Transport - Train and Air Travel in Udon Thani
Air Travel
Udon Thani has an International airport, to the south east of the city, although nearly every flight is currently domestic. Thai Airways, Asia Air and Nok Airways all fly from Udon Thani. Even domestic destinations are limited to Phuket and of course Bangkok (both airports). There is a seasonal flight to Chiang Mai with Nok Air. Flights to Bangkok take approximately 1 hour and the cost varies quite dramatically from airline to airline. Thai AIrways being a premier airline is the most expensive but arguably the best. Air Asia is a low cost airline and is often the cheapest unless you have baggage to go in the hold. Please note though, Air Aisa can no longer use Suvarnabhumi Airport, and all their flights now arrive and depart from Don Mueang International Airport. This is due to the introduction of Thai Airways low cost flights with 'Thai Smile', a hybrid of a low cost / no fills service and their previous 'standard' domestic service, which was launched in 2012.
Rail & Train Travel
I have not used a train in Thailand yet although at some point in time I will, just for the experience. They are typically slow, taking 12 hours to get to Bangkok (640 km away), making the average speed a mere 53 kilometers an hour! The railways here are old and not very good to be honest, hence the slow speeds at which the diesel engines plod along. I have noticed recently though that work has been carried out to lay new sleepers, tracks and gravel beds. I am not sure if this work is sufficient to enable increased speeds or not, it may just be a case of changing what was in place as it was so old and perhaps not 100% safe to travel on.