Udon Thani vs KhonKaen for family shopping?

[ilikethai]

Udon is pretty good for international shopping and Japanese food but not much kids things to do.  What about Khonkaen? Is downtown Khonkaen bigger than Udon?  thanks

[The Hammer2021]

Bout the same. As for kids I never thought they liked  shopping!

[ilikethai]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Bout the same. As for kids I never thought they liked  shopping!

they have higher end taste than their parents now a day ????

[MrJ2U]

I like both.

 

Udon Thani is more walker friendly with UD Town and Robinson's close by.  Plenty of restaurants and hotels in between.  Fun falang nightlife also.

 

Khon Kaen has a big night market.  Robinsons is bigger.  You'll need transportation.  

 

Train service between both cities.  Never tried it, might be interesting.  Both stations are close to the center of the cities and shopping.. 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Living virtually ½ way between them I’ve often been to both. KK feels bigger than Udon. 
 

If you have an interest in a particular category of shop then one or the other city will be better. Many shops are similar, Central KK is bigger than Central Udon by quite a bit.

 

For anyone living in one of the cities there is not very much reason to travel to the other.

 

There are generally more expats in Udon than KK

[ArnieP]

1 hour ago, MrJ2U said:

I like both.

 

Udon Thani is more walker friendly with UD Town and Robinson's close by.  Plenty of restaurants and hotels in between.  Fun falang nightlife also.

 

Khon Kaen has a big night market.  Robinsons is bigger.  You'll need transportation.  

 

Train service between both cities.  Never tried it, might be interesting.  Both stations are close to the center of the cities and shopping.. 

 

 

Robinsons in Udon went several years ago, it’s rebranded Central (on all floors). There are several large night markets in the city including Center Point near the station, UD Town and the large walking street night market alongside Nong Prajak Park. 

 

Loads of shopping of all kinds exists all around Udon as does food selections but quality varies. Seriously .

 

There are are kids activities on the 4th and 5th floor at Central and in Nong Prajak park.

 

Farang nightlife in Udon can be hit and miss - but still much better than in KK.

 

The railway service between KK and Udon is okay, delays inevitable because TIT. First Class with aircon not worth it IMO, just travel standard class.

[KhunLA]

26 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Living virtually ½ way between them I’ve often been to both. KK feels bigger than Udon. .... Central KK is bigger than Central Udon by quite a bit.

More vendors, but size apparently an optical illusion.  KK 2009, that was a quick 12/13 yrs, remember when it opened.

from wiki:

Edited August 12, 2022 by KhunLA

[MrJ2U]

1 hour ago, ArnieP said:

railway service between KK and Udon is okay, delays

How long and how often.?

 

Sounds kinda fun.  Spend a night or two in KK then back.

 

I really like Udon Thani. 

[Burma Bill]

15 hours ago, ilikethai said:

What about Khonkaen?

During my latter years in Thailand, I lived in Chumphae (Khon Kaen Province) and both KK and Udon Thani were within easy reach. I preferred KK as I personally found Udon a sprawl and less convenient. From Central Plaza in KK it was a short drive south on route 2 to the area where Tesco Lotus, MAKRO and Big C were conveniently located near each other. Opposite Central Plaza in KK is a park where you can relax or stroll with your children. In the attached photo, the park is to the left near the ornate arch across the road. I appreciate there will be others who favor Udon - it is a matter of personal choice. The OP does not mention "bars" so no comment.

 

[Photoguy21]

Try both and see which meets your requirements the best

[starky]

Shop where you are local. I live in Udon but i wouldnt travel here or to KK to take the family shopping.

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, MrJ2U said:

How long and how often.?

 

Sounds kinda fun.  Spend a night or two in KK then back.

 

I really like Udon Thani. 

The trip is 2 hours, the service has been getting better and has some newer trains

The time tables are here but they are not definitive as there are some not listed 

 

Time Table - North Eastern Line.pdf Time Table - North Eastern Line 2.pdf

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, KhunLA said:

More vendors, but size apparently an optical illusion.  KK 2009, that was a quick 12/13 yrs, remember when it opened.

from wiki:

Out of date information, KK is bigger, not much but still bigger 

 

CENTRALPATTANA Khon Kaen 

Leaseable Area (Sq.m), 49,848
Retail GFA, 186,000 sq.m.
Parking Space, 2,100 Vehicles
No. of Tenants (shops), 347

 

CENTRALPATTANA Udon Thani 

Leaseable Area (Sq.m), 49,344
Retail GFA, 85,000 sq.m.
Parking Space, 2,000 Vehicles
No. of Tenants (shops), 189

[KhunLA]

2 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

Sounds kinda fun.  Spend a night or two in KK then back.

