Udon Thani
Udon Thani
| Udon Thani อุดรธานี Udon Thani |
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 Udon Thani
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| Coordinates: 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.75°ECoordinates: 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.75°E | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Government | |
| - Type | City |
| - Mayor | |
| Population (2011 April) | |
| - Total | 255,243 |
| - Density | 361/km2 (935/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Thailand (UTC+7) |
| Postcode | 41000 |
Udon Thani (Thai: อุดรธานี, pronounced [ʔudɔːn tʰaːniː]) is a city in Isan, north-east Thailand, and the capital of Udon Thani Province.
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Location
The province of Udon Thani has a population of 1,467.200, the city alone 500.000. Geographical location 17°25′N 102°45′E / 17.417°N 102.75°E and is approximately 560 km from Bangkok. Udon is also a major commercial center in northern Isan and the gateway to Laos, North 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 is little attraction to see in the city for most travelers, there are a few quite interesting Buddhist temples.
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 (many catering to European tourists), coffee shops and hotels.
It became also 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.
Climate
| Climate data for Udon Thani (1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 29 (84) |
31 (88) |
34 (93) |
35 (95) |
33 (91) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
31 (88) |
30 (86) |
28 (82) |
31.4 (88.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 15 (59) |
18 (64) |
21 (70) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
25 (77) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
24 (75) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
16 (61) |
21.3 (70.4) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 5 (0.2) |
19 (0.75) |
36 (1.42) |
82 (3.23) |
219 (8.62) |
231 (9.09) |
221 (8.7) |
276 (10.87) |
253 (9.96) |
84 (3.31) |
8 (0.31) |
3 (0.12) |
1,437 (56.57) |
Facilities
Udon Thani has three Tesco-Lotus, 2 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. The newest shopping plaza 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.