Ubon Ratchathani News & Development

[NiwPix]

Great news. Missing the Phuket route and I would say Ubon is pretty well connected within Thailand.

 

I suspect they are going through March 31st to test the waters first. It is easier to extend a contract than to cancel one. So probably some time down the road the will either renew / extend the contract ( assuming the route is successful ) or just let the contract run out.

Unfortunately they havent updated their website yet to reflect this route, but I saw somewhere that they are supposedly offering a 299 Baht promotional fare to Udon Thani....but I cant verify that just yet.

[SantiSuk]

Possibly Nok are hoping they can capture some of Air Asia's traffic from Ubon to Chiang Mai in addition to the straight up Eastern to Central Isaan traffic (with onward possibilities by coach/train to Vientianne). That's if Nok are still offering 4 flights a day from Udon to Chiang Mai quite cheaply (as they were when we used it around April time earlier this year). The service wasn't that busy back then and not easily scalable back down as I think the modern prop plane - 80 ish seats and perfectly comfortable - they were using was dedicated to the route.

 

An Ubon to UT (or KK) to CM stopping service always struck me as the most sensible cross-Thailand route (though I don't think there are any such stopper services elsewhere in the country. Perhaps Nok are looking to do that with their one prop plane coming onto Ubon on one of its journeys a day having stopped en route in UT?  

 

Conjecture on my part!

[BlueScouse]

A few years ago,maybe 20, an airline did run Ubon -Udon-Chiang Mai-KK-Ubon twice a week, both flights mid week.Quite an old plane, run didn't last long.

[Michael Hare]

The airline was Orient Thai Air. I flew on that flight Ubon-Udorn-Chiang Mai return in 1996. Nice flight. Yes, the plane was a little old. A 727.  Noisey and prone to accidents. 

 

Cross country flights do not do well in Thailand and usually do not last long. I remember Thai had a Ubon-Khon Kaen flight in the early 1980s. There was even a Khon Kaen - Udorn flight. That took 20 minutes. Up and down.

 

PBair flew Roi-et - Chiang Mai but that company closed down in 2009. 

[ubonrthai]

On 12/17/2017 at 10:53 AM, NiwPix said:

Unfortunately they havent updated their website yet to reflect this route

The document says they will start selling tickets on December 19th.

[chris26be]

Where to celebrate the New Year on December 31 in Ubon?

[ubonjoe]

Got this in a email yesterday from them.

 

[ubonrthai]

There are plans to expand the railroad to Chong Mek. It's not supposed to be done until 2022 though.

[ubonrthai]

Another drawing of the new mall replacing the old Robinson.

[Michael Hare]

Looks good. The only thing that spoils the front is the KFC. I hope that goes in the final construction. KFC should be way out the back in the parking lot. I will speak to the owners about this. No doubt it will fall on deaf ears. 

[NiwPix]

1 hour ago, Michael Hare said:

Looks good. The only thing that spoils the front is the KFC. I hope that goes in the final construction. KFC should be way out the back in the parking lot. I will speak to the owners about this. No doubt it will fall on deaf ears. 

I understand the concept of them getting something upfront that attracts people, but also agree, a KFC wouldnt be right, especially there already being a kfc at Tesco, Sunee and ubon square.

I think a burger king may do well here.

Krispy Kreme seems to be very popular among Thais....if they could get them inside the mall, that would be a good addition.

[chris26be]

Current info on getting a Thai drivers' licence in UBON:

 

Just got my Thai driver's license. Here is the current info (December 2017) for someone who does not have a driving license in the English language. I went to the Department of Land Transport (DLT) in Ubon Ratchathani (Ring road 231).

