Udon and soy sampan
Fortunately, Charly's life is full of pleasant surprises (unfortunately sometimes also less pleasant ones). Until a few years ago, he would never have dared to predict that he would spend the rest of his life in Thailand. However, he has now been living in Thailand for a while and in recent years close to Udonthani. Part 8 today.
After the exciting first year of my stay in Thailand, the more quiet period has now started. After buying our house, at the end of my first year here, I was mainly busy with decorating and furnishing. Extensively acquainted with doHome, ProHome and Living Index. And experience that here service is still really service. Goods are sometimes delivered on the day of order, often the next day. If installation is required, it will be done immediately after delivery. All that is now behind us and with that there is more time to enjoy everything that Udon and the surrounding area has to offer. I try to bring some structure to our time use. Not every day to Udon center. That gets boring and of course costs you money every time you visit. That is why we chose to go to Udon center two days a week. For shopping at TOPS supermarket, in the Central Plaza shopping center, or at Villa Market in UD Town and of course at the markets. A fixed part of our visit to Udon center is sitting on a terrace and having something to eat.
The other five days I basically stay at home. For learning the Thai language, following various sports events, doing some administrative work and reading news on NOS teletext, VI, Thailandblog and Bangkok Post.
Through our weekly two-day visit to Udon center I got to know soi sampan well.
That is why here is a somewhat detailed report about what you can find in soi sampan.
amnat30 / Shutterstock.comNot far, about 100 meters, from the previously described shopping mall Central Plaza you will find one of the nicest and coziest catering streets in Udon: popularly called soi sampan, but officially called Sampantamit Road.
Cross the square in front of Central Plaza (with Central Plaza at your back) and then, once you reach Prajak Road, turn left. Pass a number of food stalls and continue to the first side street on your left, indeed, this is soi sampan. On the corner a large hairdresser's shop, called Anne Top Hair. You can go here for all types of hair treatments. Also for pedicure and manicure. Ask for Sam. She is a whopper in the field of pedicure and manicure.
Opposite Anne Top Hair a repair place for scooters and motorbikes. If you walk past that repair place, so still walking on Prajak Road, you will come across two massage parlors on your left and then the Good Corner restaurant. Here is also the entrance to Nutty Park, a beer bar complex a la Day and Night, but slightly smaller. On this part of the street from Prajak Road (official name: Prajaksilapakom Road), towards UD Town and Udon station, I will return in more detail in a separate story. We will now first continue with soi Sampan.
Soi sampan is, my best estimate, about 500 meters long. You will find two hotels here. Centrally located in the middle of the soi, the Pannarai is a 4-star hotel with swimming pool. It is my favorite hotel because of the facilities (including the swimming pool, small fitness room and free fast WiFi), the small scale, the very extensive breakfast and the always very friendly staff. Business meetings are regularly held at Pannarai Hotel. The army also wants to lay a claim on the hotel, in their cooperation with the Malaysian army. The hotel is therefore regularly fully booked.
A 2-3 star hotel has been added for about a year: The Old Inn. Price of the rooms varies from 550 – 1.300 baht per night. No breakfast, but can be offered at extra cost (delivery by Brick House inn). No restaurant/bar/pool.
And there is another hotel under construction on the same soi, opposite Irish Clock. So no shortage of sleeping places. Especially if you know that there are also a number of apartment buildings in the soi. At Home, Irish Clock and Top Mansion House are the largest and best known of these. Here you will find rooms with all amenities in the price range of 600 – 1.000 baht per night.
Cheaper is also possible, but then you have to look a bit more. For example, there is an apartment complex behind restaurant daSofia, where you can rent a room for about 3.000 baht per month (excluding electricity). These rooms are often all rented out, especially to Thai people who work in the area. Opposite the Pannarai Hotel, right next to Yaree Massage, is a soi where rooms are also offered for rent. Enter the soi and stay on the left. Rooms cost 500 baht per night, are very clean and spacious, with separate bathroom, shower, toilet, aircon and TV. They also have a room on the ground floor there. Is slightly more expensive, namely 600 baht. And there is also a large apartment complex under construction (opposite The Old Inn).
Opposite 7/11, at the end of soi sampan, you will find rooms for about 5.000 baht per month (Aticha Mansion).
