The Mass Transit of Mukdahan.

In the middle of February while visiting friends in Mukdahan I took a few hours to go and photograph the local mass transit and intercity buses around Mukdahan's bus terminal.

A little background on Mukdahan.

Mukdahan is a small Issan town of about 30000 people. Situated right on the Mekong river facing Savannakhet (Laos). Mukdahan is about 650 km north east of Bangkok. It is only accessible by bus either directly from Bangkok or via Ubon Ratchathani or Khon Kaen. The town is linked directly to Savannakhet via a 1.5km long road bridge about 10km north of Mukdahan.

Mukdahan is an important frontier and trade town in north east Thailand. Its importance grew with the opening of the Thai – Lao bridge that allowed for direct road access to Vietnam and China via Laos. A number of large hotels were built to service the Thai – Lao – Vietnamese trade in the area. Close to the river front in central Mukdahan is a large international trading market where people from Laos, Vietnam and Thailand trade products of all kinds. This market is an importance source of economic activity in Mukdahan. The rest of Mukdahan's economy supports government services and the surrounding low income rural areas.

There have been plans recently drawn up to build a 4 lane highway right from Central Vietnam to Burma via Mukdahan for ease of international trade and cargo shipments by road. If this is built it will greatly help Mukdahan grow and improve the employment prospects for locals in the Mukdahan area.

The mass transit system of Mukdahan consists of Lao style motor trike taxis and a few Truck – bus services that operate around the town and out into the rural hinterland. All of Mukdahan's mass transit and intercity buses converge on a central terminal about 1.5 km from the centre of the town. This bus terminal consists of about 30 departure platforms arranged in a typical island layout with the ticketing hall at one end.

If your heading to Bangkok from Mukdahan there are a number of VIP buses that depart between 7pm and 8pm every night. As well as a day VIP bus at 8.30am. Please see the VIP and Intercity bus guide for details on VIP buses and Thai – Lao bus services out of Mukdahan. If your travelling to Vietnam take a bus to Savannakhet (Laos) from Mukdahan then take a bus to Vietnam these are most likely to depart in the morning from Savannakhet so an overnight stop in Savannakhet is recommended.

Now onto the photographs of Mukdahan and its bus system. The first section of images show general overview of Mukdahan with the mass transit photographs to follow.

1. This is a general view of Mukdahan taken from the 10th floor of a hotel. The white fancy looking building is the Mukdahan City council office in the foreground are government apartments.



2. This is another general view angle of Mukdahan taken looking north towards the Thai Lao bridge. The white trusses of bridge can be seen close to the horizon.



3. This is a shot looking east across the Mekong river into Laos. The town in the background is Savannakhet Laos. Before the bridge opened the only way across was by ferry.



4. This is another general view angle of Mukdahan taken looking south towards the centre of Mukdahan. The tower with a dome on the top is an observation platform. In the foreground is a brand new government apartment building.



Now onto the mass transit images from Mukdahan.

5. This is a shot of a Route 927: Bangkok – Mukdahan VIP bus. Taken on arrival at Mukdahan bus terminal early in the morning. Bus number 927 – 870. Bus type Volvo B12B double deck aircon VIP intercity bus.



6. This is a shot of a Route 820: Korat – Mukdahan bus. Taken as it waits to depart from Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus type IRIZAR. Bus number 820 – M301. Note this is a rather unusual bus make for Thailand.



7. This is an image of a couple of Route 4525: Mukdahan – Kumcha E truck buses. Taken as they wait to depart from Mukdahan bus terminal.



8. This is a shot of a Route 278: Mukdahan – Khon Kaen bus. Taken as it waits in the bus holding area at Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 278 – 11. Bus type unknown.



9. This is a shot of a Route 4: Mukdahan – Savannakhet Thai – Lao international bus. Taken as it waits in the bus holding area at Mukdahan. Bus type Hyundai – Granbird. Note this bus is left hand drive. These international buses tend to carry a lot of extra cargo than normal buses do.



