Chumphon
Chumphon is a town in southern Thailand, capital of the Chumphon Province and Mueang Chumphon District. The city is about 463 kilometers from Bangkok. As of 2018 it had a population of around 33,600. The town covers the commune Tha Taphao completely and parts of tambons Bang Mak, Wang Phai, Na Thung, Tak Daet, and Khun Krathing. Its main economic activity is agriculture.
History
Chumphon volunteers fought invading Japanese during World War II. Chumphon became a rail hub for Imperial Japan. It was a station on the Southern Line and connected to the short-lived Kra Isthmus Railway.Geography
Chumphon lies just inland from the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand. To the west are the northern hills of the Phuket Range, a subrange of the Tenasserim Hills. These hills reach in the area near Chumphon. There are also many smaller peaks in the area in the range of to high.Climate
Chumphon has a tropical monsoon climate just falling short of a tropical rainforest climate. Temperatures are hot throughout the year. The period from December to April has relatively less rainfall than from May to November, when rainfall can be very heavy, particularly in October and November.Transport
- Bus: There is a small bus system within the city itself. Trains and buses run to and from Bangkok every day.
- Road: The main road through Chumphon is Thailand Highway 4, also known as Phetkasem Road, leading north to Bangkok, and south to Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang, Phatthalung, and the border with Malaysia near Sadao.
- Rail: The Chumphon railway station is on the Southern Line of the State Railway of Thailand. Trains also stop at Pathio railway station in Chumphon Province.
- Air: The city's airport, Chumphon Airport is 30 km north in Pathio District. The airport has daily flights to Bangkok.
Popular culture
- In the science fiction novel, The Chronoliths, Chumphon is the landing site of the first.