Nong Khai - History

History

See also the Haw wars, memorialized by the monument before the Old City Hall (now a museum and cultural center); and, down by the Mekong, by Wat Angkhan (Thai: วัดอังคาร), which is Pali for Ashes of the Dead, as well as for Mars, the planet that the Romans named for their God of War. Nearby, the city maintains the lovely little Garden of Sorrows (Thai: สวนโศกเศร้า), with signs signifying this is where widows came to grieve.

In more recent years, Nong Khai has become a popular destination, with full Tourism Authority of Thailand th:การท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย and local backing, during the Buddhist Lent festival when mysterious balls of light, or Naga fireballs, rise from the Mekong river. The balls resemble an orange sun, rise out of the river approximately 20 to 30 feet and disappear after three to five seconds. Although the fireballs can be seen at other times, most Thais travel to see them during the full moon in October when the incidence of them is considered to be much higher.

Read more about this topic:  Nong Khai

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    The only history is a mere question of one’s struggle inside oneself. But that is the joy of it. One need neither discover Americas nor conquer nations, and yet one has as great a work as Columbus or Alexander, to do.
    —D.H. (David Herbert)

    Let it suffice that in the light of these two facts, namely, that the mind is One, and that nature is its correlative, history is to be read and written.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    The principle that human nature, in its psychological aspects, is nothing more than a product of history and given social relations removes all barriers to coercion and manipulation by the powerful.
    Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)