udon thani expensive?

[Gonsalviz]

If you want my opinion Udorn is a boring town with no great attractions .

There today having taken the train up from Khon Kaen and for me the most exciting bit is the station!

Central Plaza in the town is empty with half the units boarded up and a sad shadow of KK down the tracks.

Yes it has a large Farang population but frankly I cannot see why.

Maybe I am missing something but passing the big empty Global store on the left as I left to headed south by road was the most exciting part of my trip to Udorn today.

Sorry but I need to be clear about which part of Udon is the MOST exciting for my next visit. Is it the railway station or passing Global?

Not that I care about shopping, if u only passed by, how do u know that Global was empty?

As for half the units being boarded up in Central, u must be hallucinating! I never like shopping malls but when I go there it is usually thriving....And I was last there in January.

You must have been there 5-6 years back when they were rebuilding Central. Global House(?) I was just shopping there yesterday. Far from empty.

[Craig krup]

The one thing you can say about Udon Thani is that - unlike Nong Khai just up the road - there's a critical mass of consumers which means that you have choices. Really nice little studio flats are 3000-4000 baht a month in Udon: you could live in the 2,500 one I saw, but at that price it was getting a bit "real"! You can find similar accommodation in Bangkok, but I bet you'd spend a load on travel to make it work. Being way up off the sky train and underground looks cheap, but could you really comfortably walk about in Sai Mai, for example? You can walk about Udon.

[Pla shado]

You must have been there 5-6 years back when they were rebuilding Central. Global House(?) I was just shopping there yesterday. Far from empty.

There are two Global House home centers in Udon Thani. The long established (and very busy) one is located near the intersection of the Ring Road (Hwy 2) and Hwy 2410. The recently opened Global House is on Hwy 2 headed south towards Khon Kaen.

We try to avoid the original Global House location as it is too congested and filled with shoppers. The new Global House is easier to access and is not yet as crowded, plus there is more and better parking available.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Pla shado

[Sukhumvitsoidog]

I recently ate at Wine society in UD town with my wife and her family ( 8 adults in total ) I was surprised when the check bin came out to over 7,000 baht. UD is certainly not as cheap as I remember it being years ago.

I guess this is a great example of cost of living inflation even in far flung Issan.

[NickJ]

Gone are the days of cheapness......Sorry , pretty much things cost about the same everywhere here....Simply put it into perspective....food items....gas to cook it...staff to sell it.....local price not much variety......so whats cheap here?

When u live like a local...is it worth it now?

[swissie]

If willing to adopt to "Thai-Ways", rural Thailand is still a good value for the money. Of course, if "Farang Lifestyle" is desired as a way of life, overall cost of living will not be higher in Pattaya (for example). But Pattaya having the advantage, that if "entertainment" if desired: It's there. In Rural-Thailand it's not there, or what little there is, could make a grown Farang man break out in tears.

Unless Farang is a passionate "Birdwatcher" or staunch "Family-Supporter", why would any Farang voluntarily live in a corner of the world, where "Boredom" was invented and any Thai-Resident in the area would gladly leave if only he/she could land a job outside of the Kingdom of Boredom, vicious gossip, envy and mutual distrust as part of daily village life.

And this is where a certain segment of Farangs want to settle in the autumn of their lives. Since such a thing can not be explained by reason or logic, the fact that late and unexpected surges of the testosterone level (giving the appropriate stimulus) can only serve as a last resort explanation for this phenomenon.

Cheers.

[CTO]

WineSociety, which to me is a knock of of the Wine Connections, is aimed at the locals, I eat there maybe once a month, it's expensive compared to Bangkok even. However it's clientele are mostly Thai, rich Thai, there are a lot of wealthy Thais in Udon

However pretty much every thing else is lower in cost than Bangkok. I'm not sure if the poster has actually lived in Bangkok to get an idea.

Quality of food in the markets at UD Town is good, love those salted fish, cheap, can't get that at those prices in Bangkok.

Bangkok these days is getting silly expensive, places with hi-so setting, but crap food are priced higher than Jakarta or Singapore.

Frankly Jakarta is becoming a fav city of mine

[Craig krup]

Quality of food in the markets at UD Town is good, love those salted fish, cheap, can't get that at those prices in Bangkok.

That bit of the Pho Si (Posri) Road immediately South East of UD Town is loony tunes busy at 5-6, and awesome value. What I like is that the prices are posted and everyone pays the same. Five baht for a big bunch of greens is five baht. 15 baht for a kg of brown rice - a sixth of the price in the UK.

