2013年2月3日星期日

Ubon Ratchathani

Ubon Ratchathani (อุบลราชธานี) is a city in Isaan, Thailand. Often referred to as simply Ubon (อุบล), it should not be confused with "Udon" to the north.

Ubon was founded on the northern bank of the Mun River by a group of Lao princes fleeing Vientiane in the late 1700s. They applied for King Taksin's protection, duly granted in 1779 along with the city's new name, meaning "Royal City of the Lotus". Modern-day Ubon was a U.S. air base during the Vietnam War and grew rapidly at the time, but little has happened since then. The town of Warin Chamrap, on the south bank of the river, is effectively a suburb of Ubon these days.

The sleepy Ubon office of the Tourist Authority of Thailand (264/1 Khuan Thani Road) is worth a visit to pick up useful English maps of the town and nearby provinces. Basic English spoken. Open daily 08:30-16:30.



Get in by plane

The grandly named Ubon Ratchathani International Airport (IATA: UBP), (ICAO: VTUU) in reality serves only flights to Bangkok most of the year. Thai Airways has two daily non-stop flights between Bangkok and Ubon and return. NokAir has three daily non-stop flights between Bangkok Don Muaeng Airport and Ubon and return. Air Asia has two daily non-stop flights between Bangkok and Ubon and return year-round. AirAsia operates 3 weekly flights between Phuket and Ubon from October to March and between Chiang Mai and Ubon from November to March. Flight time is 50 minutes in Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 aircraft.


Ubon Ratchathani airport

The airport is at the northern edge of the city almost within walking distance, but accommodation is scattered around Ubon, so better not to consider walking. Much better to go to one of the two limousine (taxi) counters that are located in the airport arrivals hall and purchase for only 100 baht a taxi coupon that will take you to almost any point in the city. Limousine (taxi) rates in Ubon are extremely cheap by Western standards and lower than those in Bangkok. Set prices have been established to most destinations in and around Ubon. 

A taxi from Ubon to Chong Mek costs only 1,000 baht for the 90 km one way trip and a taxi from Ubon to Mukdahan costs 2,000-2,500 baht (depending on the vehicle type) to travel a one way distance of 192 km. The driver does not charge for the return trip like some western countries. There are no taxi meters and the fare must normally be purchased from one of the two taxi counters at the airport arrivals desk.

If you prefer not to take a fixed price taxi, you can always walk the 200 m beyond the general airport parking area to haggle with the waiting tuk-tuk drivers, but chances are that your trip will end up costing you more.

~Info courtesy of Wikitravel~

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