Ubon Ratchathani has a New Bird in Town

There's a new bird in town now servicing Ubon Ratchathani. Now we have a choice of three airlines for our trips to and from Bangkok. Nok Air has two daily flights from Bangkok to Ubon and Ubon to Bangkok. It seems they are expanding into Isaan. Nok Air is a subsidiary of ThaiAirways International. It is their version of a "no frills" airline.

Nok Air offers an early morning flight and a late evening flight. Their hub is Don Muang Airport in Bangkok so it makes it a lot more convenient and quicker to get into Bangkok city than from Suvarnabumi Airport. Here is their flight schedules:

Bangkok To Ubon

• Flight DD9310 departs BKK 06:20 arrives Ubon 07:30
• Flight DD9318 departs BKK 19:55 arrives Ubon 20:05

Ubon To Bangkok

• Flight DD9311 departs Ubon 07:55 arrives BKK 09:00
• Flight DD9319 departs Ubon 21:30 arrives BKK 22:35

It is comparable to Air Asia in service but you do get reserve seating. You can make reservations online, purchase your tickets and choose your seating. You can even check-in by phone but you must do this prior to 2 hours before the flight. You can only use phone check-in if you have no checked baggage. Also for some reason you don't get the flight insurance if you check-in by phone.

They still seem to be working out the kinks. Check-in was suppose to close 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure time but at 25 minutes there were still 20 people in line waiting to check in.

Don Muang is a skeleton of it's former self. Not near the traffic as before. There are a few restaurants open there but only in the terminal. Once you enter the passenger waiting there is nothing. So eat before you enter. No city buses from Don Muang now but there is a bus to Suvarnhabumi Airport.

The fares are reasonable the the price fluctuates. It seems to be driven by supply and demand. I think it is also effected by the day of the week. If you are planning to travel and you see a good fare you should grab it. I was planning my travel and there was a good rate in the morning but when I decided to go with Nok Air in the evening the ticket price had gone up by 300 Baht.

All in all I was satisfied with the service. The flight times aren't ideal but that is a small thing. If you are coming to Ubon Ratchathani or going from here to Bangkok I would recommend you give Nok Air a try.

They have a website in English you can visit them at Nok Air.

Why Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand?

My first sight of Ubon Ratchathani came out an airplane window as Thai Airways flight TG031 began it's approach to Ubon Ratchathani International Airport. After landing I collected my bad and was wisked off to the Nevada Grand Hotel, my home for the next two weeks. It was March 1999. There was a joint US Thai training exercise going on in which I was a participant.

I spent about time when I wasn't on duty exploring this new place. I began to feel comfortable and really at home. All if Thailand in endeared to me but I have a special feeling for Isaan and Ubon is the heart of Isaan.

I sadly left when the training was complete and the last US soldier had borded a plane to return to the states. I was off to Bangkok to close things out for a few days and then back to Hawaii. I didn't have long in Hawaii as I was returning to Korat for Cobra Gold 99, my last duty as a soldier.

Back in my hometown in California I was missing Thailand but trying to make a new life as a civilian. After 10 months which included a holiday to Thailand for Songkhran I began looking for a way to come live here.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was offered a job teaching English at Northeaster Poli-Technique here in Ubon. That job got me a visa and a work permit in November 2000 and except for a year living and teaching in Bangsaen, Chonburi I have been a resident of Ubon ever since.

To keep my visa I taught at Rajabhat for 4 years and Anuban for 1 year. Now I am just a tourist enjoying my "retirement". I decided to share my experience and knowledge of Ubon with visitors and the expat community here using this blog and my website http://www.weloveubon.com and hope can help or at least entertain a crowd.