[Dannyboy666]

Isaan in general is considerably cheaper than Bangkok. OK I concede that supermarket prices are similar, but tell me where in Bangkok can you get gents haircut for 40 baht?

In Patgtaya the lowest haircut price I have seen = 100 Baht.

So color this Cheap Charlie impressed.

Was the cut competent?

. 70 baht in Kaklua, included massage Edited April 18, 2015 by Dannyboy666

[Issangeorge]

I get my hair cut in an Isaan District Town, for ฿60, that's a haircut, facial shave, mustache trim, ear and nose hairs trimmed, and a neck, and arm massage. Not a bad deal. For me the hair cut doesn't matter, I'm bald so he just sets the clippers at #2, and away he goes. But looking at Thais who have hair, they seem to do a competent job.

[rocketboybkk]

Calm down dude

Bkk is way more expensive

Property food travel etc.

Stop with the opium dude. That's where your monies all going.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bulldozer Dawn]

WineSociety, which to me is a knock of of the Wine Connections, is aimed at the locals, I eat there maybe once a month, it's expensive compared to Bangkok even. However it's clientele are mostly Thai, rich Thai, there are a lot of wealthy Thais in Udon

However pretty much every thing else is lower in cost than Bangkok. I'm not sure if the poster has actually lived in Bangkok to get an idea.

Quality of food in the markets at UD Town is good, love those salted fish, cheap, can't get that at those prices in Bangkok.

Bangkok these days is getting silly expensive, places with hi-so setting, but crap food are priced higher than Jakarta or Singapore.

Frankly Jakarta is becoming a fav city of mine

Yep. And last year I was tossing whether to fly a visa run to Udon/Laos or to Jakarta/Bali from Phuket. The available Air Asia flights from phuket to Jakarta and then on to Bali were cheaper than a direct from Phuket to Udon.

[slipperylobster]

Rent can be cheaper....just outside town.

Property is obviously more available and cheaper than Bangkok (outside town).

Easy to get outside of town.....just a few kilometers.

Gas, food, luxury items, etc...all same wherever you go.

Watering holes there are basic to ho hum....and their prices are not that great. A few foreign restaurants of medium quality....mostly at Central Mall...

A few parks, a night market, a farang "area" ....a water park... some gyms....

Traffic circles are a pain, but nothing like Bangkok traffic.

It is worth a visit...but I would not want to live there forever...stayed 2 years.

Grocery shopping....Macro, Big C, Tesco...pretty generically the same as anywhere.

My big savings were on rent.....2000 baht for a big old house on 2 rai near the airport and Phys Ed college. You will probably pay more....

I enjoyed the family gatherings out on the nearby farms. Attended many parties and weddings...but very loud. I do not enjoy Isaan food....however.

Gym at the Phys Ed college cheap......rent cheap..... I drank more...at the ho hum clubs. I drink less in Chiang Mai (more to do)

Edited May 4, 2015 by slipperylobster

[Thai at Heart]

Yeah, property in the downtown is the same price as upper Sukhumvit. What is this numpty on about. Supermarkets are the same price?

[spidermike007]

Yeah, property in the downtown is the same price as upper Sukhumvit. What is this numpty on about. Supermarkets are the same price?

Really? Are you certain of that? Any idea what one wah sells for on upper Sukhumvit?

[Thai at Heart]

Yeah, property in the downtown is the same price as upper Sukhumvit. What is this numpty on about. Supermarkets are the same price?

Really? Are you certain of that? Any idea what one wah sells for on upper Sukhumvit?

That's my point. How can anyone claim that Udon is the same price as Bangkok?

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Having just got back from Udon and Nong Khai I can say this. The prices in Tesco Lotus and Big C are exactly the same in UT and NK as what they are in Phuket. They should be cheaper, right, because of the huge difference in property values. But they are not.

There is a new large shopping centre in NK called Asawan, in fact there are two mall on opposite sides of the main road heading from NK to UT. The shop on the Western side is like a combination of a Tesco and a Macro. Great prices and by far cheaper than anywhere else. For example a kilo of chicken thighs with drumstick attached 62THB. Whole kingfish (fresh despite the distance from the ocean) 80THB kilo. Pork ribs (with lots of good meat attached not just bone) 119THB a kilo. Mince pork just 99THB per kilo and very lean with not much fat. Kilo of rambutan 22THB.

