Is Udon Thani really an ugly city?

Udon Thani, in the north east corner of Thailand, just 45km from the border with Laos to the north, is often described as an ugly city. Not in terms of crime but in terms of overall aesthetics and during my first two years living here, I too thought exactly the same. Although there is plenty of colour emanating from the thousands of shops, there is still an overall feel of ugliness about much of the town, and this is due to the age of the buildings that form the urban area.

The traditional method of building in Thailand is to place concrete posts in the corners, and elsewhere as required to support the structure and weight of the roof, then fill in the gaps with blocks. It's what they do beyond this point that makes the building look old before their time. A layer of cement is swept across the walls and posts, left to dry and then painted (sometimes with an undercoat). However, the paint is often rather thin and their is a greyness from the cement layer that becomes partially visible, along with the outline of the blocks it covers. This is particularly evident in many older residential homes, and has been done to save money. Sadly it looks pretty awful, but that is not a priority for most of the Thai's in Udon Thani, or the surrounding region.

A good deal of effort is in place to keep the Udon Thani city centre streets generally clean, but it can still look a bit dirty for visitors whose home town is normally kept cleaner to a much higher standard. What does not help is the lack of green spaces in the city, and again this has never really been a high priority, which is a shame and hopefully will change in years to come. There is Nong Prajak Park, the nicest of the three reservoirs that have been utilised to create recreational facilities. Prajak Park is well worth a visit to get away from the busy 'grey' streets in the city. Nong Sim Park and Nong Bua Park are the two other reservoirs that offer an escape for a couple of hours, but are not as interesting as Nong Prajak

Prajak Park Udon Thani

The inner city is beginning to change as investment is being made to create nicer looking and very modern shopping complexes, and the recently expanded Central Plaza Shopping Mall is a very good example of this, as is Landmark Plaza, a centre packed with mobile phones, mobile phone accessories and a host of other IT accessories. There is one more new shopping complex, which is on the Tongyai Road between the railway station and McDonalds, called IT Plaza. I think you can guess what they sell here....yep, pretty much the same as landmark. Mobile phones are in incredible demand in Udon Thani.

Central Plaza Udon Thani

Landmark Plaza Udon Thani

IT Plaza Udon Thani

Currently much of the city remains is it probably did some 20 years ago, but where the green spaces are lacking, at least there are attempts to make other features of the inner city look much better, such as strips of land that separate carriageways which have been lined with shrubs and flowering shrubs. The three roundabout in the city are really nice to observe when in full bloom too, with the fountain roundabout being the best of the them, especially if you can see it with the fountain in operation. The nearby clock tower roundabout and monument roundabout too are landscaped but to a much lesser degree, but worth taking some photographs.

Udon Thani Monument Roundabout

Is Udon Thani really an ugly city? Well, if you compare it to the central areas of London, Paris or Rome, then yes it is but if you look at the city through different eyes and with an open mind, you will find many charms that make up for the otherwise apparent chaos of the grim looking shops and building that house them.