Soi sampan is also a wonderful street for the inner man. Best restaurant in the street in my opinion is daSofia Italian restaurant. Manfredo and his wife Tsum run this place and offer excellent pizza, the best in Udon and the surrounding area. The daSofia menu offers much more than just those pizzas. Among other things, the Cordon Bleu is highly recommended. And of course an Italian restaurant cannot do without cheese. daSofia stocks a number of excellent cheeses, such as gorgonzola, brie, gruyere and some harder cheeses such as fontal, tilsiter and pecorino.
But there is much more choice. For example, pub / restaurant Brick House inn has been added since March of this year under the leadership of a Dutchman, Max. A large catering business with a lot of sports on the various TVs, a large bar (with a number of types of draft beer), garden, terrace at the front, a pool table and a darts track. Right across from daSofia. Brick House inn is a welcome addition here on the soi. There used to be a beer bar here called Eastwood, but that was a dreary affair. With Brick House inn, a great business has been added that ensures a further uplift of soi sampan.
You will also find the Irish Clock in soi sampan. Has a small terrace and restaurant/bar inside with aircon. You can also rent rooms here. Very spacious and beautiful rooms at the front (2nd floor) overlooking soi sampan. Somewhat smaller, indoor rooms, which unfortunately have no view (not even windows), but do have all facilities.
Rental price from 550 baht to 700 baht per night.
The Pannarai Hotel has a good and spacious restaurant and beyond the Pannarai Hotel you will find a few smaller restaurants such as Zur Pfalz and Harry's Handlebar (formerly Fish and Chips).
The Sportsbar should also be mentioned separately. Has a large terrace, partly covered. Here also a number of TVs on which different sports can be followed. There is also an indoor air-conditioned area where you can play pool and I thought could also play some sort of golf, but I'm not sure. The Sportsbar does not have its own kitchen. Food is ordered from daSofia or Brick House inn for their customers. In the end it is only a 30 meter walk away.
In addition to food and drinks, soi sampan offers even more opportunities to relax.
There are about ten massage parlors, each offering a wide range of massages. The masseuses are mostly on the older side, let's say above 35. There are exceptions, but you have to find out for yourself when you are in soi sampan. If you want more than a massage, that is usually possible. But the masseuses will not always offer that on their own.
In soi sampan you will also find the necessary beer bars with attractive and less attractive ladies. Day and Night is the best known. In Day and Night there are about 20 beer bars, often with a pool table. The ladies present are happy to sit with you, hoping to be offered one or more drinks. They are not as aggressive as, for example, in Pattaya. They usually wait quietly to see if you offer them that drink or not. If it becomes very cozy and you want to take the lady(s) in question to your hotel room to continue the session there, that can sometimes lead to a setback. Not all women are in for this. It is better to propose this early and see if the lady is up for it, yes or no.
In addition to the Day and Night complex, soi sampan has many more beer bars.
One of the bigger ones is Vikings Corner Bar, at the very end of soi sampan, on the corner (as the name suggests), opposite 7/11. Before that you have Zaaps bar, a fairly large bar with a kind of terrace. The Red Lion bar, Fairy bar, Happy bar, the Red bar and so on.
Definitely worth mentioning is the Fun bar, right next to daSofia. Fun bar usually has about 10, mostly younger, girls walking around the bar. It is often very pleasant there. The girls mainly earn their money by angling for and accepting lady drinks. Fun bar is led by the Englishman Bill with his lovely girlfriend.
I have tried to map most things in soi sampan in the drawing below.
Makes searching a little easier.
Red = massage shops and beer bars
Blue = bar and dining areas
Green = hotels and room rental
Yellow = various types of shops
Submitted by Charlie
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All right, Charlie,
For people who want to look up this soi, in Thai script ซอย สัมพันธมิตร usually written as Soi Samphan Thamit (middle, rising, middle, high, high tone). Samphan means 'relationship, relationship' and mit means 'friend, comrade, amicable', found in many Thai names. Together something like 'ally, ally, friendly cooperation'. Tha is an infix for the pronunciation and has no meaning.
Doesn't take much effort to look this up yourself, especially not with a loving Thai partner.
Thank you for your detailed description…..it can all be a lot cheaper than my stay in Bkk usually costs, but yes a room without windows? now I have to think about that for a while……….
But like I said thanks for the directions, maybe someday and good luck to you there of course.
Thank you, very welcome. Udonthani is on the program for the next visit to Thailand.
On the said road towards Soi Sampan, but on the other side to about the park, there is also a nice restaurant where you can eat for next to nothing, rent books and drink a delicious wine. The owner is an Englishman, I thought, by the way, in the Irish Clock you can also eat well for a reasonable price, many English people in this area.