| Burirum
The city of Burirum, in Thailand’s northeast is one of the smaller provincial capitals with a population of only 30,000 people. It is not a major tourist destination, though it does have the dubious distinction of having more nightclubs per capita than just about anywhere else in the country.
A Legacy of the Ruins
Ironically, the province is one of Thailand's largest and has a long and interesting history. It was once a major center in the Khmer Empire during the Angkor period when the ancestors of the Cambodian people controlled most of the region. There is an impressive set of restored stone ruins at Phanom Rung that are the finest of their kind in the country. Another 142 sites are scattered throughout the province, most awaiting restoration by the Fine Arts Department.
Holy trees
The Dong Yai Forest was much in the news a few years back. When it was under threat from loggers, a local monk “ordained” the trees, draping them with robes, and effectively making them sacred, thereby discouraging loggers from cutting them down. In spite of the publicity and support for this campaign, the Thai military eventually cleared the monks and supporters out of the area. |
