Udon Thani for Digital Nomads

Thailand is one of the most visited countries in the world, and the north-eastern region of Isaan takes-up about one third of the country. For reasons I've never understood it gets largely ignored by tourists. If anywhere in Isaan ever is going to break-into the consciousness of tourists, my guess is that it will be Udon Thani.

While tourism here is still minimal and largely unnoticeable compared to more touristy places in Thailand, by simply being the closest big city to Laos it does attract a few stragglers travelling north. There's also a large community of retired expats here, meaning an area of foreigner-aimed bars in the centre of the city has sprung-up to cater to their drinking habits. That alone makes it more foreigner-friendly than anywhere else in Isaan.

Don't make the mistake of thinking this is even close to somewhere like Chiang Mai. There are maybe 50 bars on soi Samphan Thamit and the surrounding area that are very foreigner-friendly. Getting away from this area and the centre of the city, you can walk all day and only see a handful of non-Thai faces.

Udon is a very relaxed, very welcoming city. It's safe, it's cheap, it's pleasant to walk around, and it has some big lakes within easy reach of the city that are great for exercising. It's no surprise then that since my first visit in 2023, I've been here four times, the most recent two stays being for a month each, and will likely be back many more times in the coming years.

For so long as my fears are not realised and Udon stays off the mass-tourism radar, it'll remain one of my favourite places in the world.

Taken from the Nong Bua Park running track, this is part of the Thai-Chinese Cultural Center.

Who is Udon Thani suitable for?

It's a city that has something for everyone, so long as you're aware it's not a touristy place.

For the people who like to be active, there are three large lakes within the city that have running tracks around them. I've been told that there's some good hiking outside the city, although I've not explored this myself.

There's some beautiful architecture here, for the people who can appreciate that, or for the ones who want to pull stupid faces and take a selfie to post on Instagram for no one to care about. And for the alcoholics there are quite a few bars.

This isn't Pattaya. If you're expecting a city of bars and clubs, it's not that at all. The bar area is fairly modest, it's just bigger than anywhere else in Isaan. And this isn't Chiang Mai. If you want endless tours and menus written in English, then go to Chiang Mai.

It is not a touristy city. It's still a local place, but there is a modest foreign presence so you won't be treated like an alien either. It's in that nice middle-ground.

How affordable is Udon Thani?

As with everywhere in Isaan, you'll notice that things are much cheaper than in other parts of Thailand. I'm yet to stay in accommodation here that's cost me more than 770 baht per night, and I've stayed in really nice places (see below). You can easily get meals in local restaurants for well under 100 baht, and even in fancy restaurants you'll do well to spend 300 baht. A small bottle of local beer in a bar will be 80-90 baht.

Is it easy to get by with English in Udon Thani?

You will encounter many people in Udon that don't speak English, particularly once you leave the city centre, so you'll definitely find things easier if you speak Thai. For example, don't expect English menus if you go to local restaurants.

On the other hand, I've been approached by more strangers in Udon wanting to strike up a conversation to practice their English than I have anywhere else in Thailand.

Is Udon Thani safe?

Yes, very.

The pavements are pretty uneven, so make sure you look where you're walking so you don't end up in a hole, and there are a lot of soi dogs, but they're more docile than other places in the country. Not aggressive at all.

In fact they've got so used to me walking back drunk in the middle of the night that I'm pretty much their leader.

How is the Internet in Udon Thani?

I've stayed in two different accommodations in Udon, and in both the connection has been stable, and many times faster than I need to make video calls.

Buying tea in Udon Thani

My biggest ongoing gripe with Thailand is that they have some amazing local teas, but all of the major supermarket chains elect not to stock them, instead favouring overpriced imported brands.

Given the unhealthy amount of tea I drink, it means I have to scour the city anytime I go somewhere new to find these local teas. In Udon the best place I've found is ใจดีจัง (which translates to 'so kind'). It's directly opposite the Tang Ngeesoon Superstore, and is a little health food store stocking among other things, lots of Thai teas.

It's a local shop. The staff don't speak any English and many of the packs of tea only have Thai writing on them. But they offer one aisle of nothing but tea, most of which is priced at 30 baht for 20 tea bags.

ใจดีจัง is directly opposite the Tang Ngeesoon Superstore (which you can see in the reflection). Every time I came here, someone was sitting on the step selling something, so look for that.

Being sociable in Udon Thani

If you don't drink beer, I'm not really sure what there is to do in Udon as a lone foreigner. I'm unaware of any Meetup events or alike for meeting new people. But then I drink beer, so it doesn't really matter.

