History
See also the Haw wars, memorialized by the monument before the Old City Hall (now a museum and cultural center); and, down by the Mekong, by Wat Angkhan (Thai: วัดอังคาร), which is Pali for Ashes of the Dead, as well as for Mars, the planet that the Romans named for their God of War. Nearby, the city maintains the lovely little Garden of Sorrows (Thai: สวนโศกเศร้า), with signs signifying this is where widows came to grieve.
In more recent years, Nong Khai has become a popular destination, with full Tourism Authority of Thailand th:การท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย and local backing, during the Buddhist Lent festival when mysterious balls of light, or Naga fireballs, rise from the Mekong river. The balls resemble an orange sun, rise out of the river approximately 20 to 30 feet and disappear after three to five seconds. Although the fireballs can be seen at other times, most Thais travel to see them during the full moon in October when the incidence of them is considered to be much higher.
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Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Both place and time were changed, and I dwelt nearer to those parts of the universe and to those eras in history which had most attracted me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“America is, therefore the land of the future, where, in the ages that lie before us, the burden of the World’s history shall reveal itself. It is a land of desire for all those who are weary of the historical lumber-room of Old Europe.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“What has history to do with me? Mine is the first and only world! I want to report how I find the world. What others have told me about the world is a very small and incidental part of my experience. I have to judge the world, to measure things.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)