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Nong Kai/Nong Khai (หนองคาย)
Thai.
Provincial capital of a
jangwat (map) of the same name in
Northeast Thailand 615 kms from
Bangkok.
History relates that King
Phra Nang Klao ordered
Phraya Racha Supawadi to lead his troops in
an attack on
Krung Sri Satana Kanahut in order to retake this rebellious city.
Then Racha Supawadi let
thao Suwo (Boonma)
choose a spot to build a new city and the latter chose a large marshland with
lots of
bamboo, a place known as Nong Kai. In 1827 Phra
Pathum Thewa Phibaan was appointed by Suwo as the local ruler of this new city.
Nong Kai is famous for the
bangfai phayanaag, an annual
event that takes place on the
Mae Khong
River and in which soundless fireballs shoot up from the river, a
phenomenon claimed by some to be caused by
nagas, and which
is symbolized in the city's entrance gate (map
-
fig.).
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Nong Kai was used as
an outpost and base by Siamese troops in their military campaigns
against the
Ho,
warrior bandit groups known as the Flag Gangs, that between 1865 and 1890 ravaged large areas
of northern
Laos. Its
places of interest include
Sala Kaew Kuh (map
-
fig.);
Minakon Topiary
Garden (map
-
fig.)
in the district or
amphur
Sri Chiang
Mai; the Praab
Ho monument; Wat Haay Sohk (map
-
fig.); Tha Sadet,
the Indochina Market (map
-
fig.)
along the
Mae Khong River; and the Thailand-Laos Friendship Bridge
(map
-
fig.).
Until 2011, the province had thirteen
amphur and four
king amphur
or sub-districts (map),
yet in August 2010 a plan was submitted for consideration to elevate
the area around
Beung Kahn district to provincial status
and some of the the king amphur to amphur, in order to more easily manage
administrative work and solve border problems in remote areas. On 7
February 2011, the plan was approved by the National Assembly and on
23 March 2011 it was enacted, thus officially establishing a new,
i.e. Thailand's 77th province.
Hence, Nong Kai Province now has 9 amphur,
whilst Beung Kahn has 8 amphur. There are no more king amphur. Often transcribed Nong Khai. See also
Nong Kai data file
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