Udon Thani

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Udon Thani
อุดรธานี
Thani
City Municipality
Udon Thani
Udon Thani
Coordinates: 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.750°E / 17.417; 102.750Coordinates: 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.750°E / 17.417; 102.750
Country Thailand
Government
 • Type City
Population (2012 August)
 • Total 315,329
 • Density 361/km2 (930/sq mi)
Time zone Thailand (UTC+7)
Postcode 41000
Songthaew in Udon Thani
Udon Thani International Airport

Udon Thani (Thai: อุดรธานี, pronounced [ʔudɔːn tʰaːniː]) is a city in Isan, north-east Thailand, and the capital of Udon Thani Province.

Location

The province of Udon Thani has a population of 1,544,786; the city alone has 399,535. Geographical location 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.750°E / 17.417; 102.750 and is approximately 560 km from Bangkok. Udon is also a major commercial center in northern Isaan and the gateway to Laos, Northern Vietnam and Southern China.

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.[1][2]

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.

Climate

Udon Thani has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw). Winters are fairly dry and very warm. Temperatures rise until April, which is hot with the average daily maximum at 35.4 °C (95.7 °F). The monsoon season runs from late April through early October, with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures during the day, although nights remain warm. The range of reliably recorded temperatures in the city is from 2.5 °C (36.5 °F) to 43.9 °C (111.0 °F).

Climate data for Udon Thani
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 36.4
(97.5)		 38.3
(100.9)		 41.0
(105.8)		 41.8
(107.2)		 40.9
(105.6)		 39.6
(103.3)		 37.2
(99)		 36.2
(97.2)		 35.5
(95.9)		 35.8
(96.4)		 34.9
(94.8)		 34.8
(94.6)		 41.8
(107.2)
Average high °C (°F) 29.2
(84.6)		 31.6
(88.9)		 34.2
(93.6)		 35.4
(95.7)		 33.7
(92.7)		 32.5
(90.5)		 32.2
(90)		 31.5
(88.7)		 31.3
(88.3)		 31.1
(88)		 30.1
(86.2)		 28.7
(83.7)		 31.79
(89.24)
Daily mean °C (°F) 22.2
(72)		 24.7
(76.5)		 27.6
(81.7)		 29.3
(84.7)		 28.5
(83.3)		 28.2
(82.8)		 27.9
(82.2)		 27.5
(81.5)		 27.2
(81)		 26.7
(80.1)		 24.6
(76.3)		 22.1
(71.8)		 26.38
(79.49)
Average low °C (°F) 15.8
(60.4)		 18.6
(65.5)		 21.7
(71.1)		 24.1
(75.4)		 24.7
(76.5)		 25.0
(77)		 24.7
(76.5)		 24.5
(76.1)		 24.1
(75.4)		 22.9
(73.2)		 19.8
(67.6)		 16.2
(61.2)		 21.84
(71.33)
Record low °C (°F) 4.5
(40.1)		 9.4
(48.9)		 10.0
(50)		 16.0
(60.8)		 18.8
(65.8)		 21.5
(70.7)		 20.4
(68.7)		 21.0
(69.8)		 20.5
(68.9)		 16.4
(61.5)		 8.4
(47.1)		 6.2
(43.2)		 4.5
(40.1)
Precipitation mm (inches) 6
(0.24)		 19
(0.75)		 36
(1.42)		 83
(3.27)		 220
(8.66)		 231
(9.09)		 222
(8.74)		 276
(10.87)		 254
(10)		 84
(3.31)		 9
(0.35)		 3
(0.12)		 1,443
(56.82)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 1 2 3 6 14 15 15 17 15 7 1 0 96
Source: NOAA (1961-1990)[3]

Facilities

Udon Thani Railway Station, Thailand

Udon Thani has three Tesco-Lotus, two Big C Mall, a Makro center, and two large shopping malls. The largest shopping mall is CentralPlaza Udon Thani which hosts Udon Thani's only movie theatre cinema Major Cineplex. CentralPlaza Udon Thani was reopened March 27, 2012 after a massive renovation and expansion. The other shopping mall UDTOWN opened in winter 2009. Situated in a park like setting on an area of 38,000 m² / 24 Rai, UDTOWN is Thailand's largest open air shopping center.

References

  1. ↑ http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/JA25Ae01.html
  2. ↑ http://assembly.coe.int/main.asp?Link=/documents/workingdocs/emarty_20070608.htm
  3. ↑ "Climate Normals for Udon Thani". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 3 February 2013. 

External links

Special Governed Cities
City Municipalities
(thesaban nakhon)
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