Siri Grand Hotel

Very Dangerous...

by Frosty101

The single most important thing you can do in Udon Thani is avoid Goverment sponsored terrorist. Do not for any reason attempt to protest any Government policy or you may be set upon by paid thugs with clubs and machetes and believe me they do not descriminate and will happily beat up women. Why just the other day an information marquee was set up in the local park, Nong Prajack Park, this is an area where children play and families come to relax, anyway this information marquee was offering information that is not widely available on the free TV staions here. Truck loads of paid thugs organised by Kwanchai Praiphana brother of the agriculture minister arrived on the scene and brutalised 29 unarmed people, the weapons of choice were machetes, knives and base ball bats, they even attempted to block the ambulances from taking away the injured. I think what was most shocking about this whole afair is the fact that the local people here are all smiling and consider this a major victory for Udon Thani. My fondest memory of Udon will be in the near future when I sell up and leave after 8 years of residence here.

My second home is Udon Thani.

by BokNoi

"Udon Thani is my home away from home."

If there were a capital city for Issan people it would be Udon Thani. Nestled 524km from KrungThep (Bangkok) and just couple hours drive from Laos, Udon Thani sits in a South East Asian melting pot of my parents' favorite cultures; Thai and Lao. Most importantly, however, my Thai grandma, "Yai Dom" and an assortment of uncles, aunts and cousins live here as well. My first trip to Udon was in October of 2005.

An Afternoon in Udon Thani...

by chiabh

"Back to Bustling Udon Thani..."

Following our morning tour of the temples in Nong Khai, we took an air-conditioned bus to Udon Thani... The 45 minutes journey passed thru many patched vegetation (it is extremely hot in this region at this time)...

Udon Thani was a surprise... It was more cosmopolitan and vibrant than I envisaged... The town is busy and there are more traffic on the road - just like Bangkok...

"San Lak Mueng.."

As we have at least 3 hours to kill before our flight to Bangkok, we decided to see the town... In terms of touristic sites, Udon Thani does not have much to offer...

Our first stop is at the San Lak Mueang or the City Pillar...It is located at the northeast corner of Thung Si Mueang (City Field)....The City Pillar commemorates the founding of the city and is also where its guardian spirit resides. People make offerings of flowers, candles and incense at the ornate shrine, which is located next to a smaller shrine housing a Buddha stela... Nearby is a sacred banyan tree which, as is the custom, is the repository for broken or discarded spirit houses...

"San Chao Pu-ya..."

The only other notable temple in the town is the San Chao Pu-ya... Located near the Nong Bua Market, this large and beautiful Chinese-style shrine, set next to a pond, houses a huge model of a golden dragon that is featured in the annual Thung Si Mueang festival held every December...

"To the Airport..."

The San Chao Pu-ya sums up our visit to Udon Thani...The tuk-tuk took us thru all the back road to the airport... At least we were able to see the other part of the town...

Udon Thani Airport is quite pleasant but has nothing much to offer... It has an airport restaurant serving buffet dinner, as well as a coffee cafe...Like most Thai airports, there are a lot of reading materials in the departure lounge, but they are all in the Thai language... So bring your own reading materials if you do not read Thai...

The Thai Airways flight brought us back to Bangkok in about 70 minutes...