Why I love Udon

As some of you know Ive just set up house here. I noticed some Thailand bashing on another thread so i just wanted to share my experiences thus far.

1. I ordered an internet connection and within 48 hours I had wi-fi installed and up and running. This included running a line about a hundred yards from the road.

2. While trying to open a bank account I was informed that I would have to have a government official sponsor me to do so. After leaving the bank and while on the steps outside discussing it with the Mrs, she noticed a friend of her's on the street who was a cop. Bank account opened 15 minutes later.

3. Same cop gives me a red post box and comes to visit my house daily and signs a little book to say he's been there, minimal cost. Looks after the property and tells me if there is any traffic accidents or any trouble in General to call him and he'll sort it (Hope to God I never have to call him).

4. All the ex-pats Ive met so far have been sound out, some from the forum and some not.

5. I can eat an all day buffet for 69 Baht! (Opposite Koala Bar) Superb Thai food!

6. While having some Medical problems I got treatment almost immediately (Completely new experience for me)

7. Cable TV installed same day as ordered.

Thats it for the moment but before bashing Udon or Thailand in General maybe compare to your home country. Things aren't so bad!

Totally agree with you bob and the stress levels have come way down! I know there will be some challenges ahead but Im hoping not too much. I still have a few things to get sorted but, tomorrow, mai pen rai kwrap! Oh and I almost forgot weather has been the nicest Ive ever experienced in Thailand, with maybe today an exception.

Cable TV, friendly policemen, cable TV and internet, that gets installed quickly did not bring me to Udon nor the 69 baht buffet. It's the pussy.

Hahahahahah Prenders, well to each his own and good luck with that.

I used a little different approach I listed the reasons I left the home Country. Haven't looked at it in years. But, it sure came in handy in the first three years. Once everything is set up and you've adjusted pretty easy living.

The one thing about that list it's probably longer now. Cause I know nothing changed, if anything it got worse. I still have my moments here as well, just part of life.

Maybe i'm A little prejeduce,but I think Udon is A nice little,well maybe not so little town.It's usually easy to get around.
Can usually find something that I like to eat at reasonable prices.And for the most part Thai's and Farangs are fairly sociable.
And the weather is hot,but thats thailand.At least there are some nice days also.

Why I love Udon, I love the way in which locals let their 8 yr old kids ride motorbikes, teaching them personal responsibility i guess.

I like the way that the cops target the poor by pulling over Motorcycles and on the spot fining them 100 bt for not wearing a flimsy piece of plastic on the heads.

I love the prospect of a new sports centre costing Millions and yet they can't find the money to build, repair or even mark lane lines on roads.

Love the internet service when it goes work, I pay for 6 MB but in fact I'm fvking lucky if it delivers a quarter of that at the best of times.

Love the fact that at my daughters school the English teacher can't speak any known form of English.

Love the fact that you can get caught 4 times over the limit but still can just slip the cops a few thou and drive home while still well pissed.

Love riding my bike around the country seeing the dirt poor people with nothing to do because there is no meaningful employment available.

Love seeing the school age kids running around villages during school hours because their parents can't be bothered to send them to school.

Love riding my bike around the county side and seeing tons of plastic garbage littering the side of the roads because people are to fvcking lazy to keep it for a rubbish bin.

I particularly love those underpowered and overloaded sugar cane trucks belching black smoke, and providing entertainment for all when a back axle assembly completely detaches itself on the highway, giving other road user's a game of dodge the truck parts.

Another dodging game is provided by food vendors blocking the footpaths with their stalls, forcing one to walk on the
road way.

