My 21 days - Overland Border Crossing Train Rides from Malaysia > Thailand > Laos > China (Feb 10 > March 2 2025) Udon Thani, Thailand - Feb 13 2025 (Day 4)

Sanjao Pu-Ya Shrine,
Udon Thani, Thailand

Udon Thani City Museum, Thailand

City Pillar Shrine, Udon Thani
Thailand 

Thursday Feb 13 2025 (Day 4, Udon Thani, Thailand) - my group's first visit to Udon Thani, spent our day visiting Downtown Udon Thani, City Musuem, City Pillar Shrine etc & an evening walk to the Udon Thani Night Market & Food Centre for our dinner, enjoyed very much the pace of life here & the atmosphere, ideal for short overnight stays before entering Laos !

Ground transport + Food: 294bht (Rm38)

1. Thai Grab: 88bht + 55bht + 62bht = 599bht @150bht (cost sharing of 4) 
2. Food: 9bht + 40bht + 25bht + 10bht + 60bht

1) Udon Thani Railway Station, Thailand - arrived early in the morning after an overnight train ride from Bangkok (Bang Sue Railway Station). 

2) Hotel Accommodation (Udon Thani, Thailand, 2 nights stay): Surada Guest House, room tariff Rm44 (US$10, twin sharing), arrived early & left our luggage in our hotel as check-in time is around 12.00.  

3) Walkabout in Prime Square & Uptown Udon Thani, Thailand - familiarisation visit, the oldtown area is small so fairly easy to do the walking !   

4) Udon Thani Morning Market, Thailand - a good starting point to get a feel of the daily life of the local people ! 

5) Breakfast near Udon Thani Morning Market - home made pork / bamboo shoot broth (40bht), yummy & tasty ! Also bought some chicken satay for our outing today.  

5) Sanjao Pu-Ya Chinese Shrine, Udon Thani, Thailand - located next to the Nong Bua Lake, aholy place for Thai born Chinese ! 

6) Nong Bua Lake, Udon Thani, Thailand - a scenic lake near UD Town & Pu-Ya Chinese shrine, there is a jogging track with playground. 

7) Thai-Chinese Culture Centre, Udon Thani, Thailand, - near Pu Ya shrine, a modern cultural complex with a museum & a Chinese garden, the gate was locked at the time of our visit. 

8) E-hailed a Lao cab from the downtown Udon Thani > Udon Thani City Museum

9) Udon Thani City Museum - state managed museum showcasing provincial arts, culture & archeology & Udon Thani town history, a nice place to explore & visit ! 

10) Nong Prajak Park & Prachak Lake, Udon Thani, Thailand 

11) Chinese Temple, Downtown Udon  Thani, Thailand - near the City Pillar Shrine. 

12) City Pillar Shrine, Downtown Udon Thani, Thailand 

13) Udon Thani Provincial Court, Udon Thani, Thailand

14) Udon Thani Provincial Hall, Udon Thani, Thailand 

15) Downtown Udon Thani - the commercial hub, rows of gold & jewellery shops / currency exchange etc, our group bought KIP2,153,000 using a US$100 note from a gold smith shop cum currency exchange here. 

16) My simple lunch (takeaway) in Udon Thani City Museum compounds. 

17) UD Town, Udon Thani, Thailand - a modern township near the Udon Thani Railway Station, Lotus Supermarket. Udon Thani Night Market & Food Court, within walking distance from our hotel. 

18) Car hire for our Ban Chiang visit tomorrow (24 hours, 1,000bht = US$30 + a refundable deposit of 3,000bht) from a local cars / bikes rental shop next to the Udon Thani Hospital  

19) Udon Thani Railway Station, Thailand - a brief visit ot inquire about train ticket purchase from Udon Thani > Kamsavath. 

20) UD Town Food Center, Udon Thani, Thailand - had our chicken rice (50bht) dinner here ! 

21) UD Night Market, Udon Thani, Thailand - nearby is Lotus Supermarket, UP Town & Food Centre.