History
47 km east of Udon Thani is Thailand's premier Bronze Age excavation at Ban Chiang, the world-renowned archaeological site.
Although there are few attractions in the city for most travellers, there are a few interesting Buddhist temples. Within a few kilometers of Udon Thani is Wat Pa Baan That, which was home for many years to Forest Meditation monk Luangta Maha Bua, known for his philanthropic endeavors such as accumulating gold and giving it to the National Treasury to benefit Thailand's citizens during the economic crisis of the late 1990s. It is said that over the course of his tenure at this temple over $550 million (USD) was collected for the benefit of Thai citizens, be it directly or via building of hospitals and clinics. Ajahn Maha Bua died in January 2011.
The city became a bustling support center for the nearby Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base during the Vietnam War and so retains reminders of that time, with bars coffee shops and hotels.
In the mid-1900s, about 46,700 Vietnamese war refugees immigrated to Udon Thani. Their descendants still reside in Udon Thani and communicate with each other in Vietnamese. Today, Udon Thani has the largest Vietnamese community in all of Thailand.
It also became the site of a Voice of America relay station alleged to have been a CIA black site.
Asia Pacific Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Italian-Thai Development PLC, owns the concession to the Udon Thani potash mines and plans to develop them. According to press reports, Udon Thani has enough potash to mine two million tonnes per year for 25 years. Potash is one of the main components in fertilizer.
Read more about this topic: Udon Thani
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“It is true that this man was nothing but an elemental force in motion, directed and rendered more effective by extreme cunning and by a relentless tactical clairvoyance .... Hitler was history in its purest form.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“The history of our era is the nauseating and repulsive history of the crucifixion of the procreative body for the glorification of the spirit.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“History, as an entirety, could only exist in the eyes of an observer outside it and outside the world. History only exists, in the final analysis, for God.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)