You need:
1. Your passport + copy of the first sheet + copy visa and stamp date of entering Thailand. A visa is apparently not necessary. I did not even have a visa, because this time I stay less than 30 days in Thailand.
2. Certificate of residence. Get this at the Tourist Police (Headquarters in Warin). Take your passport + copy, and also proof of your whereabouts, for example tabien job of your spouse + her ID card and copies.
3. Medical certificate. To be collected in a clinic. In my case, four doors next to the entrance of the DLT (80 Baht).
4. International driving license version 1949 + copy. Attention, Thailand does not accept version 1968.

Procedure:
After DLT has checked your documents on the third floor, four tests will follow:
1. Recognizing red, yellow and green.
2. A test in which you have to draw two rods with a cord on the same line (depth view, I suspect).
3. A reaction test: you have to brake when the light on the unit turns red.
4. To be able to recognize red, yellow and green on another device.

If you succeed, you have to watch a two hour video containing the traffic rules. Then you get your documents back. With that you go to the second floor, you pay 205 baht, they make a passport photo and then they make your driving license. That is valid for two years.

 

 

[ubonrthai]

The first flight from Udon Thani arrived today. I read that a flight to Southern Thailand is expected this year as well.

[NiwPix]

Nice. lets hope that the udon Thani flight does well and the southern flight comes to ubon. Would be nice to fly to the beach over the weekend without needing connecting flights.

[ubonjoe]

9 hours ago, NiwPix said:

Would be nice to fly to the beach over the weekend without needing connecting flights.

If you just want a beach you can fly to Utapao from here on Air Asia. They have one flight a day.

[SantiSuk]

... and unlike the bulk of AA's flights the Utapao route can be quite competitively priced v Nok Air and Lion to Don Meuang.

 

My daughter had to get to Chonburi at 4 hours notice on Sunday. Lion Air - only one of its 3 remaining flights had space and the ticket cost was 3,500 baht. Nok had space on 3 remaining flights, but the cheapest seat was approx 2,500 baht (all these prices one-way). A mate reminded me of AA's daily afternoon flight to Utapao and sure enough the 15:20 was still showing availability at 3 hours notice priced at 1,550 baht. Have heard of friends using it at sub-700 baht prices

[SantiSuk]

Hooray. Highway 2178 south of the existing four lane section from Warin to Samrong and the bit around Benchalak leading down to Highway 24  is finally showing signs of being widened. Hopefully this is to complete a four lane route all the way from Ubon to Bangkok, providing a more direct cut accross from lower Sisaket/Surin up to Meuang Ubon than the old Highway 24 which goes a long way round via Det Udom.

 

Hooray for us in Lower Sisaket since it makes the regular trip up to Ubon a little less of a hassle. Presumably hooray for Ubonites as this will presumably become the route of choice to most points west and Bangkok for Ubonites, rather than 'the northern route, via Sisaket/KhuKhan or Sisaket/Surin/Prasat. This piece should knock 15 mins off journey times and mean Ubon Ring Road to central Bangkok all 4-lane and with the number of traffic lights countable on one hand (ok not quite, as Prakonchai and Nang Rong seem determined to add stop-lights every couple of years!).

 

There was  a bet going around the Black Dog Bar in Kantharalak that Yingluk's instruction of several years ago to "widen 24 to Ubon", which was honoured by the military government, would be taken literally by office-based national highway design wallahs in Bangkok and the road via a Det dogleg would end up being widened rather than the more direct, but not 24-named route via Benchalak and Samrong. That was only fuelled by the lack of evidence of any action on the 2178 and a bit of what is now emerging as probably drainage work at the Kantaralak end of the Det Udom route. 

  

[MrTrip]

Was quite surprised to see the extent of the improvements planned for 24 during our recent visit to Kantalak. We’ve enjoyed our annual update on the progress over the last 10 or 12 years but to be honest I never thought the 4 lane section would get out in the sticks as far as Kantalak.

We took our normal day trip to Ubon and my father in law was a bit surprised that I took the Det Udom route all the way on 24.

On the way back we took the more direct route across country with the normal night driving issues. I’m not sure what time difference there is between the 2 routes??

I wonder how many more years before the 4 lanes reach Ubon???


