New Kid on the block | Bangkok Post: travel

TRAVEL SCRAPBOOK

Nestled 715km northeast of Bangkok is Bung Kan _ Thailand's newest province. It was part of Nong Khai before being carved out and declared the country's 77th province on March 22, 2011. Covering around 4,300km2, this province comprising of eight districts is full of mountains and waterways and rich in Thai and Lao cultures since Bolikhamxay, a Laotian province nearest it, is just across the Mekong River.

Although it borders Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon and Nong Khai provinces, Bung Kan is quieter due to its location and the climate is more humid like in south Thailand. According to Governor Pornsak Jearanai, Bung Kan has the most rubber trees in the Northeast due to adequate rainfall. The official figure is 680,000 rai, but the actual should exceed 800,000 rai. Rubber generates 804-1,000 million baht per month for the province, its leading source of income.

''Rubber here is as good as in the South. The first rubber trees in the Northeast were planted here in So Phisai district in 1960 by a monk who made a pilgrimage to the South and brought back rubber seeds to plant here. Only five trees survived and only one of the original is still standing today. It is big, about 340cm in diameter,'' the governor noted.