Fatb.....d. It is a well known fact, you will see what you are. If you are happy, you will see happiness. If you are miserable you will see misery. Not only that but you will project for others to see you ,the same as you feel . So I feel sorry for you in your obvious disenchantment with Udon .Yes all the things you mention can be seen here, but how often? Maybe if your unlucky, a couple of times a year. I have been here nearly 10 years and never encountered many of them .There are 365 days in a year. Surely you don't let those rare occurrences spoil your joy for them all?
For myself, I love Udon. It didn't happen overnight, in fact I ran away after just two days when I first arrived . It was April and I found the heat unbearable, shuffled back to my aircon condo in Pattaya, where my TW to be ,joined me for 6 months, but she wasn't happy away from the environment and her friends, so we came back. Yes it was a lot cooler then, but more than that , I had a reason to be here, we were getting married .That's when my love started to grow, not only for her, but for Udon itself . The two were closely entwined . Whether my feelings for the town would be so strong were I without her, I really don't know. For the first couple of years, possibly not, but now, Udon is firmly in my heart. I know its rather lame but I feel comfortable here, possibly for the first time ever in my life .My only concern is with all the recent developments expanding the town and its attractions, will it change the things I love about the place . Its uniquely rural Thainess that was always so apparent. I am not against modernisation, in fact I welcome it. I enjoy the abundance of international restaurants, the availability of some foods I missed from back home. However I miss already the innocence that before was so apparent. The school kids stopping me in the Center and asking if they can practise their English with me, The involvement in community celebrations at Songkran and other times. This close intimacy with the locals has already diminished. Will it totally disappear? Who knows? Only time will tell .

Trubrit, as always you have made some valid points, but the smoky vehicles, the extreme poverty, the rubbish lying beside every foot of road etc, I see 4 times a week when I go out in the country on my bike.

I settled in Udon only 4 yrs ago but have lived in Thailand permanently and made my first trip to udon in 1992.
Sure been some massive improvements since 1992, I remember it taking 4 hours from Khon kean as there was only a single lane connecting two major cities back then.

As you point out, Back then a farang was a rarity,even I was constantly besieged by young nubile ladies.
But some things remain the same, poverty, the thieving corrupt cops, the vast difference between the haves and have not's, the lack of interest in the political administration in putting into place a social support system for the very poor.

Despite the negativity of the post, I'm not unhappy by the way, great friends and family but I guess I lost my rose colored specs some time ago.
As well I can't help comparing the rate of improvement in Malaysia over a similar period of time

fatbas*********
I'm with you on this one (great minds think alike). . I have been here 6 years and apart from the richer getting richer I do not see much,if any, improvement in the standards of the poorer people in the community. I must admit for the first couple of years my rose coloured specs were fine but then they began to get scratched and when I replaced them with clear lenses I realized things were not as I first saw them.
I certainly do not feel as happy as when I first settled here. Yes, I have a choice to stay or return home. Other Farangs are not so fortunate to be able to do so. I suppose that in many years Thailand may become more democratic and less corrupt but I shall never see it in my life time. Have a nice day

FB, I dont know where you are from but Id suggest taking a long trip home. Ill bet you'll be running back to Udon like a madman! Ive only been here a very short while and while I take on board your points, i just prefer to look at things in a different way. Sure there are lont of problems here as with anywhere but I dont feel like strangling any politicians here as opposed to home! hahahahaha

Seriously though, If you want a dose of reality, do a 6 month trip back to where you are from. That should clear things up!

fatbas***d wrote:As well I can't help comparing the rate of improvement in Malaysia over a similar period of time

Does this mean that Malaysia has done away with its 'bumiputra' policy, and the Chinese political parties are now permitted to question the special rights granted to Malays, and the restrictions placed on Chinese, Indians and others? Has 'Islam' as a factor in Malay politics diminished or intensified over this similar period of time?

fatbas***d wrote:Trubrit, as always you have made some valid points, but the smoky vehicles, the extreme poverty, the rubbish lying beside every foot of road etc, I see 4 times a week when I go out in the country on my bike.

I settled in Udon only 4 yrs ago but have lived in Thailand permanently and made my first trip to udon in 1992.
Sure been some massive improvements since 1992, I remember it taking 4 hours from Khon kean as there was only a single lane connecting two major cities back then.

As you point out, Back then a farang was a rarity,even I was constantly besieged by young nubile ladies.
But some things remain the same, poverty, the thieving corrupt cops, the vast difference between the haves and have not's, the lack of interest in the political administration in putting into place a social support system for the very poor.

Despite the negativity of the post, I'm not unhappy by the way, great friends and family but I guess I lost my rose colored specs some time ago.
As well I can't help comparing the rate of improvement in Malaysia over a similar period of time

That's funny I don't notice that i on my rides, maybe I just have gotten use to it. I seem run across a very friendly proud people on my stops. Yep U see people sitting around the house when rice isn't going. But I also see people with little food stall doing the best they can with what they got.

I don't doubt for one second that what you say is true, Guess I just look at it differently. I knew it was trade off when I settled here, I have Freedom more then ever before. But, so do the Thai's.