Udon Thani is one of the four major cities (Khorat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen) of the Isan region, Thailand, (known as the “big four of Isan”). It is the capital of Udon Thani Province. Udon is approximately 560 km from Bangkok. Udon is a major official and commercial center in northern Isan, Thailand, and the gateway to Laos, northern Vietnam, and southern China. Some of the revenue from tourism is related to tourists going to and/or coming from the archaeological site Ban Chiang (forty-seven kilometres from the city).
The city’s economy was boosted by the proximity to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base during the Vietnam War and retains reminders of that time in the form of bars, coffee shops, and hotels. “Udon sort of became like Pattaya when the GIs arrived,” said a local architect. “Restaurants serving Western cuisine, hotels and nightclubs sprouted up everywhere to meet their needs. It was an extremely busy city back then.”
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 of fertilizer.
Udon Thani has three Tesco Lotus stores, two Big C malls, a Makro, and three large shopping malls. The largest shopping mall is CentralPlaza Udon Thani which hosts Udon Thani’s largest movie theatre cinema Major Cineplex. CentralPlaza Udon Thani was reopened 27 March 2012 after a massive renovation and expansion. Landmark Plaza has the second largest cineplex in Udon Thani, SF Cinema City. The shopping mall, UD Town, opened in winter 2009. In a park-like setting on an area of 38,000 m² (24 rai), UD Town is Thailand’s largest open air shopping center (Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok may possibly come a close second in size).
[caption id="attachment_231463" align="aligncenter" width="466"] Josephus - Fictional portrait in William Whinston's English translation of 'Antiquitates'[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Titus Flavius Josephus was a first-century Romano-Jew...
