Reader Submission: Udonthani and its shopping malls

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The center of Udon is very compact. Important in this center is the shopping mall Central Plaza. Follow Prajak road from Nong Prajak Park, then you will at least pass that shopping mall. It's on your left. If you come from Nong Khai highway and turn left into Wattana Nuwong Road, Central Plaza will be on your right. If you come from UD Town, Central Plaza is on your right. From the highway of Khon Kaen you have to turn right halfway in Udon and you drive, as it were, against Central Plaza.

Buy a map of Udon from the bookstore, and everything will be much easier to find.

You can almost always park your car in the parking garage with six parking levels. On weekends, that's a bit more of a problem. Then many people from Laos come to shop, buy and eat in Central Plaza (Food Park or on the fourth floor). There are also a few parking strips at the rear of Central Plaza, on the side of the Centara Hotel and at the Disco.

A tip: drive your car to the second floor, open your side windows and look out for the parking ladies who ensure that parking is done in the right direction. If you see one, usually there are at least two, honk your attention and say you can't walk very well. The best thing to do is through your Thai girlfriend. They immediately look for a free place. Follow their directions. Park the car and tip the parking lady 40 – 50 baht. You can then always go to that second floor, because the ladies will recognize you. Just give them a short honk, or wave at them from the open window.

At first I didn't understand this, and then you just keep spinning around, even up to the sixth floor. The sixth floor is not covered and that means parking in the open air, so plenty of sun. Luckily I never have that again. And …….. apart from the tip for the parking lady, parking is free.

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You can walk straight into Central Plaza from the parking garage. Important to know: Central Plaza only opens at 11.00 am. McDonalds and Starbucks are, I thought, reachable and open before 11.00:XNUMX am. To the third floor for all your banking and all ATM machines to withdraw money. It's amazing how many banks there are. I estimate that there are at least twelve commercial banks, with the most important banks on the third floor.

• Bangkok Bank, the largest commercial bank in Thailand (equity $85 billion)
• Krungthai Bank (56 percent owned by the Thai government)
• Siam Commercial Bank
• Kasicorn Bank
• Krungsri Bank (Bank of Ayudhya)
• Thanachart Bank

Incidentally, you can just walk in at those banks for all kinds of banking matters and you will be treated very friendly by the staff. Service still really exists here. Make sure you have your passport with you. You can also compare the exchange rates at the different banks, but there are hardly any differences.

Also on that third floor a luxury fitness center (as it were right of the Bangkok Bank), in the corner. Modern in design and layout. Lots of personal trainers. But so is the price. If I remember correctly, about 2.800 baht per month with a minimum contract term of six months.

In UD Town there is a fitness center for 900 baht per month. Admittedly, this center looks much less slick, but all the equipment is there. Then there is also a fitness center in Nong Bua Market. This is from the government and costs only 20 baht per day. Closed on Sundays and public holidays / Buddha days. There are other fitness centers in Udon, but the ones mentioned are the easiest to reach and have ample parking.

If you want to eat and have choice, go to the fourth floor. There are a number of restaurants there, I estimate about 16. Enough choice. There is a pizzeria, a Japanese restaurant, Sizzler (for a delicious steak and you won't find that everywhere in Thailand), Laem (many noodle specialties with fish, such as shrimp and lobster), a restaurant where you can BBQ Thai and MK is of course there too. Regularly eat at Sizzler's and I've never been disappointed with the quality of the food there. I understand that not all Sizzler locations in other cities reach this same level. Sizzler is known for its excellent buffet, where you can compose your choice of starters and also find the desserts.

Sometimes eaten at Laem. Also good quality but a bit limited choice as they mainly offer noodles with fish. Both at Sizzler and Laem you can order beer and/or wine between 14.00 and 17.00 pm. Good to know is that the various restaurants do not have their own toilet. There are central toilet areas on each floor, separated for men and women, and for the disabled.

If you want to eat junk food, you have to go to the ground floor. Close to the exit, on the side where the Centara Hotel is located, you will find KFC and McDonalds. You also have Svenssens there (for a delicious ice cream in all kinds of versions) and Starbucks.