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[SantiSuk]

Maybe as little as 2-3 years I reckon. When widening gets going on the 24 project (which this is probably part of) it happens extraordinarily quickly in Thailand. the 140km section from Prasat to north east of Kantharalak ('Ubon Rd' at the Chan Yai intersection with 24) is well on the way to completion having started (it seems like) only 18 months ago.

 

If precedent on the 24 project is followed a major phase all starts with only a couple of clicks being scraped out at the sides with no project announcement boards and then suddenly seems like half of Isaan is being dug up! Dunno what will happen to those many hundred (thousands?) of dirt trucks and heavy scrapers when it's all completed. 

[MrTrip]

I would guess the heavy plant would go onto the next project as there appears to be hundreds of kilometres ready for widening all across Issan.

 

I’ve always admired the planning involved when the 2 lanes are built but with electric poles etc placed in the 4 or even 6 lane positions.

 

If only we could plan like that in the UK

 

 

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[SantiSuk]

Yes - whoever was responsible for the system of allocating land as government/utilities on the side of strategic highways and some minor roads several decades ago, they should be erecting statues to him/her/them 

 

I think it was done as a national policy in some major land reform several decades ago, but would like to know more of its provenance. Actually the bit that this thread is about is noticeably relatively narrow re utilities/govt land and they will have to shoe-horn 4 lanes in I suspect. I had thought that might have been a reason why we might not get the widening done for 2178 until money could be found to buy paddy for a virgin route. Another reason to suspect we might have ended up with a crazy and useless dog-leg route via Det Udom.

[MrTrip]

From memory (and it really should be clearer as it was only 5 weeks ago) I think the 4 lane widening is happening way past the 2178 junction suggesting that the Det Udom route would be 4 lanes all the way.

As you mention, the 2178 would be tricky to widen


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[SantiSuk]

Er ... I think you and I may be talking at cross purposes then Mr Tripp. This thread is about the widening of the 2178, which has just commenced. No-one uses the route via Det Udom (even now without widening) to get to Ubon from points west of Kantharalak, since that involves going the long way round a pythagerous triangle in which the 2178 is the hypotenuse and Det is the 90 degree corner.

 

See attached Google map. 2178 cuts straight across.

 

Perhaps they are also widening the 24 around Det, but that's not for the kind of through traffic I'm referring to - that would be for local south Ubon province traffic. 

highway 24 in the kantharalak det udom and ubon ratchathani areas.pdf

[MrTrip]

We are talking about the same roads[emoji817]
As I said, maybe I imagined it but I thought the 24 road widening went past the 2178 junction??? Maybe I’m wrong?‍♀️?‍♀️?‍♀️

That map shows perfectly how much farther the Det Udom route is. No wonder my father in law thought I was a ting tong falang. I just like the view[emoji1419]


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[MrTrip]

And you lost me with the hippopotamus ???


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[ubonrthai]

The new overpass that will go over the train tracks between Ubon and Sisaket is moving along. This pic is from a few days ago but there were probably a hundred construction workers out there today for a ceremony.

[ubonrthai]

The white tiger that died last year at the zoo was poisoned and if I’m reading it right, 3 people were arrested trying to sell the skin for 20,000b. [emoji1361]

http://news.thaipbs.or.th/content/269931


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[ubonrthai]

Email from AirAsia "We regret to inform you that AirAsia flight FD3378 scheduled to depart from Ubon Ratchathani (UBP) to Chiang Mai (CNX) from 25March 2018 onward has been CANCELLED."

 

The subject line says "Urgent! AirAsia Flight FD3378 (UBP-CNX) will no longer be operated from 25 March 2018 onward."

[NiwPix]

Yes, and I heard that the Utapao route got cancelled as well


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[chris26be]

5 minutes ago, NiwPix said:

Yes, and I heard that the Utapao route got cancelled as well


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You are probably right: no fares available from 25 March onwards.