Udon's changing

[Philip101]

The last time i went to udon thani was in june, this was my 6th time in udon and the first time i went there was in 2005.

When i first came to udon there was only about 6 bars and i was 14 at the time and i remember going into the complex, tesco's and big c and just EVERYBODY staring at me, even the people infront of me kept turning rond to look at me, dont get me wrong i absoloutly hated this and nobody stares at me now, im just another felang.

in 5 years the amount of felangs have tripled, even quadrupled. and what come's with more felangs? more bars....and what comes with more bars? even more felangs.....and what comes with even more felangs? more noise, higher prices and yes, even more felangs.

in 2005 i went to pattaya (the first and last time i went thank god) and then came up to udon because a friend of mine lived their and what i loved was everything was so much more lade back and everyone seemed to know your name.

then felang alley / soi felang opened which i really liked because it was a good place to have a beer but it was the beggining of udon.

now look at day n nght....the girls are begging you to come in like pataya, each bar is playing a differant song as loud as they can lke pattaya and now a small leo is like 60 baht. (im not a cheap charley im just saying its gone up). you never needed police in udon no theirs one permenaty outside nuttypark and day n night.


i think thailand is becoming like spain really, ounce an oasis of calm, ruined by vast tourism.

i stil love udon but, i think its changed for the worse....

odviosly im gonna get the odd guy on this saying 'if you dont like it, dont come here' but i think alot of you will agree.

i still feel safe in udon, but i felt safer 5 years ago and im sure alot of you will agree with that aswell.

thanks guys

Philip

[Wisdom]

Well philip101, i have been to Udon a few times and hope to retire in the Udon area next year. I can't really comment on how it has changed as i have missed last year and haven't been this, but reading the forum, certainly your observations are bourne out by other members comments.

However i don't think it will ever be a place for anything like mass tourism. For a start, in UK, Udon is in no travel brochure. Not Thomson, First Choice, Thomas Cook, Airtours, Kuoni, not in any of them. In travel books still it is quoted that only 2% of all tourist reach any part of Isaan.

I think around Udon, there are many towns and villages still very peaceful. Also, Loei and area very quiet, only what 100 miles to the west. I like you, hope commercialisation does not gather pace in Udon. We shall see!

[virginprune]

I have been coming to udon for only a couple of years...during my last visit, some months ago, I found that I preferred to stay out at the house...over the ring road near big c...and just cycle in for a while, day times...whenever we came into udon in the evening it was the tried and trusted places...but even here sometimes the farang with the xxxxx mindset occaisionally reared it's repulsive head!! My next visit, november, will be interesting as my g/f now works and stays in sakon nakhon during the week, so will have opportunity to compare life out there...will watch out for dog with noodles!!...I understand there is not many farang living there and no bars or restaurants catering for that client group...so should be more "authentic thailand"...whatever that means!!...will keep posting if experiences merit it

[beer monkey]

The last time i went to udon thani was in june, this was my 6th time in udon and the first time i went there was in 2005.

When i first came to udon there was only about 6 bars and i was 14 at the time and i remember going into the complex, tesco's and big c and just EVERYBODY staring at me, even the people infront of me kept turning rond to look at me, dont get me wrong i absoloutly hated this and nobody stares at me now, im just another felang.

in 5 years the amount of felangs have tripled,

So you are now 18... is that right...?

in 5 years

Just to point out the year date would be 2110 now...and not 2009.

And There was more than 6 bars in 2005.

And also its 'Farang'...and not Felang.

And yes of course it will change...time don't stand still....for no man.

in 2005 i went to pattaya (the first and last time i went thank god)

And what was so bad about pattaya that a young man like your self wouldn't like..?...would it have been that they would not let you in the 'bars' as you was very much under age..?

Thanks.

[Fawn]

the farang with the xxxxx mindset

What a great line, VP. You've defined the Felang kii nok to a tee.

[jai yen yen]

Nothing stays the same forever, sometimes good, sometimes not. this is life.

[Farang1]

EVERYBODY staring at me, even the people infront of me kept turning rond to look at me, dont get me wrong i absoloutly hated this and nobody stares at me now, im just another felang.

So, were you dressed like a radical teenager back then and now you dress a little more normal?

in 5 years the amount of felangs have tripled, even quadrupled.

Where do you get your numbers?

When i first came to udon there was only about 6 bars and i was 14 at the time

Did your parents know you were going into bars at 14yo?

My first time into Udon was 2005, also. Stayed at the Charoensri Grand. There were more than 6 bars just in that market place across the street from the complex not to mention all the others down the road.

Yes, I have seen changes in Udon over the past 4 years. Some I like, some I don't. But, that's life. You learn to adjust.

