Udon Thani for Digital Nomads

Udon Thani is Thailand's best kept secret, and counter-productive to writing this article, I hope it stays that way.

It's a really, really friendly town, with just enough alien presence that there's a quite extensive area of foreigner-aimed bars in the centre of town. Great to head to if you want to get a drink and have someone to talk to. Leave this immediate area and it becomes very local with not much English spoken.

It's one of those rare places that's found just enough tourism to be welcoming to an outsider, but not so much that it's ruined what made it nice in the first place.

I enjoyed my first stay so much that in the first iteration of this article I proclaimed Udon "my new favourite place in the world." Come my second visit I was staying in very different accommodation in a different part of the city, giving me a very different but equally rewarding experience, doing nothing to deter me from my original proclamation. It's still my favourite place in the world. It's cheap, even by Thai standards, the people are really friendly and welcoming, there are big parks that are great for running, there's a fun area of bars for when you need to let loose and the Internet's fast and reliable. What more could you want?

Well perhaps better vegan food and more organised social events, but you know when they happen? When there are too many tourists, and I'd rather it stay as it is and I'll go out by myself and eat Thai food everyday.

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

Where I stayed

Jamjuree Home

10/9 Benchang Rd

The most important thing when you go somewhere is booking the right accommodation. If you're like me and you work from your room then you're going to be spending a lot of time there, so you need to get it right, and boy did I.

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 come for a run or a walk when you need exercise, or it's nice to just come 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 loved my first stay in Udon so much, in large part because I loved my accommodation. So it was with dismay that Jamjuree Home, the accommodation from my first stay, was fully-booked when I made plans to return.

I struggled so much to find an adequate replacement that I considered changing my itinerary to skip Udon Thani altogether, although eventually I opted to take a chance on the brand new Phattharasaya Home, and I'm glad that I did. It was a blessing in disguise as it gave me a very different, but equally satisfying experience in Udon.

The service is far less personal. There are no ever-present staff at the apartment, so you have to message the manager to let her know of your arrival time so she can meet you there. That anonymity's not always a bad thing. I'm a very private person so hate the feeling of people knowing my business, like when and how often I go out. Here there are no worries.

Only twice during my sixteen-night stay did anyone enter my room, when the maid came around to clean, and on both occasions I was given 24 hours notice. That's my kind of service.

I was either the first, or one of the first people to stay in this particular apartment (there are six apartments here altogether). I know this because loads of the stuff still had plastic packaging on it, including the TV which I had the privilege of unwrapping. While there is some comfort in knowing everything is brand new, I tend to prefer staying somewhere that's a little more worn-in, and that proved true as there had definitely been some shoddy workmaship putting this room together.

For example, when I sat on one of the bar stools for the first time, a screw dropped-out the bottom. I did my best to replace it, but lacking a screwdriver I didn't do a very good job. Or on the two-tiered coffee table, the second tier is only attached to two of the legs, meaning that if you put anything on either of the opposing corners, it just tips-up. Someone was rushing when they put that together. Or the most frustrating thing was that the water pressure for both the sinks (kitchen and bathroom) is diabolical; you get nothing but a dribble out of each of the taps. I checked that the shut-off valves were fully open so initially concluded that being up on the fourth (top) floor of this building, the water pressure was just weak. Yet seeing as the shower, the toilet, and the tap on the balcony all have perfectly adequate water pressure, I too put this down to some questionable workmanship. And while these discrepancies would have driven me crazy had I rented this room long-term, for a two-week stay I just learnt to live with them.

Need to fill-up a pan with water? Put it in the sink, turn on the tap, go and do something else for two minutes and come back. I've only got one arse, why do I need two bar stools? I'll just sit on the one that isn't about to collapse.

Once I'd understood and learned to work around the shortcomings, the apartment is actually very well equipped. The sofa's really comfortable. Too comfortable actually, I spent way too much time there, using it to code and to watch TV on. I believe it doubles as a sofa bed although I never had to check, and having cup holders in the arms of the sofa? Why don't all sofas have them? Genius move.

The room's wifi is really fast and reliable; I had absolutely no connection issues here, and... there's a TV. The picture quality is adequate, the sound quality is dog shit. I had to connect my headphones to my Apple TV anytime I watched anything. Perhaps the best thing about this room though?

I long for natural light. I think blackout curtains are a curse on the world, and love nothing more than waking-up with the sun on my face. Being up on the fourth floor I could comfortably leave the curtains open, closing only the drapes, without worry of people looking in, and as the room faces east, the sun is so bright in the mornings.

Every morning here I got woken-up by sunshine, which is such a good way to start the day. Anyone who uses blackout curtains, I just hate you. You're a scourge on society.

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 to operate the machines, they 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, from my time living in Bangkok, but if you're here as a tourist and don't have a local account, then sorry, you can't use the washing machines here.

