Vietnamese heritage endures in northeastern Thailand
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Approximately 100,000 Vietnamese people live in Thailand, with a large concentration in the northeastern provinces where their cultural impact is visible.
In Nakhon Phanom province, a commemorative site honors President Ho Chi Minh, who lived there from 1928 to 1929 while pursuing revolutionary activities. Vietnamese residents built the Thai-Vietnamese Memorial Clock Tower in the same province as a gesture of thanks to the Thai king and government before a period of repatriation in 1960.
Today, Vietnamese cuisine remains popular in the region. In Mukdahan province, the Nguyen Van Tan family has operated a banh canh noodle shop since 1972, now run by their son, Nguyen Van Phi. The family, four generations removed from their original arrival in Thailand, continues to make the noodles, once entirely by hand, and serve other Vietnamese dishes. Elsewhere in northeastern Thailand, Vietnamese food like nem nuong (grilled pork sausages) attracts both Vietnamese residents and Thai customers.
Daeng Namnueng restaurant in Nong Khai province consistently ranks among the area’s top dining destinations. Saowanee Khonkla, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in Nakhon Phanom, hopes to attract Vietnamese tourists to learn about President Ho Chi Minh’s time in the region and the shared history between the two nations.