The foreigner-friendly bars are all on or around soi Samphan Thamit, so head there and have a wander until you find what you're looking for. Many of them are hostess bars, but there are plenty of others where you can drink alone without being hassled. If you're looking for a sports bar & restaurant there's a good sports bar & restaurant called The Sports Bar & Restaurant. They have several screens that can play different events, so even if you walk past and they aren't playing the Everton game it's worth wandering in and asking if they can put it on.

Many bars in this area have TVs and no customers, so whatever game it is that you want to see, you can usually find somewhere to put it on.

If you go out in this area enough, one thing you might notice is even if you go to a different bar on a different night, you'll see the same people again and again. There seems to be a small number of expats here whose lives are to go to every single bar, every single day, so you can oddly get to know the same people by going to different bars each time.

Most close at 1am, although some will stay open for as long as there are customers, so you'll be able to find somewhere to drink for as long as you can stay conscious.

Where to run in Udon Thani

It seems to be an Isaan tendency that if there's a large body of water, they build a running track around it. And I love them for that. It creates some really great places to run. In Udon I've run at three such lakes, each of them a joy.

Nong Prajak Park

The first one, nearby to my room during my first stay in Udon, is Nong Prajak Park. It's a lake with a 3.1km circumference and a running track and separated cycling track all the way around. Regardless of if you're running, it's such a pleasant route that you should make sure to come here.

If you come during the daytime you'll have the whole thing to yourself. After dark it has a few dark spots and can get a little crowded, with the only other downside being that as you run past the entrance for cars, not only do you have to contend with occasional traffic crossing your path, but there are also a couple of sets of stairs (four steps down, four steps up) that you have to negotiate.

Both of these are a non-issue on slow runs, but kind of prohibit Nong Prajak Park from being suitable for sprints or faster runs.

At Nong Prajak Park the running track and cycling track are separated (this picture is actually of the cycling track), and if you come here at lunchtime you'll have the whole place to yourself.

Nong Bua Public Park

Nong Bua Public Park has a circumference of 1.8km, so it's a little under three laps to run a 5k. Like Nong Prajak Park, it's an incredibly pleasant place to come, and I'd recommend it regardless of if you're running. As with Nong Prajak, it's great for slow and steady runs. The reason it's not great for faster runs is it has a couple of bottle-necks, particularly around the Thai-Chinese Cultural Center on the southern part of the route.

There you're running on a slightly narrow walkway, often with groups of school kids coming in the opposite direction. And while they're very mindful to step aside when they see you, they aren't always paying attention. Not great when you're sprinting into them at full speed.

You might think that going around the outside of a lake, the running track wouldn't have any sharp corners, but as it snakes around the trees, that's not entirely true. In the daytime the park is pretty quiet but somewhat inexplicably, in the evenings when it's much busier with people running, there are some folks who rent-out roller skates, meaning you have kids falling all over the place.

In Nong Bua Park the running track and cycling track aren't separated, but cyclists (blue) go clockwise on the outside, while runners (red) go anti-clockwise on the inside, so there's little risk of collision.

Nong Sim Public Park

Nong Sim Public Park is the shortest and most inconspicuous of the three parks listed here, but it's the best overall for running.

It has a circumference of around 1.3km, so you've got a little under four laps to do a 5k. Unlike in Nong Prajak Park, there is no intersecting traffic or stairs here, and unlike in Nong Bua Park, there are no bottle-necks or sharp corners. It's flat and wide the whole way around so is suitable for fast runs.

There are several workout areas dotted around the park, although they've frustratingly removed two of the three pull-up bars.

Even after sundown Nong Sim remains well illuminated and fairly quiet. I'm really not sure why more people don't come here. It's so inconspicuous that it's not even named on Google Maps yet.

A word of warning - it's right next to a large school. If you come here as the kids are coming out, then it gets quite crowded with loitering children. Other than that it's perfect.

Nong Sim Park is the best overall park for running. Like Nong Bua Park, runners go anti-clockwise on the inside (green) while cyclists go clockwise on the outside (blue), but it's so wide and so quiet, even after sundown, that the risk of a collision or running into a bottle-neck is minimal.

Vegan-friendly restaurants in Udon Thani

UD Vegan is the new kid on the block for vegan restaurants in Udon - it opened sometime between my two most recent visits, but quickly became my favourite vegan restaurant in Udon.

It's fully vegan, as you can probably tell, but is a step-up from the local 'jay' restaurants that you find around town, in that you get a bilingual menu, all food is made to order, and you even have a small number of pasta dishes on the menu.

Among the more traditional 'jay' restaurants are Phaisach Tana Jay Vegeterian, which is a lovely little family place that the kids help run, Guan-Im Healthy Vegetarian Kitchen down a side road, and Mit Jay Shop more conveniently located on the main road.

