Other Shopping
Udon Thani is quite a large city and has thousands of shops, markets and stalls where you can buy most things you need to live here. Note I say 'most things' and not everything.
Clothes shops are in abundance but of course most cater for the smaller framed locals. If you are a large ferang you may need to do some extensive shopping around to find clothes that are going to fit.
What never fails to astound me is the way in which certain shops seem to be located - in zones! If you want to go to a pet store, you will find a 'zone' where maybe up to six or more shops are located, next to each other! The same goes for furniture shops. Okay, in fairness you will find shops in other locations but on the face of it it looks like one person has opened a shop to sell a certain product (the first person to do so) and has been seen to be successful the next thing you know is another person opens the same kind of shop next door because obviously they will be just as successful won't they? and so it goes on...the first shop to open sees their business slowly move to the shops around them and none of them make a handsome profit but hey! This is what happens here, or at least that is how it seems.
If you visit the night market next to the railway station you will get an excellent idea of what I am saying. You will see mobile phone or DVD stalls grouped together. Ladies underwear shops, grouped together and so on...
Electronics, you know, TV's, DVD players, Fridges etc. are all available in lots of shops but the prices are not much different to the likes of the UK.
If you are looking to buy good quality sporting goods i.e Golf clubs, fishing tackle etc. you may find something appropriate for your immediate needs but there is a chance you may need to look towards Bangkok to find 'proper' gear in many cases. I wanted to buy a brand new, mid-range bowling ball (10 pin bowling). The pro shop in the bowling center could do nothing for me other than to tell me to go to Bangkok where there would be a much larger range of stock available.
Clothes shops are in abundance but of course most cater for the smaller framed locals. If you are a large ferang you may need to do some extensive shopping around to find clothes that are going to fit.
What never fails to astound me is the way in which certain shops seem to be located - in zones! If you want to go to a pet store, you will find a 'zone' where maybe up to six or more shops are located, next to each other! The same goes for furniture shops. Okay, in fairness you will find shops in other locations but on the face of it it looks like one person has opened a shop to sell a certain product (the first person to do so) and has been seen to be successful the next thing you know is another person opens the same kind of shop next door because obviously they will be just as successful won't they? and so it goes on...the first shop to open sees their business slowly move to the shops around them and none of them make a handsome profit but hey! This is what happens here, or at least that is how it seems.
If you visit the night market next to the railway station you will get an excellent idea of what I am saying. You will see mobile phone or DVD stalls grouped together. Ladies underwear shops, grouped together and so on...
Electronics, you know, TV's, DVD players, Fridges etc. are all available in lots of shops but the prices are not much different to the likes of the UK.
If you are looking to buy good quality sporting goods i.e Golf clubs, fishing tackle etc. you may find something appropriate for your immediate needs but there is a chance you may need to look towards Bangkok to find 'proper' gear in many cases. I wanted to buy a brand new, mid-range bowling ball (10 pin bowling). The pro shop in the bowling center could do nothing for me other than to tell me to go to Bangkok where there would be a much larger range of stock available.
Udon Thani Night Market
One of the liveliest places for shopping in Udon Thani, is the Night Market, which is adjacent to the train station on the east side of the city. The market begins to liven up at around 4 in the afternoon and is a really busy place until about 9pm. What you will probably notice is the amount of young girls/women that come here to shop, indeed it often appears that these are the only people that visit the night market.
Available, in zones of course, are lots of mobile phone accessories, DVD's, some of which can be played on European and US DVD players, however it is best to ask the seller to prove they work. There is one DVD seller here that does have some TV screen, and will play the DVD's in English for you - most DVD's are in Thai and English only. We buy between 5 and 10 new release DVD's every month, and it is rare that we need to take them back to get them replaced.
You will also see loads and loads of clothes, both in the main covered area of the night market, and on the opposite side of the road. The one thing that still blows me away is the amount of Bra shops there are - yes, shops that sell nothing other than bra's, and there are about 3 or 4 of them, in this not especially huge market place.
There is a restaurant at the back of the main Night Market complex, with a number of stalls across the road.
Available, in zones of course, are lots of mobile phone accessories, DVD's, some of which can be played on European and US DVD players, however it is best to ask the seller to prove they work. There is one DVD seller here that does have some TV screen, and will play the DVD's in English for you - most DVD's are in Thai and English only. We buy between 5 and 10 new release DVD's every month, and it is rare that we need to take them back to get them replaced.
You will also see loads and loads of clothes, both in the main covered area of the night market, and on the opposite side of the road. The one thing that still blows me away is the amount of Bra shops there are - yes, shops that sell nothing other than bra's, and there are about 3 or 4 of them, in this not especially huge market place.
There is a restaurant at the back of the main Night Market complex, with a number of stalls across the road.
Below is the recently extended Central Plaza complex. It is big and looks superb.