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

My wife and I visit UT periodically, and when we do, we usually stay at one or two of our regular favorite small hotels within a few minutes walk of Central mall. Both recently built, both clean, well maintained and nice. Rates in the 400 to 500 baht per night range.

In central BKK for that price, you'd be scraping the bugs off the walls and floors, or, be renting by the hour or two at a ST place.

As for the mall, same here, last time we were there it was pretty much thriving with Thais. Though a lot of the farang restaurants around town seemed to be taking a hit, because of exchange rates, the economy, visas, etc etc.

Edited July 25, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[elliss]

Having just got back from Udon and Nong Khai I can say this. The prices in Tesco Lotus and Big C are exactly the same in UT and NK as what they are in Phuket. They should be cheaper, right, because of the huge difference in property values. But they are not.

There is a new large shopping centre in NK called Asawan, in fact there are two mall on opposite sides of the main road heading from NK to UT. The shop on the Western side is like a combination of a Tesco and a Macro. Great prices and by far cheaper than anywhere else. For example a kilo of chicken thighs with drumstick attached 62THB. Whole kingfish (fresh despite the distance from the ocean) 80THB kilo. Pork ribs (with lots of good meat attached not just bone) 119THB a kilo. Mince pork just 99THB per kilo and very lean with not much fat. Kilo of rambutan 22THB.

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

Quite right , the new night life soi in Nong Kai , has many attractions , and ,,, the price is right .

Cheaper than udon,,, less farlangs , kap

Edited July 25, 2015 by elliss

[lostinisaan]

Having just got back from Udon and Nong Khai I can say this. The prices in Tesco Lotus and Big C are exactly the same in UT and NK as what they are in Phuket. They should be cheaper, right, because of the huge difference in property values. But they are not.

There is a new large shopping centre in NK called Asawan, in fact there are two mall on opposite sides of the main road heading from NK to UT. The shop on the Western side is like a combination of a Tesco and a Macro. Great prices and by far cheaper than anywhere else. For example a kilo of chicken thighs with drumstick attached 62THB. Whole kingfish (fresh despite the distance from the ocean) 80THB kilo. Pork ribs (with lots of good meat attached not just bone) 119THB a kilo. Mince pork just 99THB per kilo and very lean with not much fat. Kilo of rambutan 22THB.

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

Quite right , the new night life soi in Nong Kai , has many attractions , and ,,, the price is right .

Cheaper than udon,,, less farlangs , kap

If you wanna sound like an experienced expat, please use "khrap".

[SunsetT]

Having just got back from Udon and Nong Khai I can say this. The prices in Tesco Lotus and Big C are exactly the same in UT and NK as what they are in Phuket. They should be cheaper, right, because of the huge difference in property values. But they are not.

There is a new large shopping centre in NK called Asawan, in fact there are two mall on opposite sides of the main road heading from NK to UT. The shop on the Western side is like a combination of a Tesco and a Macro. Great prices and by far cheaper than anywhere else. For example a kilo of chicken thighs with drumstick attached 62THB. Whole kingfish (fresh despite the distance from the ocean) 80THB kilo. Pork ribs (with lots of good meat attached not just bone) 119THB a kilo. Mince pork just 99THB per kilo and very lean with not much fat. Kilo of rambutan 22THB.

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

Quite right , the new night life soi in Nong Kai , has many attractions , and ,,, the price is right .

Cheaper than udon,,, less farlangs , kap

If you wanna sound like an experienced expat, please use "khrap".

Crap! I used to say 'khrap' until I realised that 99% of Thais say 'Kap'.......So when in Rome......In fact, strangely, it often sounds to me like they say 'Hap'. Has anyone else noticed this?

[NeverSure]

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

Quite right , the new night life soi in Nong Kai , has many attractions , and ,,, the price is right .

Cheaper than udon,,, less farlangs , kap

If you wanna sound like an experienced expat, please use "khrap".

Crap! I used to say 'khrap' until I realised that 99% of Thais say 'Kap'.......So when in Rome......In fact, strangely, it often sounds to me like they say 'Hap'. Has anyone else noticed this?

Actually, he said "If you wanna sound like an experienced expat..." and not "If you want to sound like a Thai."

[Craig krup]

There is a new large shopping centre in NK called Asawan....

