Udon Thani was the largest American military base during the Vietnam War. The air base was used to transport GIs who would otherwise have had no reason to be here, other than to put themselves in harm’s way in a war zone. During that era, Udon Thani was the setting stage for an enormous cultural bomb dropped from the western world. The effects of that cultural bomb spread throughout the city and the entire Isaan Region. The GIs brought with them their culture, tastes, presentations, and American ways. Today, the city maintains its metaphorical status as “a pluralistic pot” containing a complex network of roots in which western tastes and Thai ways intertwine. The multicultural spirit lives on, even though there is no longer the “physical presence of the GIs”.
Please stay tuned with "Spirit of Asia" on December 13th, 2020 at 04.30 - 05.00 PM. (Bangkok, UTC+7)
Udon Thani was the largest American military base during the Vietnam War. The air base was used to transport GIs who would otherwise have had no reason to be here, other than to put themselves in harm’s way in a war zone. During that era, Udon Thani was the setting stage for an enormous cultural bomb dropped from the western world. The effects of that cultural bomb spread throughout the city and the entire Isaan Region. The GIs brought with them their culture, tastes, presentations, and American ways. Today, the city maintains its metaphorical status as “a pluralistic pot” containing a complex network of roots in which western tastes and Thai ways intertwine. The multicultural spirit lives on, even though there is no longer the “physical presence of the GIs”.
Please stay tuned with "Spirit of Asia" on December 13th, 2020 at 04.30 - 05.00 PM. (Bangkok, UTC+7)