Places In Chumphon Province
The main places of interest and tourist attractions in Chumphon province are listed below, along with definitions of some of the more common terms in Thai place names.
Alternative spellings are given in round brackets - e.g. Koh Lang Ka Jiew: (Koh Rang Kachiu).
Where part of the name is often omitted it is given in square brackets, and is ignored for the alphabetical ordering - e.g. [Hat] Sairee appears under "S".
A A-Z
- Ao:
- "Ao" is Thai for "bay" and comes before the name (e.g. "Ao Bo Mao" is "Bo Mao bay").
- [Hat] Arunothai: (Arunotai)
- Arunothai beach - in Thung Tako district. More about Arunothai...
B A-Z
- Ban: (Baan)
- "Ban" is Thai for "house" or "village" (although the latter is more correctly "Muban") and comes before the name (e.g. "Ban Sapli" is "Sapli village")
- [Ao] Baw Mao: (Bo Mao)
- Baw Mao bay. A bay with a beach about 40km northeast of Chumphon, near Pa Thiew town.
C A-Z
- Chumphon: (Chumpon, Chumporn, Muang Chumphon, Muang)
- The administration centre for Chumphon province, i.e. the "province town", or Muang. It is the gateway to Koh Tao. More about Chumphon town...
D, E, F, G, H A-Z
- Hat: (Had, Haad)
- "Hat" is Thai for "beach" and comes before the name (e.g. "Hat Sairee" is "Sairee beach").
I, J, K A-Z
- Khao:
- "Khao" is Thai for "mountain" and comes before the name (e.g. "Khao Plu" is "Plu mountain")
- Khao Chedi: (Kao Chedi, Khao Jedee, Kao Jedee)
- Temple in Pha Thiew district. A chedi is the bell-shaped construction in a temple - in other parts of Asia it's called a pagoda, stupa or dagoba. More about Khao Chedi...
- Khao Plu:
- Thum Khao Plu Temple and cave are adjacent to the Khao Plu mountain range in Pha Thiew district. You can also see spectacled langur (a type of monkey) here More about Khao Plu cave and temple...
Tham Khao Plu Natural Hot Spa is in Lamae district. More about Khao Plu spa... - Ko: (Koh)
- "Ko" is Thai for "island" and comes before the name (e.g. "Koh Lang Ka Jiew" is "Lang Ka Jiew island").
- Koh Lang Ka Jiew: (Ko Lang Ka Jiew, Koh Rang Kachiu, Ko Rang Kachiu)
- An island near Chumphon. The nests used for bird's nest soup are harvested here. More about Koh Lag Ka Jiew...
- Koh Lawa: (Ko lawa)
- An island close to Chumphon. More about Koh Lawa...
- Koh Ma Prao: (Ko Maphrao)
- An island close to Chumphon with many coconut palms (Ma Prao means coconut). More about Koh Ma Prao...
- Koh Mat Ta: (Ko Mattara, Ko Matra, Koh Mat Tra)
- An island close to Chumphon. More about Koh Mat Ta...
- Koh Ngam Noi: (Ko Ngam Noi, Ko Ng Am Noi)
- An island close to Chumphon. More about Koh Ngam Noi...
- Koh Ngam Yai: (Ko Ngam Yai, Ko Ng Am Yai))
- An island close to Chumphon. More about Koh Ngam Yai...
- Koh Raet:
- An island near Chumphon.
- Koh Samed: (Ko Samed, Koh Samet, Ko Samet)
- There are several islands in Thailand with very similar names - this one is close to Chumphon. More about Koh Samed...
- Koh Tao: (Ko Tao)
- An island, about two hours from Chumphon by speedboat, very popular with scuba divers.
- Kromluang Chumphon: (Khrom Luang Chumphon)
- There are two places of interest - the Shrine Of Kromluang Chumphon Khet Udomsak and the Kromluang Chumphon Royal Warship.
L A-Z
- Lamae:
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Lamae district...
- Lang Suan: (Langsuan)
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Lang Suan district...
M A-Z
- Mu Koh Chumphon: (Mu Ko Chumphon)
- A national park consisting mainly of wetlands and mangrove forest More about Mu Koh Chumphon...