At the back right of the third and fourth floors you still have the Robinson department store. Let's say a kind of V&D in a somewhat smaller version, if you would like to compare it with the Netherlands. Robinson still exists, I understand that this no longer applies to V&D. At the back of the third floor you will also find a number of gold shops, I think four or five. I have commented before that I have not seen so many gold shops in any country in the world as in Thailand. At these shops you can not only buy gold jewelry, but also exchange money, for example.

On the second floor shops for mobile phones and providers such as AIS and True. Many clothing stores on the first floor. If we do try to map the entire building, no, we won't. I would like to mention the most important places within Central Plaza, but otherwise you have to walk around there yourself and see what you like.

What you should definitely know is that the Food Park is located in the basement, where you can buy Thai food for very little money and …. drink a nice cold beer. You will also find TOPS super market here, a good store with, among other things, meat and fish of excellent quality. Also in the basement a Watsons and Bootz (two drugstores), a few bookshops, a travel agency, P&F (a kind of pharmacy), an electronic playground for the students, a sales point for the Thai state lottery with two ATM machines and a coffee corner . In the middle area a number of clothing stalls with cheap clothing, cheap compared to the clothing stores that you can find in Central Plaza (clothing is cheaper at the various markets in Udon, especially the night market in UD Town). I have named most of the shops in the basement.

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On the fifth floor you will find a cinema, ice rink (can you really skate in circles) and a bowling alley. A little bit of everything and fun to visit for an afternoon. Left and right on the different floors you will also find coffee corners and tents where you can eat a delicious ice cream. And of course in a number of places the possibility to buy lottery tickets for the Thai state lottery. There are two draws per month. On the first and on the sixteenth. The draws can be followed live on TV, usually around 15.30 pm. Around that time it is very quiet everywhere, because many Thai people follow the draws and have no time for other things. If you suddenly hear cheering somewhere, then someone has probably won a prize there.

Furthermore, Central Plaza has been designed in such a way that there is sufficient space in various places for temporary promotional activities. For example, on the ground floor, at the entrance at the front, there are regular car shows from well-known brands. For the children there is a train that makes circles on the fourth floor. In the square in front of Central Plaza you will find buses and minivans, which can transport you to all places in Thailand. Took the VIP bus to Roi-et myself a number of times. VIP because it doesn't stop everywhere, unlike the “regular” bus to Roi-et, and because it has air conditioning. I don't remember exactly, but I think a one-way trip to Roi-et costs 150 baht = 4 euros (Udon – Roi-et is about 260 kilometers). The bus stops at another boarding place in Udon and then stops in Khon Kaen and then again in Maha Sarakham.

In between some stops in connection with control tickets and sometimes through a police trap. If you want to get off somewhere, just let the driver know, and he will put the bus aside at the desired location. The journey time Udon – Roi-et is about four hours. You can hardly do that faster by car. The buses to the major cities are fairly frequent, think of once an hour, but not day and night. There are a few kiosks on the square where you can buy tickets and where you can of course inquire about the exact departure and arrival times. The tuktuks and a few taxis are also lined up on the square.

The square is quite large and is alternately used as an extra parking lot, a market, for concerts and other happenings. Around Christmas there is a gigantic Christmas tree.

A second shopping mall, Landmark, is more or less on the route within Udon, coming off the highway from Nong Khai. Coming from Nong Khai, once you enter Udon, just keep going straight ahead and you will see Landmark on your right. It is always extremely busy. I've only been there a few times myself and from that I have the impression that this shopping mall is mainly visited by the Thai, and much less by the farang. It is also a bit more dated and parking in the garage is not so easy there. They have a large electronics department, much bigger than in Central Plaza, where you can buy everything from cameras, laptops and printers plus all accessories. You can also go there for repairs. My printer broke down once, not too surprising given the quantities I print. Went to Landmark with the printer. An hour later the printer was working as usual again. An excellent service for 200 baht.

Submitted by Charlie