Amnat Charoen (Thai อำนาจเจริญ) is one of the north-eastern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. To the east it borders Salavan of Laos.

The province is located in the Mekong valley. The other two rivers in the province are the Lam Sae Bok and Lam Sae Bai.

Amnat Charoen gained city status during the reign of King Rama III. It was first administered from Nakhon Khemarat, and later from Ubon Ratchathani. It became a province in its own right on January 12, 1993, when it was split off from Ubon Ratchathani. It is thus one of the three youngest provinces of Thailand, together with Nong Bua Lam Phu and Sa Kaeo.

In the middle of the provincial seal is an image of the Buddha called Phra Mongkol Ming Muang. Also known as Phra Yai (Big Buddha), this 20m high statue is the most sacred one in the city of Amnat Charoen. To the left and right are two trees, to the bottom two elephants.
The provincial tree is Hopea ferrea.

The province is subdivided into 7 districts (Amphoe). The districts are further subdivided into 56 communes (tambon) and 653 villages.

Extracted from Wikipedia: Amnat Charoen Province

I have visited my girlfriend's family in amnat a few times over the past couple of years. This is the only part of Isaan I have travelled to, therefore I cannot make any comparative assessment. Briefly, amnat is a quiet rural town about 1 hour by car from ubon - the road link is excellent, a long straight new highway. There is quite a lot of development happening at tthe moment, albeit from a low base. The centre comprises a market, typical small country town shops, several of the main banks, various car dealerships, various local government offices and a technical college.

I visited a couple of temples but nothing special. The most interesting local sight I have come across is referred to by the locals as "the new lake", an artifical reservoir created a few years ago by damning a river. It is very pretty unspoilt lake that you can swim in and there is a truly excellent waterside restaurant that serves some of the best (and cheapest) thai food I have ever eaten.

Nearer the centre of town is the "old lake", at the end of which is the Chitsakon Resort & Hotel. This is a large complex of bungalows by the side of the lake. The huts are a bit tired but look perfectly adequate. The setting is unbelievably peaceful and beautiful (partly because they seem to have few visitors) when the lake is full but less attractive in the dry season when the lake shrinks massively. The restaurant at the resort is highly regarded by the locals - its the sort of place you can take the entire extended thai family for a banquet/feast and end up paying very little. If i recall correctly, i took about 20 people for dinner and paid less than I had for a dinner with my gf in one of the seafood places in pattaya.

The nightlife options are limited but worth checking out if you are in the neighbourhood. If you cant speak thai you may struggle a bit but some english is spoken. King karaoke is a friendly unthreatening sort of a place. Almost next door is the Little Pub, a thai style bar/disco with a live band, usually fronted by a attractive girl in skimpy clothes - lots of young people. I have had many fun nights there with my gf, although it is the sort of place where a farang speaking thai could easily meet the locals. In the same road there is another place called Queen, which is basically a bar with live music and at least one girl who could was available for rent.

On my most recent visit we ate at a brand new hotel in the centre of town - again really excellent inexpensive food in an upmarket outdoor patio setting. The hotel had a pretty decent looking regular massage shop next door. I cant recall the name but will ask my gf and post it.

All in all a very nice and relaxing place that is probably very typical of much of Isaan but very difficult to get to grips with unless you have a local guide.

I have only driven through Amnat a couple of times, but I must say that I think it looks really nice, better than most Isaan towns.