalung – Phayao – Petchabun – Phetchaburi – Phichit – Phitsanulok – Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya – Phrae – Phuket – Prachin Buri – Prachup Khiri Khan – Ranong – Ratchaburi – Rayong – Roi Et – Sa Kaeo – Sakon Nakhon – Samut Prakan – Samut Sakhon – Samut Songkhram – Saraburi – Satun – Si Sa Ket – Sing Buri – Songkhla – Suphan Buri – Surrathani – Surin – Tak – Trang – Trat – Ubon Ratchathani – Udon Thani – Uthai Thani – Uttaradit – Yala – Yasothon.

And by the way Nils, I am eager to hear the last one you missing. (sic!)

[ncr]

So, Mr. von Hirschhorn, it seems you come closest to me with your 67?

And by the way Nils, I am eager to hear the last one you missing.Wanna make it into a guessing game?

Well, it's not particularly "off the beaten track", as they say in English. (Like, for example, Mae Hong Son, Phayao, Nan, Uthai Thani, Nong Bua Lamphu, Ranong, Satun - you name'em, I've been there. Also the three crisis provinces - I visited them back in 2001, before the current unrest erupted.)

No, quite to the contrary: actually my missing Changwat is rather popular with tourists. It's in the South of Thailand. No, it's not Phuket. Not Surat Thani (>Ko Samui), either.

But then you have to consider I am not a beach lover. That may have contributed to this changwat being the last one in my puzzle; though it was not really intentional, as the whole thing was a rather random process. :)
For the records: Isaan was the first region to be completed, followed by the Centre and the North.

...not many choices left, it should be easy now - I already told you 7 southern provinces I've been to, and there are only 14 of them.

Of course I'd also like to know your missing 9!

[mdechgan]

My count is at 75, with only one missing (I won't say which one, unless somebody really wants to know :) ). Can someone beat me?


Which one are you missing? I want to know.

I am missing the far extreme provinces such as Loei, Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and the ones near the Cambodian border.

[ncr]

Which one are you missing? I want to know.See my post above. If nobody guesses right (or nobody guesses at all) within the next 5 days, I'll tell you. Promised. ;)

[jpatokal]

No, quite to the contrary: actually my missing Changwat is rather popular with tourists. It's in the South of Thailand. No, it's not Phuket. Not Surat Thani (>Ko Samui), either. But then you have to consider I am not a beach lover.
Krabi? :confused:

[ncr]

Krabi? :confused:Bingo, jpatokal.

And your prize is... uh.... em..... OK, forget it. :D

So now I'm waiting for the names of von Hirschhorn's missing 9!

[von Hirschhorn]

Well Khun NCR,

Krabi me too, also Ranong, Phangnga and Satun. The other provinces in the south I travelled many times long before the uproar.
Chantaburi and Trat, never hit the road beyond Rayong.
My next two missing are in Isaan: Kalasin and Loei. Petchabun is the last one.
As you can see these provinces are without any rail, if so they were on the list long before this game started. However, on day I shall hop on a bus and do a few of them. :D
Next poll: how many airports in Thailand you land or / and take off?

[ncr]

As you can see these provinces are without any rail...Aah, that's why!

By the way, by the way: I can even tell you in how many provinces I travelled by rail. Just have to look it up. I wrote it down somewhere. Not many missing. (Sukhothai and Pattani are two of them.) As for you, I guess you have covered every line of the SRT network up to the last buffer? :D

Next poll: how many airports in Thailand you land or / and take off?Seven. So will you really start that poll? Otherwise I'll do it.

(Seriously.)

[ncr]

Well Khun NCR,

Krabi me too, also Ranong, Phangnga and Satun. The other provinces in the south I travelled many times long before the uproar.
Chantaburi and Trat, never hit the road beyond Rayong.
My next two missing are in Isaan: Kalasin and Loei. Petchabun is the last one.

Well, then go to Loei next time. It's really nice. For the most part it doesn't really look and feel like Isaan - more like a piece of the North transplanted into the Northeast (with all the mountains and so on).... Added advantage: on the way you'll most likely pass through Phetchabun as well!

I can even tell you in how many provinces I travelled by rail. Just have to look it up. I wrote it down somewhere. Not many missing. (Sukhothai and Pattani are two of them.)Picking up on that: I have rode trains in 41 out of 44 provinces that have a rail connection. Including the rather odd trip to Suphanburi. Note: in those 44 I am not counting Nakhon Nayok and Rayong, which are only served by goods trains. (Now, if the Paknam Railway still existed, we could add Samut Prakan....)

Quite a lot (large stretches of the Northern and Southern Line) was at nighttime in a comfy berth of a sleeper train, of course. :)

Missing:

1. Nongkhai (only ever reached Udon by train...),
2. Sukhothai (the Sawankhalok branch), and
3. Pattani (yes, the Hat Yai - Yala line passes through Pattani province, with a station at Khok Pho; and I only travelled from Yala to Sungai Kolok).

[von Hirschhorn]

Unfortunate I did not ride all the existing train links yet, only two missing.
The branch from Surat Thani, no buffer kissing so far at Khirirat Nikhom.
Number two is a bit tricky, no regular passenger service, the goods link from the Eastern seaboard line till Khaeng Koi (if I am right)
However, you don’t need to have it all and on the other hand there’s still plenty free time ahead, thus who knows!
Someone else started the Airport poll already. Well; back to the archive and make a new list

[dick]

35 only, mostly traveling in the North- and N.E. Area.