Mountains and lakes

I'll add ubonrat lake to my list thank you everyone.

willy boy if you are driving around try going towards nong bua lamphu towards Loei you come across "Erawan cave" the caves are set high up so its a long climb up by steps or rope if you prefer , then on to loei,do the whole loopdown to lomsak,at the road junction theres a police box with a row of resturants great crispy duck there !!

then head towards King Kong on highway 12, through Nam Nao national park,there is also Phu Pha Man national park and Phu Wiang national park either go back via king kong sorry meant khon kean or the road towards Si chompoo back to Nong Bua Lamphu then to Udon.

Head in the other direction to sakon nakon and there are 3 lake reservoirs and more Lam pao dam and Nam wan dam and more national parks. Hire a car the routes are simple and driving is a breeze stop where you want see what you want but buy a good up to date road map. i recommend Michelin book of the road Tourist and motoring atlas.

Enjoy Willy Boy .

Thank you Beer Monkey. That sounds interesting. I've added it to my list of place to visit.

I hope to be coming up to udon next month, so will have plenty to do and see.

thanks again.

no problem willy boy, give yourself plenty of time a week or so, you don't want to be rushing about, take time to enjoy it.

Does Nok Air fly directly from Udon to Loei?

Yes they do and have a promotional rate currently for 200 baht per ticket inclusive. The journey time is about 30 minutes.

Flying sounds a good idea. Having just driven there and back sunday/monday, it is a tedious 2 hour drive -150kms, each way, (with a lot of road improvement works being carried out along the way - ramps, pot holes, dust and tar).

Loie incidentally I quite liked. There are a number of hotels in the centre, one or two with restaurants. There's a Steak House restaurant and several Thai style restaurant/pubs with live music. I saw some massage shops and the odd Karaoke, even a few farangs.

We stayed at the Loie Orchid 400/450 baht per night.

But can you get Fish and Chips there???