| Thai Word | Official transliteration | Translation | American Analogue |
| จังหวัด | Cangwat | Province | State |
| อำเภอ | Amphoe | District | County |
| ตำบล | Tambon | Sub-District | Town, Muncipality |
| หมู่บ้าน | Mooban | Village | Village, Subdivision |
| Mooban literally translates "house cluster" and is often shortened to just "Ban" | |||
In Bangkok province, they use slightly different terminology, using เขต/Khet instead of Amphoe and แขวง/Kwaeng instead of Tambon.
This structure makes it very handy when you travel around Thailand. Almost all of the villages have signs that give the name of the village, sub-district, district and province. Because of this you know where you are and how you fit in the big picture.
 | ||
| Sign for the village of Ban Muang, Muang Yai sub-district, Wiang Kaen district, Chiang Rai Province |
This methodology also adds a sense of belonging--the village may be small, but it is also part of something bigger.
However, the challenge is writing addresses, as it will include the street number and name and all of the above elements. This makes for very long addresses.
Points of confusion
It can get very confusing for outsiders, though. The colloquial name used for a place may not actually match its legal name. I remember searching for the city of Chiang Khong on Google maps many years ago. Google would position the map in a rural area, no where near a town, certainly not over the town that I thought of as Chiang Khong. And this is because there is no town named Chiang Khong. Chiang Khong is the name of a district. But people will often use the name of the district to refer to the place where the county offices are.
Our house is located close to the Wiang Kaen district office, so people might refer to it as "Wiang Kaen", but it is actually the village of Ban Muang in the sub-district of Muang Yai. However, the main business district is on the other side of the Ngao River in the village of Lai Ngao in the sub-district of Lai Ngao. So people might refer to either of those places as Wiang Kaen.
It doesn't help that a lot of names are used over and over again. In our district of Wiang Kaen, there are two villages named "River Crossing", one each in adjoining sub-districts, and one of those sub-districts is also named, "River Crossing". "Wiang" is also popular. It is an old Thai term for a place that has a wall or moat around it. "Wiang" is the actual name of the village commonly called Chiang Khong. It is helpful to know these things when you ask for directions, because locals will use the actual village names. (They will also use the names of businesses, not all of which have signs on them, so that may not actually be helpful.)
Where am I?
The good news is, though, that God is not confused by all of this. He knows where we are, having a flawless, built-in GPS system that He has been using since He created this planet. Not only does He know where we are, He knows how we fit in the big picture as well.
Many years ago in the history of Israel, a large number of the people had been removed from their home and brought to live in the Kingdom of Babylon. They were confused. They were in a new place and they did not know their way around. They were lost.
But God knew where they were. He was not confused. He sent a message to these captives in exile by the hand of the prophet Jeremiah:
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT)
God not only knew where they were on the planet, He knew where they were in history. And it all fit into a plan that was much greater than the people in exile could imagine.
So the next time I find myself off the map, or perhaps just in a village where I can't read the signs because they are in another language, I take comfort in the fact that God knows where I am and how I fit in the grand scheme of things.
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