Southern Region is the fourth and last region of
Thailand’s Administrative Regional System.
The Southern Region of Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, bounded to
the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. While on the east side river plains dominate,
the western part has much steeper coasts. The southern region of Thailand lies between
the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean to the west and the South China Sea of the
Pacific Ocean to the west. Tapi located in Surat Thani is the largest river on
the south. Combined with the Phum Duang River,
it drains more than 10% of the total area of Southern Thailand. While the northern most part of the peninsula
was under direct control of Bangkok, deeper south belonged to the Malay sultanates
of Pattani and Kedah. Hat Yai City for
Lower Southern, Surat Thani City for Upper Southern and Phuket City for West coast
Southern are the regional economic hubs of the region. Although parts of the west coastal area of
Thailand were hit hard by the tsunami of December 2004, but all infrastructures
have long since been repaired, and with the growing of tourists during recent years has brought rapid development of accommodations and facilities to
cater to tourists and visitors.
Krabi
Southern Thailand is climatically split into the
south east and the south west. Each
section is affected by a different monsoon through the year, thus regardless of
where you're in southern part of Thailand; you'll be able to get a chuck of
good weather somewhere. On the west coast region (Phuket), the monsoon period that
brings heavy rains is from May to September. November to February is the
monsoon period for the northeastern (Chumporn province).
The landscapes of southern region are ranging from basin areas for cultivation
of paddy and vegetables, wild jungles, mountains, beaches, seaside resorts,
waterfalls, caves, lakes, beaches and islands of all sizes, the Southern
Peninsula offers spectacular scenery throughout. Although this southern region is covered with
tropical dense rain forests; however, the natural beauty attracts fame to this
region is its abundant beaches and islands which are scattered all throughout
the region.
Wat Chedi Phra Baromathat in Nakhon Si Thammarat
Unsurprisingly seafood features prominently on the
menu for this southern region. While the traditional southern Thai food
includes milder coconut-milk based curries popularly associated with Thailand;
the dry, Malaysian-influenced Panaeng curry and Indian-influenced Massaman
(Muslim) curry with potatoes and nuts. The region also offers a wide variety of
international cuisines in the many resort towns. Visited by millions of overseas tourists
every year, this southern region often becomes a home to many expats.
If Southern region of Thailand is your next travel destination, be prepared to enjoy the wide variety of water sports this region has to offer, such as scuba diving, snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, yachting, cruising and many more.
The south consists of 14 provinces, occupying an
area of about 70,715 square kilometers. The famous Phuket, Samui, Phi Phi,
Krabi and Phangnga are located in the southern part of Thailand.
1. Chumphon ชุมพร
2. Krabi กระบี่
3. Nakhon
Si Thammarat นครศรีธรรมราช
4. Narathiwat นราธิวาส
5. Pattani ปัตตานี
6. Phang
Nga พังงา
7. Phatthalung พัทลุง
8. Phuket ภูเก็ต
9. Ranong ระนอง
10. Satun สตูล
11. Songkhla สงขลา
12. Surat
Thani สุราษฎร์ธานี
13. Trang ตรัง
14. Yala ยะลา
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Thailand
http://www.travelfish.org/region/thailand/southern_thailand
http://thailand.com/travel/overview/overview_south.htm
http://www.tuktukaonang.com/2012/10/krabi-province-thailand/
http://blogs.siambackpack.com
http://www.travelblog.org