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

If you walk to the Asawann Nong Khai be conscious of the fact that nutters will ride their scooter along the hard shoulder against the flow of the four lanes of traffic. Scratch your left hip at the wrong point and you'd get a smashed elbow.

For the tightfisted Tesco-Lotus in Nong Khai seems incapable of buying the right amount of fish, so if you go about 5 it's invariably yellow sticker city.

Did you find Nong Thin park? It's very mellow. That said, I think Udon's even better: Nong Prajak in particular. Mind you, I'm a bit of a park-o-phile: maybe park obsessive.

I'm not a drinker so I didn't see what Nong Khai's waterfront as it stretches East away towards the big Wat looked like at night. I can't imagine that there's anything like enough custom to make all those bars profitable. A lot of people slag off Udon, but I think in the long term it would be a lot more livable.

[Bulldozer Dawn]

There is a new large shopping centre in NK called Asawan....

So it is still easy to live cheap and well in UT and NK. And aren't the girls lovely...not those death warmed up vampires you have in Grungthep...

If you walk to the Asawann Nong Khai be conscious of the fact that nutters will ride their scooter along the hard shoulder against the flow of the four lanes of traffic. Scratch your left hip at the wrong point and you'd get a smashed elbow.

For the tightfisted Tesco-Lotus in Nong Khai seems incapable of buying the right amount of fish, so if you go about 5 it's invariably yellow sticker city.

Did you find Nong Thin park? It's very mellow. That said, I think Udon's even better: Nong Prajak in particular. Mind you, I'm a bit of a park-o-phile: maybe park obsessive.

I'm not a drinker so I didn't see what Nong Khai's waterfront as it stretches East away towards the big Wat looked like at night. I can't imagine that there's anything like enough custom to make all those bars profitable. A lot of people slag off Udon, but I think in the long term it would be a lot more livable.

From what I could see from my last trip Nong Khais tourist economy has collapsed entirely. Those businesses along the strip used to be busy with a few farang customers but there was always throngs of Thai families in the bigger places. I have been going to Nong Khai on and off now for over a decade. The Indo China market was always crowded. This last trip it was like a ghost town. We walked the entire length and bumped into only a small handful of other shoppers. The stores have huge amounts of stock just gathering dust. I keep a close eye on farang businesses listed for sale in Nong Khai. This last 6 months there have been a dozen or more of them for sale. A lot when you consider what a small place it is.

[elliss]

Saturday I had a delicious brekky in Brendons river front Bar , in Nong kai .

Indo chine market , .was very busy , seems to be a weekend attraction .

What ever happened to the Danish baker , those were the days..

kap

[Craig krup]

From what I could see from my last trip Nong Khais tourist economy has collapsed entirely. Those businesses along the strip used to be busy with a few farang customers but there was always throngs of Thai families in the bigger places. I have been going to Nong Khai on and off now for over a decade. The Indo China market was always crowded. This last trip it was like a ghost town. We walked the entire length and bumped into only a small handful of other shoppers. The stores have huge amounts of stock just gathering dust. I keep a close eye on farang businesses listed for sale in Nong Khai. This last 6 months there have been a dozen or more of them for sale. A lot when you consider what a small place it is.

Julian at the Mut Mee last summer was close to slitting his wrists. There was a lot of concrete being poured onto the bank of the river to create yet more space and you have to think "Why?" The place is crying out for a decent gym but all that anyone seems able to think about is yet more bars.

Right where the market opens up next to the river walkway there's a little bar/cafe owned by a really nice Aussie called Lance. It's a smart little place and that would seem to be a prime location but it was pretty quiet. Out further along it's a ghost town. The only busy retail operation is the street noodle shop shoveling food into the kids straight out of school at four o'clock.

[Come to think about it, what's that all about? Thirty kids in uniform, many on scooters, having what looks like a pretty decent meal. Do they go home and eat again?]

[Craig krup]

Saturday I had a delicious brekky in Brendons river front Bar , in Nong kai .

Indo chine market , .was very busy , seems to be a weekend attraction .

What ever happened to the Danish baker , those were the days..

kap

Brendan's also a nice bloke. He's got a few inexpensive rooms, but again there's wasn't a lot of custom. Right next to Brendan is the bloke who (or whose wife) has a good laundry operation. The girls in the (IIRC) Chicken Bar offer a laundry service, but I don't think domestic service is really their thing! From what I heard, however, if you get aggressive knocking hell out of you really is their thing.