Khon kaen v Udon

[Sparktrader]

How does the nightlife compare plus attractness of cities plus things to do? Are they similar or both worth visiting?

[CharlieH]

Better suited to the local Isaan forum for localised knowledge.

 

MOVED

[Iamfalang]

Udon does not have an "attractness of cities".  There are a few lakes, but I would rate its attractiveness around 15/100.   KK, as far as I can remember, is better.   Maybe 25/100.  People seem much nicer in KK, and the women in KK seem nicer.   Nightlife?  no idea.   I'd have to guess Udon gets the edge near the big mall.   I think KK is worth visiting if you are sort-of nearby.   I wouldn't drive from BKK just to check it out.  

[Kenny202]

I live in KK and Udon beats KK for restaurants and bars, nightclubs x 1000. Has a nice temple and lake area Khon Kaen but wouldnt go out of my way to see it. Also find the shopping a lot better at Udon Central

[KhunLA]

Live in UT for 16 yrs, and visited KK regularly.  Didn't care for either.  5 yrs ago, prefered UT of the 2.

[NJHOUSE]

Udon has 3 fairly nice parks but there is nothing else attractive about the city. The roads are better in KK. Regarding nightlife, Udon is better suited for farangs.

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, NJHOUSE said:

Regarding nightlife, Udon is better suited for farangs.

And even for shopping/delicatessen/restaurants better than KK.

But don't compare it to Pattaya or Bangkok.

Entertainment is still meager due to the aftermath of the Covid shock.

The closed border at Nong Khai is another factor.

Less travelers stopping over etc.

 

[JoePai]

Compared to Pattaya, Udon restaurants are rubbish 

[NanLaew]

18 hours ago, Sparktrader said:

How does the nightlife compare plus attractness of cities plus things to do? Are they similar or both worth visiting?

Ubon's still the best

[starky]

On 2/27/2022 at 2:18 PM, JoePai said:

Compared to Pattaya, Udon restaurants are rubbish 

???????????????????? this is the isaan forum mate in case you missed it. Who was comparing Udon to Pattaya? ????????????

[Sparktrader]

Best bars??

 

Pubs

Nightclubs

Markets

 

 

 

[thai006]

for nightlife Udon is much better than kkc

[Sparktrader]

7 hours ago, thai006 said:

for nightlife Udon is much better than kkc

Only drink 1 beer at a time

[ArnieP]

On 3/1/2022 at 11:59 PM, Sparktrader said:

Best bars??

 

Pubs

Nightclubs

Markets

 

The Irish Clock is a pub/restaurant. Used to be very smart decorated in Dublin green and dark polished wood but is now decked out in what looks like white garden furniture. Meals are expensive. Nearby but on the other side of the soi is a farang-run restaurant, Brickhouse. On the same side as Brickhouse is a German restaurant/bar and coming back to Soi Prajak (the road that comes up from the railway station and leads up to Central Plaza and beyond) there are a couple of small places. At the top of the soi, the non Soi Prajak end, is Wattanuwang Road where Viking Bar sits on the right-hand corner. Turning left and walking a bit further up on the opposite side is a an Italian restaurant, The Little Italian. The fourth floor of Central Plaza harbours a whole host of restaurants, mostly Thai, Chinese and Japanese. There are also quite a few restaurants in UD Town, again with more than a small quotient of Japanese.

 

The majority of bars in Udon have been closed since March 2020 but a few are chancing it now. The main bar area is Soi Sampan, a long road very near Central Plaza. There’s also a small collection of bars under the banner ‘Nutty Park’ (which is neither nutty nor a park) not far from there. Some individual bars have re-opened recently in both Soi Sampan and Nutty Park. Day & Night, pic attached, is a complex of 20 bar units - none is an enclosed bar, they’re all large open booths - and a handful appear to be trading at the moment. Up and down Soi Sampan and Nutty Park bars that are open one day might not be the next, it’s all to do with COVID.

 

Nightclubs. Tawan Daeng behind Central Plaza and Yellow Bird behind Charoen Hotel, Posri Road are the obvious ones. There are others  of sorts including Thai karaokes away from city centre. COVID has affected many places and this in turn has impacted their opening, or otherwise. 

 

Markets. More than a few. There is a very large night market near Nong Prajak Park selling anything from plants to clothes, food, bric a brac and loads of money wasting products. However, because of the virus it may not always be open, at least not to its fullest. UD Town hosts a number of shopping areas both in UD Town itself and in Center Point. Center Point is a fairly large covered market although there is a significant presence of outdoor stalls and eateries along side, behind and beyond. There’s a lot of food and veg markets too, small and large and they’re dotted all over the city.

 

If this all sounds like Udon Thani is some sort of luxurious all-encompassing fun city, it’s not. More recently in the city centre things have smartened up with a remodelled food centre (a food court mostly doing noodle and rice dishes), a convention centre and a smart new hotel, The Moco. Sure, you can go to Nong Prajak Park, hire a bike or a tandem (or even a triple) and cycle round the lake for an hour or more then go to one of the hole in the wall restaurants at the side of the park. Or perhaps take a massage, there’s a whole stretch of traditional Thai massage shops beside Nong Prajak.

 

Udon offers shopping, and it really can be a shop-till-you-drop place, including computers, accessories and mobile phones at Tucom/Landmark Plaza (an unusual piece of architecture), eating, movies at Central or at Big C Nittayo Road, tenpin bowling upstairs at Central, horse racing at the track on the edge of town, and drinking with elderly farangs in dreary bars.

 

This is is of course dependent on things being open!

 

[Sparktrader]

I just want a good sort

[ArnieP]

1 hour ago, Sparktrader said:

I just want a good sort

Well you’ll possibly have to wait till Covid restrictions are over if you’re thinking of coming to Udon or KK to get sorted. Even then don’t hold your hopes up too high.

[Sparktrader]

Ubon has the good sorts?

[MrJ2U]

On 2/26/2022 at 11:48 PM, Kenny202 said:

I live in KK and Udon beats KK for restaurants and bars, nightclubs x 1000.

Upon Thani is really neat.

 

On 3/4/2022 at 12:55 AM, thai006 said:

for nightlife Udon is much better than kkc

Besides the bars next to the Pullman are there any more farang style bars?

 

In my curious wanderings I never saw anything other than those. 

 

Upon Thani has a lot of bars and beautiful girls.  I think because of all the University's. 

 

You can also find bars of the beaten path. 

 

I've enjoyed staying in Udon Thani. 

 

Two new hotels have opened recently also.  

 

Nice places to eat and great shopping mall with plenty of eye candy.

 

Cheap flights from udon airport make this a great weekend getaway for mongering  something different. 

 

There's also some boring temples if your into that.

 

 

 

 

 

[LosLobo]

My observation was that in Khon Kaen, the night-life was predominantly Thai with only a few farang bar-scene facilities.

Farangs  are welcomed and seem to mix well with the locals without any animosity. If you speak Thai no worries!

 

[Sparktrader]

Sounds good

Speak enough thai to get by

 

[LosLobo]

57 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Ubon has the good sorts?

Ubon Ratchathani is OK but it is a long 300km one-way drive off the beaten path. Seems low reward for the inconvenience.

[thai006]

KK only farang bar is beside the pull man hotel near TUKCOM mall ????