These three local 'jay' restaurants, along with Maeya are located in close proximity to one another (and also walking distance from UD Vegan), so this is definitely the best area to come to in search of vegan food.

Maeya is a more upmarket meat-serving restaurant, but the bilingual menu has a three page vegan section that you can just point at if you don't speak Thai. Prior to UD Vegan, coming here was the easiest place to get vegan food.

If you don't want Thai food, and I do grow tired of eating it for every meal, options in Udon are very limited. I've never been to Salad Time in person as it's a bit out of the city centre, but they're on Grab and have some vegan options on their menu, including some large salads, as you might expect. Primani's, an Indian restaurant a short walk from Central, used to be a lot more welcoming to vegans than it currently is, as all the items that were once in the dedicated vegetarian section of the menu got relegated to the 'sides' section. However the owner is friendly, speaks fluent English, and understands what vegan means, and you can get a vegan curry, rice and bread for 200 to 250 baht. Just be careful that not all curries that you'd expect to be vegan (channa masala for example) are unless you specifically request it.

Kera is the other Indian restaurant in town, and their menu is much more vegan-friendly, however their prices are much less budget-friendly. I went there one time, but I found it so expensive (a plate of plain rice is 79 baht) that I never went back. The food was very good though.

You'll find 'jay' restaurants other than the ones mentioned here, dotted around town, and occasionally even vegan street vendors (one really good one used to setup nearby to Zing Zing Jay, although I haven't been there for a while to know if she still does). Your only other option is that a man with a bicycle sets-up next to the entrance to the Makro car park and sells very basic vegan burgers. I found him one time. That was a couple of years ago, and it wasn't a very pleasant walk down a main road to get there, so I've never been back, but you could have a look and see if he still sells his burgers there.

You won't go hungry in Udon. And while there are several restaurants that you can eat at, variety is severely lacking.

UD Vegan is the new kid on the block of vegan restaurants in Udon, but it's also the best.

Where I stayed

Jamjuree Home

10/9 Benchang Rd

Jamjuree Home is more a homestay than a hotel, although the guests have a segregated area which consists of four rooms and a large, two-floor common area. Udon Thani is a non-touristy city and I stayed here in the low season of a post-covid world. That meant for much of my stay I was the only guest. I arrived here having booked a standard bedroom, but the hotel owner, who's one of the sweetest people I've ever met, offered to upgrade me to the family studio that you see in the details above at no extra cost.

I'd say that calling it a studio is being modest. The bedroom is separated from the kitchen by a wall. Surely that makes it a one bedroom. Semantics aside, it's a really, really lovely place.

As well as the owner, there's one member of staff and they are amazingly considerate. They make an effort to clean the room at times you're out, and at one point I mentioned to the owner that I was going to Loei after Udon and asked if she knew anything about how/where to get the bus. She didn't.

Not only did she come back ten minutes later having called around the bus companies and having written down the bus times for me, but on the day I checked-out a week or so later, she did the exact same thing again. All from an off-the-cuff comment I made one day.

Breakfast is included and this was a highlight for me. When I checked-in the owner asked me about breakfast, and on telling her I was vegan there was no hesitation in saying what food she'd be able to prepare. I never had to mention it again, and each morning she made me a breakfast that consisted of a vegan potato and mushroom soup, a salad, some fruit, a vegan cake, and the fanciest pot of green tea I've ever had. It's served in a glass pot with a glass lid on a glass stand with a glass cup and a glass saucer with a strainer to pour the tea through to filter it, which itself has a stand and its stand has a stand.

Prior to staying here if a tea bag had a string I'd think it was posh. I have the same rule for tampons.

Breakfast is served from 8am to 10:30am each day. Having got into the habit of not eating until lunch prior to coming here, I'd come down at 10:29 after doing my morning yoga, and it was really the perfect way to start the day.

The room was so comfortable, and pretty spacious for what I'm used to. It includes a balcony and a sort of kitchen. No cooking facilities other than a microwave, but a large fridge, a sink, a hot water dispenser and some plates and cutlery, as well as a small table with a couple of chairs.

The common area is huge, especially considering I was the only guest most of the time, and has many other sofas/chairs to sit on, and another balcony. The one downside is the common area isn't air conditioned, so gets pretty hot during the daytime, although they did give me a fan for when I was sitting out here coding one day. The property also has a nice garden which includes some seating. It's a great place to sit until you've stopped sweating after a run.

All of this would make it an amazing place to stay, but perhaps the best thing about Jamjuree Home is the location. You're about a 30-minute walk from the city centre, which puts you in a local, quiet area, but it's a comfortable walk when you do go into town. You have a couple of local 'jay' (vegan) restaurants nearby, as well as a 7-11 and some other convenience stores, and I went to the nearby Fit Gym three times during my stay, which is a huge, well-equipped but not very well attended gym that costs just 160 baht for a day pass. The crown jewel though, is Nong Prajak Park, just a short walk from Jamjuree Home.

