Udon-Thani Travel Guide
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564km (350 miles) NE of Bangkok; 305km (189 miles) N of Nakhon Ratchasima; 115km (71 miles) N of Khon Kaen; 51km (32 miles) S of Nong Khai; 152km (94 miles) E of Loei
"No sweat, man," was the reply from the first tuk-tuk driver I asked to take me to my hotel; the use of 1960s slang keeps it in perspective that Udon Thani, or Udon, was home to a large contingent of U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War and some memories are still fresh (the only other words the driver said were, "Right on!" when we agreed on a price). Today, American military advisors still make regular training visits and there are quite a few military retirees who've either stayed or returned from tours in the 1960s and 1970s, but the most obvious reminder of American military presence in Udon is the enormous airport that now serves both military and civilian sectors. Until early 1999, there was a branch of the U.S. consulate here, but it has since closed.
Many use Udon as a jumping-off point to small towns like Loei to the west but the main reason to stop here is Udons easy access to Thailand's premier Bronze Age excavation at Ban Chiang. This world-renowned archaeological site has attracted interest from both scholars and travelers since its excavation dating back to the 1970s, and the Smithsonian once organized a traveling exhibit of Ban Chiang's finds.
