Bo Rai District (Amphoe Bo Rai)
The area was known for gemstone mining (rubies and sapphires) and gem trade which made Bo Rai prosper and grow. From the 1960s until the beginning of the 1990s the town experienced an economic boom, which was ended almost overnight with the exhaustion of the mines through plundering. The economic depression that followed was further increased by the downfall of the Khmer Rouge and the subsequent end of the border trafficking of goods and gems.
Once the centre of Thailand's gem trade, Bo Rai is now a shadow of its former glory, yet some hope is seen in the migrating refugees coming from the south. There have been attempts at economic conversion, such as the cultivation of rubber trees. There are rumours of a new Thai-Cambodian border crossing being opened at Ban Mamuang.
The area is battling drug resistant malaria that has crept over from Cambodia.
Map - Bo Rai District (Amphoe Bo Rai)
Map
Country - Thailand
Flag of Thailand |
Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya, which became a regional power by the end of the 15th century. Ayutthaya reached its peak during the 18th century, until it was destroyed in the Burmese–Siamese War. Taksin quickly reunified the fragmented territory and established the short-lived Thonburi Kingdom. He was succeeded in 1782 by Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, the first monarch of the current Chakri dynasty. Throughout the era of Western imperialism in Asia, Siam remained the only nation in the region to avoid colonization by foreign powers, although it was often forced to make territorial, trade and legal concessions in unequal treaties. The Siamese system of government was centralised and transformed into a modern unitary absolute monarchy in the reign of Chulalongkorn. In World War I, Siam sided with the Allies, a political decision made in order to amend the unequal treaties. Following a bloodless revolution in 1932, it became a constitutional monarchy and changed its official name to Thailand, becoming an ally of Japan in World War II. In the late 1950s, a military coup under Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat revived the monarchy's historically influential role in politics. Thailand became a major ally of the United States, and played an anti-communist role in the region as a member of the failed SEATO, but from 1975 sought to improve relations with Communist China and Thailand's neighbours.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
---|---|---|---|
THB | Thai baht | ฿ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
---|---|
EN | English language |
TH | Thai language |