There are 77 provinces (jung1wat2 จังหวัด) in Thailand . . . actually, considering the large concentrated Thai population in Los Angeles, many joke LA is the 78th province of Thailand.

(note to reader: There were originally 76 provinces, and LA was referred to as the 77th in both movies and literature. But as of 2010 Bueng Karn has become the official 77th province.)

A province in Thailand is somewhat like a state in the US, in that each province has its own governor and representatives. But the Thai government is very top heavy, with the majority of power centralized in Bangkok. The provinces are as such politically subservient and dependent on Bangkok.

The government chain from the top to bottom is defined as:
Country -> province -> district -> precinct/subdivision -> village
ประเทศ bra2tet3 -> จังหวัด jung1wat2 -> อำเภอ um1per1-> ตำบล dtum1bon1-> หมู่บ้าน muu2baan3
A full chart of all divisions can be found here.

As there are 77 Thai provinces, I’m going to limit this article to those we actually care about. For example, who cares about Idaho or Nebraska, anyway? Thailand has plenty of Nakorn Nowheres, too. In the following list, you’ll see the Thai spelling, phonetic spelling with tone numbers, the actual name in (parenthesis), and what’s special about it in [brackets]. I chose the provinces based on which you’ll most likely go to and hear about.

Central
กรุงเทพฯ grung1thep3 (Bangkok) [capital]
ลพบุรี lop4bu2ree1 (Lopburi) [monkey temple]
สุโขทัย su2ko5tai1 (Sukhothai) [old city (it’s very northern for a central province!)]
พิษณุโลก pe4su2nu4lok3 (Phitsanulok) [nice nature areas]
สมุทรปราการ sa2mut4braa1gaan1 (Samut Prakan) [south of Bangkok, closest beach to Bangkok]

East
ชลบุรี chon1bu2ree1 (Chonburi) [beaches, Pattaya is here]
ระยอง ra4yawng1 (Rayong) [islands and beaches]
ตราด dtraat2 (Trat) [islands and beaches]

North East/Isaan
นครราชสีมา na4kon1raa3cha4see5maa1 (Nakhon Ratchasima) [largest province, waterfalls and nature, farms]
บุรีรัมย์ bu2ree1ram1 (Buriram) [ancient Khmer ruins]
สุรินทร์ su2ren1 (Surin) [elephant festival]
อุบลราชธานี u2bon1raat3cha1taa1nee1 (Ubon Ratchathani) [nature, national parks]
ขอนแก่น kawn5gaen2 (Khon Kaen) [very populous, they tell me it has the most beautiful women haha]
อุดรธานี u2don1taa1nee1 (Udon Thani) [an old historical city with lots of sights]
เลย loy1 (Loei) [has the famous pee dta kon and the bang fai festivals]
ร้อยเอ็ด roy4ed2 (Roi Et) [known for vote buying]

North
เชียงใหม่ chiang1mai2 (Chiang Mai) [major northern city]
เชียงราย chiang1rai2 (Chaing Rai) [very old city, now has hill tribes]
แม่ฮ่องสอน mae3hawng3sawn5 (Mae Hong Son) [lots of cheap shopping at Burmese border]

South
กระบี่ gra2bee2 (Krabi) [it’s a popular tourist island with beaches]
พังงา pang1ngaa1 (Phang Nga) [cliff islands and beaches]
ภูเก็ต puu1get2 (Phuket) [it’s a famous tourist island with beaches]
สุราษฎร์ธานี su2raat3da2taa1nee1 (Surat Thani) [islands and beaches]
สงขลา song5klaa5 (Songkhla) [one of three provinces with southern insurgency]

West
กาญจนบุรี gaan1ja2na4bu2ree1 (Kanchanaburi) [The Bridge over River Kwai – a famous WW2 Japanese bridge]