Nothing

[jimjay]

Thats the basic answer to this forum sub-group. Things to do in Udon. Nothing.

Big lakes with pink flowers? Thrilling! Another lake with a big yellow duck and absolutley nothing else going on around it? Amazing!

A melon farm? A mushroom farm? A crap soi in town full of crap beer bars staffed by crap looking munchkins whose only english is "you buy drink me" and grumpy ex-pats each and every one wearing a chang, leo or singha shirt? A field with some old pots? The worlds worst dinosaur museum? Flat countryside? Gormless bloody locals? Mor Lam parties with ex-pat blokes dancing like your drunken mum at a wedding? ELECTRIFYING FUN!!!

I have lived full time in 5 different provinces in Thailand and this is by far the most boring, mundane, uninspiring, uneventful place so far. I would go as far as saying i hate it here.

I am not trolling or looking to offend anyone, this is just my opinion and after such a long time in Thailand i think i am entitled to it, as i have perspective. It just feels good to rant and get this off my chest and its a better way to kill time than staring at mushrooms. Or mellons. Or arbitrary lakes. And yes, yes, yes, i know, 'if i dont like it i can go home' just ro save you typing that out

The idea with living here for most is exactly that there's nothing going on. Maybe there needs to be some signage posted to that effect, but the lazy officials in charge of that probably spent the cash on bedding their cute secretaries instead.

So what other 5 provinces, and what was better about them?

[plumbers]

My understanding is People that say I am bored or there is
nothing to do are not very intelligent or children .
It does not matter where you live in the world you need to make an
effort and entertain your self .

[ytrewq]

+1 for nothing.

Prior to CHOOSING to move here, I lived for several years in "exciting" Pattaya as a well-funded bachelor (wink, wink). Prior to that, I traveled the world and lived or spent time in more exciting and exotic places than I can remember. Prior to that, I lived or spent time in all the big and exciting US cities.

Lots of "been there done that T-shirts" in my closet. I want to live the rest of my days in 3rd gear or slower as my kids ramp up to 5th or 6th. My wife supplies all the excitement and stress I care to deal with.

Udon with all its "nothing" is paradise to me.

A weekend in the sin cities is just an hour on a cheap flight away, if you fancy having both.

[trubrit]

Oh God if only. I am 83 and still haven't really enjoyed the fruits of my retirement. Been in Thailand, living in four different places,for 33 years , been fully occupied in each one but never so busy as I am here in Non Wau So, 40kms out from Udon, in the sticks as some say .What do I do each day? gawd alone knows but each and every day seems to go faster than the one before. My wife and I are heavily involved in the local community, mainly the welfare of the less fortunate members along with the local Red Cross of which she is Gen Sec and because of that we are both called upon to help by both Tessabahn and Amphoe when they have a problem , which seems to be quite frequently. There always seems to be something going on where we can help, be it fund raising activities, arranging blood donation days, or visiting unfortunate families who have been struck by disaster, natural or accidental .On top of that the police seem to be having more farang related problems which need the help of an interpreter more frequently these days.None of these I might add carry any reward for doing, not that we want it, our reward is being able to assist and help, thus playing our part as members of the community.Now don't think I am complaining , I wouldn't have it any other way, I love every moment of it .
I realise that this may not be possible for those living in a large town like Udon but there are opportunities there, plenty, but you won't find them looking in the likes of Soi Sapphanit or in the dinosaur park,or any of the other things you seem to decry, the're good for when you get a spare day not for fulfilling your life .Seek and you will find .

[marjamlew]

I would say that Udon is totally different from the other four places you have lived Stan. Tourists from around the globe choose Samui, Kanchanaburi, Bangkok and HH for all sorts of reasons. Udon is a trading post or regional country town. What did you expect to find?

[Raoul Duke]

All fair points.
I guess it depends on what you are looking for and at what stage of life you are at.
Personally "a weekend in the sin cities is just an hour on a cheap flight away, if you fancy having both" is spot on for me.
Air quality is another winner for Udon.
However "Bang for buck" Udon does not want to get to far ahead of itself.
Example:10,000 THB a month rent for a house....You are kidding?
It's not worth that in my opinion.
Village life is the go,if you can handle the dust,fermented bamboo and associated "interesting" aromas,teenagers on revving motorbikes,excessive loud Morlum music,snakes,scorpians,squawking old ladies and little kids pointing at you yelling "Falang,Falang,Falang" it's top notch.

[747man]

and little kids pointing at you yelling "Falang,Falang,Falang" it's top notch.....

Raoul, It's Many,Many,Years since I Had Kids yelling that at me here in Nong Khai...Those were the days !!

[stattointhailand]

" grumpy ex-pats each and every one wearing a chang, leo or singha shirt?"

For the record I do not own, nor have I ever owned any of the said variety of shirts

In my experience very few of the Udon expats would be seen wearing one, they are usually to be seen on tourists making a visit here from some other part of Thailand. Perhaps you are confusing Udon with Samui where the egg and beer stained vests are a must if you want to blend in with the expat community:-$

[Drunk Monkey]

Thats the basic answer to this forum sub-group. Things to do in Udon. Nothing.

Big lakes with pink flowers? Thrilling! Another lake with a big yellow duck and absolutley nothing else going on around it? Amazing!

A melon farm? A mushroom farm? A crap soi in town full of crap beer bars staffed by crap looking munchkins whose only english is "you buy drink me" and grumpy ex-pats each and every one wearing a chang, leo or singha shirt? A field with some old pots? The worlds worst dinosaur museum? Flat countryside? Gormless bloody locals? Mor Lam parties with ex-pat blokes dancing like your drunken mum at a wedding? ELECTRIFYING FUN!!!