It has a cycle path and separated running track all the way around its 3.1km circumference. It's the perfect place to go for a run or a walk when you need exercise, or it's nice to just go and sit by the water. Having it so nearby is the cherry on top of this already perfect accommodation.

Jamjuree Home behind an umbrella.

Phattharasaya Home

198/89 Adunlayadet 4 Alley

I've stayed here 3 times as a digital nomad, starting in December 2023, for a total of 72 nights, most recently...

I'd loved my first stay in Udon so much in part because I'd loved staying at Jamjuree Home, so it was with dismay that I discovered it to be fully-booked when I made plans to return.

I struggled so much to find an adequate replacement that I considered skipping Udon altogether, although eventually I decided to take a chance on the brand new Phattharasaya Home. It was a blessing in disguise as it gives a very different, but equally satisfying experience in Udon.

The service is far less personal, that's the first thing to note. You're renting an apartment. There are no ever-present staff at the building, so even to check-in you have to message the manager to let her know your arrival time. That will likely be the only time you see her, or anyone else while staying here. You'll get a message on Line once per week asking if you want the cleaner to come around, but that's about it.

During my first stay I was either the first, or one of the first people to stay in this particular apartment (there are six apartments in the building). I know this because most of it still had plastic on, including the TV which I had the privilege of unwrapping. And while it can be nice to know that everything's brand new, I prefer things to be a little more worn-in, and I found by my second stay they'd gone through their growing pains and fixed anything that didn't work.

That made it a more enjoyable stay, and it really is a great place. A very comfortable room. The sofa's a little too comfortable actually, because I can sit there for hours. The room's wifi is fast and reliable and there's a TV. Not a very good one, but it is there.

What I really love about these apartments though, is how much natural light gets in. They have floor-to-ceiling, east-facing windows. And if you, like me, love waking up with the sun on your face, then you too will love it here. On my first stay I was on the fourth (top) floor. On my second I'd been relegated to the third floor. It still got a lot of light, but on my third I specifically requested I be put back on the fourth floor. It's so great when so much light gets in.

On the ground floor of the building is a laundry room, accessible with your key card, but heed these warnings:

You know how people feel the need to put technology in places where it's really not needed? Toasters with bluetooth, that kind of thing. Well this laundry room is a fine example, as rather than accepting coins or tokens like normal people, the machines have little touch-screen computers on the front. Touch this screen and a QR code appears, which you can scan with your banking app if, and only if, you have a Thai bank account.

I do, but if you're here as a tourist and don't have a local account, then sorry, you can't use the washing machines.

That's not actually a bad thing anyway, because these machines are a bit shit. Once the machine (eventually) receives confirmation of your payment, it starts all by itself. Yep, you have no say over the settings, they're all decided for you and you can't change them. For the washer, that's a cold wash without much spinning so your clothes will be not very clean and dripping wet.

A better option is to go to one of the nearby launderettes. I go to the Otteri at the north end of Adulyadej Road when I stay here, about a 10-15 minute walk from the room.

The location of the apartment is down a side road off a side road, so is very local, but you're only a five minute walk from the nearest 7-11. Central shopping mall, which marks the centre of Udon, is about a 15 minute walk, with the train station and UD Town being a similar distance. Nong Sim Park is just beyond Otteri, and is a great place to go for a walk or run.

You will encounter some soi dogs down these streets, but they're not at all aggressive or territorial. I even saw a snake walking back after a night out one time but that was pretty deferential too. The animals are very passive in Udon.

I was walking back after a night out, not the snake.

I've stayed here for a total of ten weeks now, and when I inevitably come back to Udon next time, I'll probably stay here again. I don't really have a bad word to say about it. Just be aware that it's an apartment and not a hotel. If you're looking for staff to help you and breakfast each morning, it's not for you. You're better looking at Jamjuree Home.

The apartment, from my first stay up on the fourth floor.

Summary of Udon Thani

Final thoughts

Do you ever go somewhere, absolutely love it, then return a few years later to find it's completely changed for the worse, usually because of tourism?

That's my fear with Udon. Right now it's one of my favourite places in the world. It's Thailand's best kept secret, and I hope it stays that way. But given the current push to ramp-up tourism in Thailand, I'm not sure how long it will. It's surely only a matter of time until it gets "discovered".

If my fears are correct, then now is the time to visit. Given what I've just said, I hope you don't.

Do I want to come back again?

Absolutely. I'd be very surprised if I'm not back again by the end of the year.