Dok Khamtai ( th, ดอกคำใต้, ) is a district (''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

'') of Phayao province in northern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

History

Originally created in 1832, the district was abolished on 23 December 1917 and incorporated into Mueang Phayao district. It was recreated as a minor district (''

king amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to countie ...

'') on 23 January 1963. It was again upgraded to a full district on 27 July 1965.

Etymology

''Dok Khamtai'' is the Thai name of the sponge tree (''

Acacia farnesiana ''Vachellia farnesiana'', also known as ''Acacia farnesiana'', and previously ''Mimosa farnesiana'', commonly known as sweet acacia, huisache, or needle bush, is a species of shrub or small tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. Its flowers are use ...

'' (L.) Willd.).

Geography

Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise): Pa Daet of Chiang Rai province; Chun,

Pong ''Pong'' is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released in 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcor ...

, and Chiang Muan of Phayao Province;

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

of Phrae province; Ngao of

Lampang province Lampang ( th, ลำปาง, ; Northern Thai: ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat''), lies in upper northern Thailand. The old name of Lampang was ''Khelang Nakhon''. Geography Lampang is in the broad river valley of the ...

; and Mueang Phayao and Phu Kamyao of Phayao. The main water course is the

Ing River The Ing River (, , ) is a tributary of the Mekong River in the northern part of Thailand. It has its source in Doi Luang, Phi Pan Nam Range, in Mae Chai District, Phayao Province. The Ing flows through the plain area of Thoeng District. The In ...

Doi Phu Nang National Park Doi Phu Nang National Park ( th, อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยภูนาง) is a national park in Dok Khamtai, Pong and Chiang Muan Districts, Phayao Province, Thailand. Description The national park, with an area of 5 ...

is in the district.

Economy

The district is "...famous in Thailand for the numbers of sex workers it exports and there is even a popular song titled 'plaeng saaw dok kham tai' ('song of the young women from Dok Khamtai') about girls from this district coming to Bangkok." The district is also mentioned prominently in

Pasuk Phongpaichit Pasuk Phongpaichit ( th, ผาสุก พงษ์ไพจิตร, , born 11 February 1946) is a Thai economist. A professor at Chulalongkorn University, she is the author of several books on corruption in Thailand. Pasuk earned BA and MA ...

's 1982 study, ''From Peasant Girls to Bangkok Masseuses''.

Administration

The district is divided into 12 sub-districts (''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...

s''), which are further subdivided into 124 villages (''

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

s''). There are two townships (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

s''). Dok Khamtai covers parts of ''tambons'' Dok Khamtai, Don Si Chum, Sawang Arom, and ''tambon'' Bun Koet. Ban Tham covers ''tambon'' Ban Tham. There are a further nine tambon administrative organizations (TAO).

References

External links

amphoe.com
Dok Khamtai {{Phayao-geo-stub