I have lived full time in 5 different provinces in Thailand and this is by far the most boring, mundane, uninspiring, uneventful place so far. I would go as far as saying i hate it here.

I am not trolling or looking to offend anyone, this is just my opinion and after such a long time in Thailand i think i am entitled to it, as i have perspective. It just feels good to rant and get this off my chest and its a better way to kill time than staring at mushrooms. Or mellons. Or arbitrary lakes. And yes, yes, yes, i know, 'if i dont like it i can go home' just ro save you typing that out

Depending on ones mindset your post can be taken in many ways ... i agree with it in parts RED but not entirely as some guys have settled here to actually DO NOTHING and something that is tediously boring to one person is enjoyment to another, BTW it was a lot worse 10 years ago (tho i miss the old lao soi 2) since then more places of activity have opened for business including water parks , Equestrian centers , Fishing parks Sports facilities etc etc also the local leaders do try to ease the boredom with festivals and concerts in Ud Town etc ... all be it some of strange nature like the recent mango festival !!!

I travel around Isaan and Bkk all the time and one place that stands out for me is Buriram .. seems to be BOOMING lots of big investment , updating of infrastructure makes it easy to get around no traffic log jams , hotels and resorts opening up weekly to cater for all the visitors , nice upper end entertainment zones and eateries , Chang Race track / go karting , I mobile Football stadium and sports centers host all sorts of events , water parks , shopping centers and even a wild life park coming soon .

Only my opinion ..n each to their own as my old gran used to say.

DM

[stattointhailand]

Not so much a where as a when ........... you were probably sleeping it off on the beach

[trubrit]

Retired at 44 think that says it all really, no wonder your bored and lonely, you've still go half your productive life to live yet before you even think about retirement. I worked full time up until my 65th doing a job I liked and was good at which gave me an income that sustained not only the life I led then but enabled me to put some by for my retirement. I remember very well my first day of retirement, I woke in the morning thinking nothing to do today nor any day, whoopee. But then I realised yesterday I was making decisions for my company that could effect not only my life but all the other employees as well, for good or bad, but then today my biggest decision was, what shirt to put on today .Wow what a come down, that's when I decided retirement from a working life didn't mean doing nothing ever more .
It just meant a change of style and attitude.So here I am 18years later, still as busy as ever, still hopefully making a difference for the better, just not wearing a tie any more .

[Drunk Monkey]

Retired at 44 think that says it all really, no wonder your bored and lonely, you've still go half your productive life to live yet before you even think about retirement. I worked full time up until my 65th doing a job I liked and was good at which gave me an income that sustained not only the life I led then but enabled me to put some by for my retirement. I remember very well my first day of retirement, I woke in the morning thinking nothing to do today nor any day, whoopee. But then I realised yesterday I was making decisions for my company that could effect not only my life but all the other employees as well, for good or bad, but then today my biggest decision was, what shirt to put on today .Wow what a come down, that's when I decided retirement from a working life didn't mean doing nothing ever more .
It just meant a change of style and attitude.So here I am 18years later, still as busy as ever, still hopefully making a difference for the better, just not wearing a tie any more .

Nice post Val ... spot on

[trubrit]

.

Sounds like you have played it well. Good on ya.
[/quote

Well I started a new career path at the age of 35 when I left the RAF, looked at all the good life things like running a country pub etc but eventually settled on another Uni course in marketing, so at 44 it can be an opportunity for you to find a new road, the only thing that worries me is what sort of road that might be in Thailand and will it lead anywhere, we all know the multiple twists and turns, to say nothing of the bumpy surfaces encountered over here .Don't want to appear as though I am lecturing but if I was in your circumstances I would go back home where ever that is to start a new career, make a pile of money then come back here as a big spender later, forget about Thailand for now , apart from an occasional holiday, it's definitely not a place to start a business especially without another source of income to sustain you in the meantime .Don't get me wrong, it can be done but the failures vastly outnumber the successful ones , so the odds are stacked against you .Good luck whatever you decide anyway .

[gghh]

Reading on the forum it is obvious that it is not only you who is bored.
In most cases it less a matter of the location but of the people themselves

[Marcosteffano]

Yeah try finding some mates,or take up train spotting.got plenty to do out in the sticks here.good few lads all retired and we have poker days,all jump on our scooters and get lost.have little tours to places like chang khan,nong khai.all booked up for moto gp in buriram for 4 days.we all live outside udon but you'll never here us going on about being bored.i think in his case your boredom is self inflicted.

[Faraday]

Keep going la, & you'll be a grumpy old man soon enough.

[Faraday]

1. Bowls
2. Pipe smoking.
3.Crochet.

All jolly good fun Stanley.

[Marcosteffano]

Yeah bowls sounds just about right for you.give it a try and get some excitement in your life.as for NWS please we don't need some loon turning up saying where's the action.just face the facts you've made your bed buying a house here and your probably going to spend the rest of your life here unless you give it away.anyway I would like to go on but I've got to go and watch some paint dry.yeah mods close this post down its bloody depressing.

[parrot]

Most every time we're back in the US, someone will inquire......."What do you do in Thailand?", to which my standard response is "I'm retired." I guess my concept of being retired and most others' is different, because most others don't seem to understand my response.
I feel confident in saying that I could count the number of days I've felt bored on not more than 2 hands.......over 21 years

[fatbob]

I travel all over Thailand regularly, I get down to Kanchanaburi a lot, I really cannot see there being any more to do there than in Udon, how many times can you go to Hell Fire Pass??? If your bored you need an interest to occupy your time, it's the same the world over, don't blame Udon have a good look at yourself first.