Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima district

Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima (Thai: อำเภอเมืองนครราชสีมา)(Amphoe Mueang) is one of 32 districts of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Northeastern Thailand. Including the center city of district is City of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Introduction

Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima is an ancient city. The present city was built in the reign of King Narai the Great of Ayutthaya kingdom. The king merged the two ancient cities, Mueang Sema and Mueang Khorakha Pura (Khorat) and moved to the present area. He named the new city Nakhon Ratchasima and set it as the eastern frontier city of Ayutthaya. The landscape and city planning of Nakhon Ratchasima city designed by French architect.

The city of various Khmer ruins and the famous statute of Khun Ying Mo named Nakhon Ratchasima or commonly known as "Khorat" is situated on Khorat plateau, the lower part of Northeastern plateau of Thailand. The city itself serves as the gateway to the Northeastern Region. From Bangkok, it is 259 km. by car and 264 km by train. It has and area 755.60 km² or about 468,704 rai (185,311 acre) with residential registration population 429,853 inhabitants(2007 census).

Geography

Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Non Thai, Non Sung, Chaloem Phra Kiat, Chok Chai, Pak Thong Chai, Sung Noen and Kham Thale So.

The main river through the district is the Lam Takhong.

Transportation

Car

Travelling by car from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima is most convenient, there are three alternative routes to choose depending on the starting point in Bangkok.

• First route Phahon Yothin highway Template:TNR passing Don Muang Airport, Wang Noi, till arriving Saraburi. At Saraburi, turns right along Mittraphap Highway Template:TNR which finally leads to Nakhon Ratchasima. The total distance of this route is 256 km.
• Second route Ram Inthra Road Template:TNR via Min Buri, Chachoengsao, Phanom Sarakham, Kabin Buri, Pak Thong Chai and finally Nakhon Ratchasima. The total distance is 273 km. This alternative route is a little longer in distance but interesting towns and cities passing is a worth compensation.
• Third route Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road Template:TNR passing Thanyaburi, Ongkharak to Nakhon Nayok. From Nakhon Nayok, take Suwannason Road Template:TNR to Kabin Buri and turn left along Kabin Buri-Nakhon Ratchasima Road Template:TNR passing Pak Thong Chai to Nakhon Ratchasima.

Bus

There are several air-conditioned (Coach Standard-1 and 2) buses leaving from the Northeastern Bus Terminal (Kampaeng Phet 2 Road) to Nakhon Ratchasima Bus Terminal 1 (Burin Rd.) and 2 (Mittraphap Rd.) with 3 service agencies; Air Korat Pattana, Ratchasima Tour and Suranaree Air. Air-conditioned buses leave every 20 minutes throughout 24 hours.

Train

There are several trains leaving Bangkok Railway Station (Hua Lampong) daily to the two major train stations (Nakhon Ratchasima And Thanon Chira train stations) in the city.

Administration

The district is subdivided into 25 subdistricts (tambon) with 27 local administration.

There are contains 9 municipalities, which 1 city municipality (thesaban nakhon) - City of Nakhon Ratchasima or Korat City covers the whole area of Nai Mueang subdistrict (tambon) and parts of Ban koh subdistrict, the 8 township municipalities (thesaban tambon) - Pho Klang covers whole area of Pho Klang subdistrict, Hua Thale covers whole area of Hua Tale subdistrict, Nong Phai Lom covers whole area of Nong Phai Lom subdistrict, Cho Ho covers parts of Cho Ho subdistricts and parts of Ban Koh subdistrict, Khok Sung covers whole area of Khok Sung subdsitrict, Paru Yai covers whole area of Paru Yai subdistrict, Khok Kruat covers parts of Khok Kruat subdistrict, Nong Khai Nam covers whole area of Nong Khai Nam subdistrict.

	Local Admin. Unit	Type	Subdistricts	Population (2007 census)	Area (km²)	Distance To District Office(km.)	Pop.density (inh. per km²)	House Hold (unit)
1.	City of Nakhon Ratchasima	Municipality	Nai Mueang, Ban Koh	146,201	37.50	1.3	3,899	58,955
2.	Pho Klang	Municipality	Pho Klang	24,815	55.23	13	449	9,069
3.	Hua Thale	Municipality	Hua Thale	22,903	18.43	8	1,243	9,356
4.	Nong Phai Lom	Municipality	Nong Phai Lom	21,004	17.89	3	1,174	10,231
5.	Cho Ho	Municipality	Cho Ho	14,421	9.50	7	1,518	6,732
6.	Khok Sung	Municipality	Khok Sung	9,322	30.56	15	305	2,768
7.	Paru Yai	Municipality	Paru Yai	8,889	16.63	12	740	3,621
8.	Khok Kruat	Municipality	Khok Kruat	7,132	3.00	18	2,377	2,748
9.	Nong Khai Nam	Municipality	Nong Khai Nam	6,678	43.44	22	154	1,407

And 18 Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) - Ban Koh, Ban Mai, Ban Pho, Chai Mongkhon, Cho Ho, Khok Kraut, Maroeng, Muen Wai, Nong Bua Sala, Nong Chabok, Nong Krathum, Nong Rawiang, Phanao, Phon Krang, Putsa, Si Num, Suranaree and Talat responsible for the non-municipal areas.

	Local Admin. Unit	Type	Subdistricts	Population (2007 census)	Area (km²)	Distance To District Office(km.)	Pop.density (inh. per km²)	House Hold (unit)
1.	Ban Mai	SAO	Ban Mai	17,069	19.55	12	873	5,400
2.	Suranaree	SAO	Suranaree	15,674	49.90	18	314	5,781
3.	Nong Bua Sala	SAO	Nong Bua Sala	14,776	36.61	8	404	7,031
4.	Khok Kruat	SAO	Kok Kruat	12,072	64.17	14	188	4,224
5.	Cho Ho	SAO	Cho Ho	11,478	26.97	13	426	3,809
6.	Nong Rawiang	SAO	Nong Rawiang	10,531	54.77	15	192	2,978
7.	Nong Chabok	SAO	Nong Chabok	10,482	23.56	5	445	3,934
8.	Ban Koh	SAO	Ban Koh	9,744	11.30	5	862	3,568
9.	Muen Wai	SAO	Muen Wai	9,590	9.76	5	983	4,027
10.	Putsa	SAO	Putsa	9,296	39.46	11	236	2,443
11.	Ban Pho	SAO	Ban Pho	8,597	44.36	18	194	2,851
12.	Maroeng	SAO	Maroeng	6,686	10.25	9	652	1,938
13.	Nong Krathum	SAO	Nong Krathum	6,359	18.50	8	344	2,188
14.	Si Mum	SAO	Si Mum	6,164	15.0	14	411	1,664
15.	Chai Mongkhon	SAO	Chai Mongkhon	6,067	60.18	15	101	2,252
16.	Tatat	SAO	Talat	5,204	22.20	15	234	1,742
17.	Phanao	SAO	Phanao	4,783	18.16	8	263	1,362
18.	Phon Krang	SAO	Phon Krang	3,911	18.65	16	208	1,037

External links

• Official Site of 24th Southeast Asian Games Nakhon Ratchasima 2007, SEA Games