If overnighting it, then the Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid (ex-Sofitel), was our go to place.  Use to get my 'income statement' there, even though living in UT, just to stay at the hotel. Timing always worked out good also.

 

Great brekkie buffet (included) & decent in-house brewery.  Which we (I) got 2 beers (welcome drinks) with reservation.  Didn't get any better back then, and that was quite some time ago.  Hopefully nothing changed. 

 

Kronen Brauhaus ...

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by KhunLA

[MrJ2U]

18 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The trip is 2 hours, the service has been getting better and has some newer trains

The time tables are here but they are not definitive as there are some not listed 

 

Time Table - North Eastern Line.pdf 138.84 kB · 0 downloads Time Table - North Eastern Line 2.pdf 141.87 kB · 0 downloads

Thanks!

 

I think I'm definitely going to do that.

 

I love trains and a few nights at the dated but classic Pullman Hotel would be fun indeed.

 

I usually stay at to the Pannarai Hotel in Udon Thani.  Pretty nice with 999 promotion including breakfast.  Next to the Beer Bar complex.

 

Enjoy your weekend! 

[MrJ2U]

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Pullman Khon Kaen Raja Orchid

That's our go to place.  Gold plus member with Accor so all food is half price!  Nice upgrades also.

 

Avani is nice also but it's too far from most everything.

 

What a classic hotel with the massive lobby and lounge piano bar.  

 

Love that stuff!

 

The new building across the street looks impressive! 

[sometimewoodworker]

8 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Out of date information, KK is bigger, not much but still bigger 

 

CENTRALPATTANA Khon Kaen 

Leaseable Area (Sq.m), 49,848
Retail GFA, 186,000 sq.m.
Parking Space, 2,100 Vehicles
No. of Tenants (shops), 347

 

CENTRALPATTANA Udon Thani 

Leaseable Area (Sq.m), 49,344
Retail GFA, 85,000 sq.m.
Parking Space, 2,000 Vehicles
No. of Tenants (shops), 189

Anyone have any idea what the Retail GFA could be? Because that is doubly the size for KK

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Anyone have any idea what the Retail GFA could be? Because that is doubly the size for KK

GFA-Gross Floor Area

[sometimewoodworker]

7 hours ago, KhunLA said:

GFA-Gross Floor Area

That would seem unlikely given that the 2 are reasonably close in size and that KK is more than double the GFA of Udon according to the numbers (85,000 sq. m. vs 186,000 sq. m.)

or do you think that KK central is twice Udon’s? Though the number of No. of Tenants suggest that it is.

[problemfarang]

in my opinion, khon kaen is one of the best cities in Thailand. I remember 17 years ago of khon kaen. It was not a small or big city. No Central yet too (i also remember its construction) And not that much farangs too. Very friendly people.  Also i would say its one of the fastest developing city in thailand. Seriously lot happened in 17-18 years. I also noticed in this time that many farangs started to come to khon kaen from udon or around cities. I can say it took the capital city of Esan area from Udon for sure. Great city to live in. Really nice shopping areas. there are some really nice italian and other countries restaurants. Although i wouldnt expect too much international shopping in khon kaen. There are some but not like bangkok area. 

[ilikethai]

thanks everyone for all the infos and suggestions.  I ended up doing Udon and went to Central and I think I got tourist trapped with a pair of silicone watch bands for 700baht! ???? I posted about on here last night.

[NanLaew]

On 8/12/2022 at 6:58 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

Out of date information, KK is bigger, not much but still bigger 

 

CENTRALPATTANA Khon Kaen 

Leaseable Area (Sq.m), 49,848
Retail GFA, 186,000 sq.m.
Parking Space, 2,100 Vehicles
No. of Tenants (shops), 347

 

CENTRALPATTANA Udon Thani 

Leaseable Area (Sq.m), 49,344
Retail GFA, 85,000 sq.m.
Parking Space, 2,000 Vehicles
No. of Tenants (shops), 189

KK has 83% more shops in a 1% larger leaseable area. From my recollection of a couple of visits, the KK shops are smaller, walkways and thoroughfares are narrower which lends to that bigger and busier illusion. UD seems more open and less crowded even at its busiest. Both create nightmare local traffic scenarios on weekends and holidays though.