Why is that better than just taking coins?

Anyway, you scan this QR code and pay through your banking app, the machine (eventually) receives confirmation of your payment and starts all by itself. Yep, you have absolutely 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 when the cycle's finished.

There are two washers and one dryer. Luckily as no one else is able to actually use these machines I didn't have any competition for the dryer on the two times I did my laundry here, but the only reason... the only reason you would use this laundry room is for the convenience of having it in the building.

Each of the machines is 50 baht; if you're willing to walk to one of the nearby self-serve launderettes, you'll pay 20 baht, or you can get your clothes done in a service wash for not much more than you'll pay for the cold cycle and dryer here. So take having a laundry room in the building with a pinch of salt.

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 a 7-11 and loads of other businesses. Central shopping mall, which marks the centre of Udon, is about a 15 minute walk away, with the train station and UD Town being a similar distance. Nong Bua Public Park is a little further (you have to figure-out where to cross the railway tracks), and in the other direction, Nong Sim Park is even closer.

The location is actually really perfect. You're far enough from the town centre that you're away from the small foreigner area and you feel like you're staying somewhere local, but you're also close enough that you're only a fifteen minute walk from the bars if you do decide to go out.

Most people in Udon (and Thailand) use a motorcycle to get around, but I'm someone who loves to walk everywhere. On arriving at Phattharasaya Home I noted that between the apartment and the main road there's a pack of soi dogs that seemed very passive as I encountered them during the daytime. Packs of dogs have a tendency to get more aggressive after dark, so after my first night out I had a bit of a concern walking back in the middle of the night. I needn't have been worried, these dogs are very docile. Just be aware that the street isn't that well lit and they tend to sit in the darkest spots, so give them a wide berth when you walk by and they leave you alone.

I also saw a snake walking back one day but that seemed pretty deferential too. The animals are friendly in Udon.

I was walking, the snake wasn't walking.

Phattharasaya Home is still very new, and I'd say it's still going through some growing pains, but I really loved my stay. I would have no qualms with staying here again. It's a comfortable, fully-equipped apartment, at a very fair rate for a short-term stay.

The apartment is pretty compact, but it has everything you need. I used to live in a room similar to this in Bangkok, and I learned to love how small it was. It was quick to clean, I couldn't buy stuff I didn't need because I had nowhere to put it, I loved it. The bar at the back of this photo is a good place to prepare and eat food, and can even be made into a workstation (although I preferred to work on the sofa).

Where to get vegan food in Udon Thani

If there's one criticism I could level at Udon Thani, this is it. While there is some vegan food available here, it lacks variety.

I love Thai food as much as the next man. That's not true, I think Thai food's very overrated, but Thai people get upset when I say that. It's something that I like to eat sometimes. It's not something that I like to eat all the time, and there aren't many options in Udon for non-Thai vegan food.

If you're in self-catering and have cooking facilities, there are three main supermarkets in the centre of Udon, as well as others further out such as Tang Ngeesoon Superstore; I haven't been in there but it might be worth a look. The three in the centre are Lotus's and Villa Market in UD Town, and Tops in the basement of Central Udon Thani.

Lotus's can fuck off, there's absolutely nothing useful in there and it's just a giant waste of space. Tops has a small number of intentionally vegan items like pasta sauces. My one reservation about Tops is that you only get their special offers if you have a loyalty card, and seeing as I can't be arsed to sign-up for a loyalty card, I didn't buy anything when I went there because everything I wanted was on special offer.

The best of the three is Villa Market. Any vegan item that Tops has, they also have, as well as a very small number of others, and if something is on special offer here, you get the discount without a loyalty card.

I'll stress that this is the best of three terrible options. They really don't offer much that's vegan-friendly and what they do offer is expensive. In this part of the world beggars can't be choosers and here you can pick-up a jar of vegan pesto for 151 baht, a pack of wholewheat pasta for 100 baht, and a can of chickpeas for 75 baht. That's two healthyish meals for 326 baht.

UD Town stretches north up to adjacent with Bangkok Hospital, with sporadic sections of market stalls. Within these collective markets you'll find several vendors selling freshly cut fruit, and at least three more that sell mango with sticky rice.

These markets only open in the late afternoon. If you want fresh fruit before that there are two vendors that reliably set-up outside the 7-11 at the north end of Samphan Thamit Road, as well as a few others less dependably dotted around the city.

As with all of Thailand, most 7-11 branches stock at least one vegan frozen meal that they can heat-up in store. I'd recommend avoiding this as much as possible. For as long as you can stomach them, my favourite restaurants in Udon are as follows.

Mango sticky rice is my go-to vegan food in Thailand. It's the one vegan meal (dessert) that you can reliably get all over the country, even in non-touristy, rural areas. In Udon Thani there are at least three vendors selling mango sticky rice from the late afternoon onwards in UD Town. Expect to pay 50 baht.

