Udon Thani

Udon Thani is one of my favorite cities in Thailand but then I admit I am biased for it was the first place I stayed in Thailand and is also where my daughter and grandchildren live.

Udon Thani is a province in the northeast of Thailand the city of Udon Thani is the capital of the province and it is the city I am writing about here.

Udon Thani or Udon as it is known locally is situated approximately 560 kilometers northeast of the capital Bangkok and close to the border with Laos at Nong Khai  56 kilometers north of Udon where it is possible to cross into Laos by way of the Friendship Bridge that crosses the Mekong River between Thailand and Laos.

There are a number of ways to get to Udon Thani from Bangkok. There are flights every day to Udon Thani from either Bangkok’s Don Muang airport with Nok Air (a subsidiary of Thai Air) or from Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport with Thai Air or Air Asia flight times are one hour give or take a few minutes.

Trains leave Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Station every day I would recommend either early morning if you want to see some of the countryside departing at 08.20 arriving in Udon Thani at 18.10 or the one that leaves in the evening 20.00 arriving in Udon Thani at 07.14 the evening train has either seats or sleeper I would recommend the sleeper personally. The latest prices I have at the moment are 1^st class sleeper 1,177 baht, 2^nd class air con sleeper upper 689 baht lower 759 baht (the lower ones are a bit wider), 2^nd class fan sleeper upper 469 baht lower 519 baht, 2^nd class seat air con 479 baht, 2^nd class seat fan 369 baht and 3^rd class seat 245 baht.

Air conditioned buses leave from Bangkok’s Morchit Northern Bus Terminal every day at various time and again are a good way to get to Udon journey time is around 9 hours and costs around 400 baht.

Udon Thani is not a tourist destination in the accepted sense of the word such as places like Phuket, Pattaya, or Koh Sumui it is a provincial town in rural Thailand the northeast otherwise known as Issan or Isaan the spelling seems to vary but they are one and the same.

There are a lot of good inexpensive hotels a shopping centre and of course some very good Thai and Issan restaurants. If you are looking for western food then Udon has that as well as bars catering more to the western visitor and ex pats anyone looking for KFC or McDonalds won’t be disappointed either.

Golf anyone; yes Udon also has some good golf courses if you are in need of a fix.

Udon Thani has attracted a lot of Ex-Pats in recent years which have contributed to the rise in the amount of bars catering to the western palate.

For the first time visitor if you are looking for the bright lights and nightlife to be found in the tourist resorts you will be disappointed so I would not recommend Udon to you.

If however you want to see Thailand as it really is then come to Udon meet the people forget KFC and McDonalds try some real Thai food it’s not all hot and spicy but it is tasty so give your taste buds a treat.

One thing you will notice is how much cheaper everything is compared to Bangkok or the tourist resorts.