Ubon’s quiet northern neighbour: the great Buddha of Phra Mongkhon Ming Mueang, silk villages and the Mekong.
Amnat Charoen became a province in 1993, when it was split from Ubon Ratchathani, and it remains one of Thailand’s quietest. Its symbol is Phra Mongkhon Ming Mueang, a 20-metre Buddha in the Buddha Utthayan park. Life follows the rice year and the temple calendar: in 2008 the province set out to become a hub for organic ‘Dhamma agriculture’, the weavers of Lue Amnat and Phana make ikat silk, the Phu Thai of Chanuman weave khit cloth, and in the dry season rapids and islands appear in the Mekong.
All neighbourhoods