Primani's

299/38 Soi Fairach 1

Because this is the only restaurant I found in Udon to get non-Thai vegan food, I ate here more than the quality justifies, including getting delivery off FoodPanda. That doesn't mean it's terrible, but it won't blow you away either.

It's an Indian restaurant that since my first stay has expanded into selling other types of cuisine, although nothing vegan was added to the new menu. They sell four curries that are natively vegan, with the channa masala being the pick of the bunch.

In expanding their menu they also reduced their prices a bit, so a channa masala will now cost you 140 baht, with rice starting at 30 baht. There are two vegan breads on the menu (chapati and tandoori roti) which start at 20 baht each, so you can get a curry, rice and bread for under 200 baht. A small price to pay to not eat Thai food for a change.

The owner speaks fluent English and understands what vegan means.

Anything with chickpeas makes me happy. The channa masala now costs 140 baht.

Maeya

79-81 Ratchapatsadu Rd

Maeya is the easiest option when it comes to getting vegan food in Udon. Like Primani's, they re-wrote their menu after my first visit, and now have a three page vegan section. The staff don't really speak English, but as the menu's in Thai and English you just have to point at what you want.

Unlike many other restaurants in Udon, it's realiably open at the times it's supposed to be, and the quality is mostly very good, just don't order anything with gravy, it's disgusting.

Another warning to heed is they don't temper the spice levels for foreigners like in many other parts of the country. Each item is marked on the menu with either zero, one or two chillies, and even one chilli is what I would consider very spicy. Order two chillies at your peril.

The updated menu at Maeya has a three-page vegan section. The vegan panang curry with rice now costs 89 baht.

Zing Zing Jay

232/15 Thanon Udondutsadi

Being the closest vegan restaurant to my first room in Udon, I came here a few times. It's a typical point-and-hope local family run 'jay' buffet, although they also have a cook-to-order menu on the wall that's translated into English.

No one here speaks any English, but you can get by pointing at the buffet if you lack the Thai to communicate. As always with this kind of place, the buffet's a bit hit-and-miss. Some things on offer tasted amazing, others less so, but it's very cheap so you can afford a few misses.

Entirely unrelated to Zing Zing Jay, but often located very nearby is a vegan dessert vendor selling some deep fried goodies. I got a plateful of desserts from her for 35 baht, so I definitely recommend paying here a visit if she's around when you come here.

There are a couple of options when coming here. Either point and hope from the buffet, or order from the a la carte menu. These are a couple of point and hope choices. One is a green curry, and the other some kind of rice ball that is really, really good. Altogether they cost 85 baht.

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, and each of them is 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 of a 3.1km circumference with 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, steady runs, but prohibit Nong Prajak Park from being suitable for sprints or intervals.

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. I came here a couple of times just to go for a walk. It's also perfect for a slow and steady run. The reason it's not great for sprints or intervals 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 if 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. That is no issue on a slow and steady run, but this is not a place for fast runs.

Nong Sim Public Park

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

It has a circumference of around 1.3km, so you've got a little under four laps in order to do a 5k. Unlike in Nong Prajak Park, there is no intersecting traffic or steps here, and unlike in Nong Bua Park, there are no bottle-necks or sharp corners. It's flat and wide the whole way around, and even after sundown is well illuminated and remains fairly quiet. I'm really not sure why more people don't come here. It's so inconspicous that it's not even named on Google Maps yet.

That's why I say it's the best park overall for running. If you want to go for a slow and steady run, then any of the parks here are perfect, but if you want to do sprints or intervals, then Nong Sim is the only one I recommend.

The route at Nong Prajak Park. Two laps of the park comes to 6.2km.

Being sociable in Udon Thani

I've found no pre-organised events to attend in Udon, so if you're here alone and you want to go out you're more or less limited to wandering to the town centre and finding a bar. And you'll have a great time.

All the bars are based on or around Samphan Thamit Alley, so head there and have a wander until you find what you're looking for. It's an area aimed at foreigners so whether you want to sit alone in a dark corner, to party, or to watch some football you can find it here. Many bars have hostesses, but there are plenty that don't if you want to be left alone.

What I learned is that beyond the small number of tourists, there's a community of expats in Udon, mostly married to locals, who go around the bars and drink everyday. On my first stay in Udon I went out twice to two completely separate bars and I saw some of the same people in both. When I came back to Udon for my second stay seven months later, I went out again to yet another bar, and one of these men was there that night too. His life seems to be going to every bar in Udon, everyday, so there's some surprising social continuity in just going to the bars alone.

Most bars close at midnight or 1am, but some stay open for as long as there are customers, so you'll be able to find somewhere to drink for so long as you can stand, which is always dangerous. I've had some quite impressive hangovers in Udon.