- Muang:
- "Muang" translates roughly as "main province town". The provincial centre may be referred to as simply Muang, or as Muang Whatever-the-province-is, or just the province name. Thus Muang, Muang Chumphon, and Chumphon all mean Chumphon town.
N A-Z
- Noi:
- "Noi" is Thai for "small" or "little" and usually comes after the name (e.g. "Koh Ngam Noi" is "little Ngam island").
O, P A-Z
- Pak Nam:
- "Pak nam" is Thai for "river mouth". ("pak" means "mouth", and "nam" means "water")
- Pak Nam Chumphon:
- The departure point for boats to Ko Tao. About 6km east of Chumphon.
- Pha Thiew: (Pathiu)
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Pha Thiew district...
- Pha Toh:
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Pha Toh district...
- [Ao] Phanang Tak:
- Phanang Tak bay. This large bay situated about 15km northeast of Chumphon has a long beach.
- [Hat] Pharadon Phap:
- A beach near Pak Nam Chumphon.
- Pitsadan: (Phit-Sa Darn)
- A cave in Pha Thiew district More about Pitsadan cave...
Q, R A-Z
- Rup Ror: (Rab Ror, Rupror, Rabror)
- A cave in Tha Sae district. Thap Chareon temple is in the cave. More about Rup Ror cave...
S A-Z
- [Hat] Sairee: (Hat Sairi)
- Sairee Beach is the nearest beach to Chumphon town, about 10km to the east. More about Sairee beach...
- [Hat] Sapli:
- A beach north of Chumphon.
- Sawee:
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Sawee district...
T A-Z
- Tha Lae Thab: (Tha Le Sap)
- A cave in Pha Thiew district More about Tha Lae Thab cave...
- Thap Chareon: (Thep Chareon, Thep Charon)
- A temple in Tha Sae district, situated in Rup Ror cave. More about Thap Chareon temple...
- Tha Sae: (Thasae)
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Tha Sae district...
- Tham [ ถำ ]:
- "Tham" is Thai for "cave" and usually comes before the name (e.g. "Tham Khao Plu" is "Khao Plu cave").
- Thatapao Road: (Tha Thaphao Road)
- The main tourist information and travel services area in Chumphon.
- Thung: (Tung)
- "Thung" is Thai for "field"
- Thung Makham Noi: (Thung Mahkam Noi, Thung Mah Kam Noi)
- A beach south of Chumphon More about Thung Makham Noi...
- Thung Makham Yai: (Thung Mahkam yai, Thung Mah Kam Yai)
- A beach south of Chumphon More about Thung Makham Yai...
- Thung Wua Laen: (Thung Wao Laen, Tung Wue Laen, Thung Wua Laeng)
- A beach north of Chumphon More about Thung Wua Laen...
- Thung Tako:
- A district in Chumphon province. More about Thung Tako district...
U, V, W A-Z
- Wat [ วัด ]:
- "Wat" is Thai for "temple" and comes before the name (e.g. "Wat Po" is "Po temple").
X, Y A-Z
- Yai:
- "Yai" is Thai for "big" or "large" and usually comes after the name (e.g. "Koh Ngam Yaii" is "big Ngam island").
Z A-Z
The Spelling Of Thai Place Names
The Royal Thai General System, or RTGS, is an attempt to standardise the way Thai script is written using the English alphabet. Unfortunately, it is not widely used and this leads to a large variety of spellings for the same place (e.g. Rang Ka-Jiew and Lang Kachiu are the same place).
Here are a few pointers - they might help you work out whether that name on the map (or on that roadsign) could be the place you're looking for:
- An H after a P, T, or K means a "hard" consonant. Sometimes the H may be omitted (note: CH and SH are pronounced like they are in English).
- Some letters (D/T, G/K, B/P, L/R/N, J/CH/SH) seem to be used interchangably. Sometimes one letter may be used, sometimes another (e.g. Trat/Trad are alternative spellings for the Thai coastal province / town near the Cambodian border.
- All sorts of combinations are used to represent Thai vowel sounds. Use your imagination!
- Sometimes syllables are written as separate words, sometimes hyphenated, and sometimes they are combined.
