Parking a Car in Thailand Isn’t So Bad
Parking a car in Udon Thani can be a nightmare at the best of times. You’ll always find a space but it may be a few hundred yards from where you want to be and it’s no wonder many people choose to travel around the city by samlor (top picture).
Traffic in Udon during weekdays is heavy, especially mid afternoon when the schools turn out. Weekends can be even worse with motors nose to tail making the shortest of journeys a lengthy one. There are parking slots but many are a tight squeeze and a hike to where you’re heading.
Udon Thani’s major shopping stores like Tesco Lotus, Big C and Central Plaza have adequate parking spaces but for anyone heading to a small city centre restaurant, travel agent or wherever, parking a car can be a nightmare. And finding a parking space at Udon Thani’s night markets is not for the fainthearted. Then again…. things could be worse.
Here in England my home town council in Swindon have spent local taxpayers hard-earned money on these double yellow no parking lines.
A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council took a deep breath and whispered this explanation;
‘It seems our contractors forgot just how big cars actually are when they painted this one…. We will be taking it up with them.’
The width between the two sets of double yellow lines is thirteen inches.
Finding a parking space in Thailand is an absolute breeze compared to some places in the world.
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Martyn, I haven’t driven a car in over eight years (entire time I’ve been in Thailand) so my parking skills leave much to be desired. I need to get an international license so stay tuned for a painful post on passing a driver’s test in BKK!
Catherine – Best of luck on driving around Bangkok, I’m sure some of the parking will be a tight squeeze. I’ve never driven myself, apart from a few people round the bend. I enjoy samlor and songthaew rides plus Wilai has got a car for those longer trips.