[beer monkey]

Me thinks Philip is a little confused...

[Fawn]

and just EVERYBODY staring at me, even the people infront of me kept turning rond to look at me, dont get me wrong i absoloutly hated this and nobody stares at me now, im just another felang.

Oh tell me about it, people still keep on staring at me and I've been lurking around Udon nearly as long as BM. I can't go in Dunkin' Donuts on my own anymore lest I suffer anxiety attacks 'cos those Rajabat Uni girls point and giggle at me non-stop.

[beer monkey]

So you are now 18... is that right...?

yes thats right bm.......another member told us all on another thread regarding doing a tefl course (Dec 2008).....


getting back to change....are you saying you don't like the farangs, as the more bars open the more farangs come...noisy ones at that.

in 5 years the amount of felangs have tripled, even quadrupled. and what come's with more felangs? more bars....and what comes with more bars? even more felangs.....and what comes with even more felangs? more noise, higher prices and yes, even more felangs.

this was my 6th time in udon

ruined by vast tourism.

Thats YOU Phillip....yes thats right, so you are part of making it like you describe...!!!

[Fawn]

So you are now 18... is that right...?

yes thats right bm.......another member told us all on another thread regarding doing a tefl course (Dec 2008).....

I'm lost, slow down, I can't keep up.

[cali4995]

Well, if the wee lad was 14 on his 1st trip, 5 years later he's...19. ouch my head hurts. I
think the whole country has been going through a lot of changes. There's no end to the bad news
coming out of Phuket for example and that used to be one of the most peaceful places to visit?

It's also not particulary cheap to live anywhere near a tourist area and many folks on fixed-incomes
are looking for a more economical, user-friendly location where they're not being abused every day.

The working girls always seem to go ballistic over the handsome young fellas, something about
being the first to break them in I gather. I'd be more worried about catching strange std's.

The jury's still out on that whole argument. I don't think you can sell alcohol in a bar setting, the wily
young lasses goading patrons on to drink, drink, buy more drinks and then complain when the tourist
starts to be a little sloshed and behaves badly. Want to make big profits with alcohol but no problems.

[Philip101]

beer monkey can you ever just discuss a topic without ridiculng the original post?

who cares wether i spelt ferang with an L, dos it matter???

beer monkey i think you spend a bit too much time in front of the computer my friend.

[MALC]

what difference does it make if someone says felang or farang. we all know its the same meaning. its a good job we are not all perfect. it would be a sad world to live in.

[aznyron]

well Thailand has changed i use to get 40 to 1 the Brits got 72 to 1 that a change we do not like
as for udon the are building more because they see a potential here to make profitable business
I like the idea of more shopping places to buy goods which I could use instead making daily walks around the Central mall some place else to go as for bars that a choice you make I do not drink but I enjoy going in to Mojo's for lunch or the irish clock as for day night I have not been there for a while but I enjoyed drinking a coke & playing pool with the lady boys BTW I some times won not very often. and B/M stop picking on the little boy he has not grown up yet. we FELONGS get a long well in here LOL

[Techland]

Seems MC is back...

[Prenders88]

Thats what I thought, I guess the IP is from Thailand.

[Fawn]

beer monkey can you ever just discuss a topic without ridiculng the original post?

To be fair to him, he very rarely ridicules OPs, that's normally my trick. Sounds like you've known him for a while, have you posted under another username in the past?

[wiking]

I like to go to thai place, with live music, and don t want to sit down by all these old, farang girls,
and there can you get a big beer for 50 baht
and looking the nice young girls, and here nice music

but ok for me, if some farangs want to pay double up and sit there, we have the choice.

and I hate wenn I some time come down in these soi

the pattaya WELCOME

[BobHelm]

Up to a year ago I might have agreed with Philips assessment. The destruction of the old Soi Falang caused the creation of many.many more bars than it closed. Tourism was certainly on the increase & while not many bars were busy, some were & had 'new faces' on a weekly basis.
Then the slump happened. It is rare to see customers in bars now - let alone a 'new face'. I am unsure how all but a couple of places (& them on food rather than drink) actually manage to keep their doors open. many of them have not. If the soon approaching "busy" season is as poor as last years (& personally I can't see it being any better) then many more places will have the shutters down in the New Year.
So, while maybe more Falang actually live in Udon now & so can be seen around the shops. The bars are pretty devoid of customers & will probably remain that way until the world economy recovers. Even then I see the "upward" trend that seemed to be happening to Udon not at the level it was.
I can think of quite a few Falang that were former residents of Pataya & Phuket (fed up with the hassle & aggravation) who moved up to Udon during this time. Quite a few of them no longer reside in Thailand at all now....