Phitsanulok is 236 miles by road from Bangkok. It is one of the economically most important provinces in the North, serving as a center for commerce, transportation and communication. Covering an area of 4,175 squre miles, the province is divided into 9 districts. Phitsanulok's other name is Song Kwae, meaning town or province of two rivers. Nan River is the main one, running 80 miles across the province. Kwae Noi River (named like the more famous river running through Kanchanaburi) joins the Nan River near Phitsanulok city. This joint river divides Phitsanulok city into two parts, the East and the West Bank. Along both banks of this main transportation artery of the province, people live on houseboats and house rafts. Thousands of these houses lay afloat in the rivers while some are in the swamps along the rivers.