Udon Thani

Udon Thani Province is one of Thailand’s seventy-seven provinces which lies in upper northeastern Thailand also called Isan. It is bordered by the provinces of Nong Khai to the north, Sakon Nakhon to the east, Kalasin Province to the southeast, Khon Kaen to the south, and Loei and Nong Bua Lamphu to the west.

Udon Thani first came to historical notice in the Rattanakosin era, when Anuwong of Vientiane staged a rebellion against Thai rule and marched his army to Nakhon Ratchasima in 1826. He captured the city by a ruse, but the garrison he left to hold it unexpectedly met with fierce resistance from the disarmed local forces led by Lady Mo, the wife of Nakhon Ratchasima’s governor. Anuwong advanced as far as Saraburi, but was forced to retreat. The Thai army pursued him, and the rival forces met in battle at Nong Bua Lamphu, a small city near today’s Udon Thani. After two days of fierce fighting, Anuwong’s army was defeated and fled back to Laos.