10. This is a general view of a group of intercity buses waiting in the bus holding area at Mukdahan bus terminal. The two buses on the left are transport company VIP buses and the buses on the right area 2nd class intercity buses.



11. This is another angle on the waiting intercity buses in the holding area at Mukdahan bus terminal. The nearest bus is a Route 928: Bangkok – Mukdahan bus.



12. This is an image of the bus ticketing counters inside Mukdahan bus terminal. The counters on the right side are for the transport company who offer the best VIP bus service from Mukdahan to Bangkok.



13. This is a shot of a Route 235: Udon Thani - Mukdahan – Ubon Ratchthani bus. Taken as it was arriving at Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number: 235 – 5. Bus type: Hino 1st class aircon.



14. This a general view of the bus departure area inside Mukdahan bus terminal. Taken looking away from the ticketing hall. In the middle of the bus platform are ticket booths for some short distance intercity buses.



15. This is a shot of a Route 1: Mukdahan – B.P.B local truck – bus. Taken as it was approaching Mukdahan bus terminal. Truck number 1 – 1. Note the overcrowding on this truck bus.



16. This is a shot of a Route 278 bus. Taken as it was turning into the Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 278 – 31. Bus type unknown. Note as usual the doors are left open while running.



17. This is an image of a Route 4239: Mukdahan – Don Tan truck bus. Taken as it was leaving Mukdahan bus terminal. Truck number 4239 – 5. Truck type Isuzu.



18. This is an image of a Mukdahan local motor taxi trike. Taken as it was leaving Mukdahan bus terminal. These motor trikes can be found all over the border provinces in north east Thailand. They cost between 40 and 60 baht per trip around town.



19. This is another shot of Bus number 235 – 5. Taken as it was departing Mukdahan bus terminal. Despite its green colour this is a 1st class intercity aircon bus.



20. This is a shot of a Route 1 truck bus. Taken as it was approaching Mukdahan bus terminal with a light load. Truck number unknown.



21. This is a shot of a Route 927 bus. Taken as it was approaching Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 927 – 914. Bus type Volvo B12B double deck 1st class aircon.



22. This is a shot of a Route 927 bus. Taken as it was leaving Mukdahan bus terminal on its way to refuel. Bus number 927 – 22. Bus type unknown 2nd class aircon.



23. This is a shot of a Route 4525 truck bus. Taken as it was departing Mukdahan bus terminal. Truck number 4525 – 5. Truck type unknown.



24. This is an image of a Route 927 bus. Taken as it was waiting in the bus holding area at Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 927 – 1. Bus type Volvo B12B double deck VIP. This is the other VIP bus company that links Bangkok with Mukdahan.



25. This is another angle on Bus 927 – 22. Taken on its way to the other bus holding area at Mukdahan. Note these 2nd class aircon buses are not worth taking as the legroom is terrible and they often have standing loads on route. Also they stop in a million places on the route.



26. This is a shot of a Route 820 bus taken as it was arriving at Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus type IRIZAR. Bus number 820 – M309. Operated by an offshoot of NCA company.



27. This is an image of a Route 555: Mukdahan – Nakhon Phanom bus. Taken as it was leaving the bus terminal. Bus number 555 – 45. Bus type Merc 2nd class aircon.



28. This is a shot of a Route 278 bus. Taken as it was arriving at Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 278 – 20. bus type unknown 2nd class intercity. Again running with doors open.



29. This is a shot of a Route 4 Thai – Lao international bus. Taken as it was heading for the bus platforms at Mukdahan. Bus number 4 – 003. Bus type Hyundai – Granbird.



30. This is a shot of a Route 278 bus. Taken as it was leaving Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 278 – 5. Bus type unknown 2nd class aircon.



31. This is another angle on the Route 820 bus. Taken as it was departing Mukdahan. Bus number 820 – M301.



32. This is a shot of a Route 4 Thai – Lao international bus. Taken as it was entering the bus terminal. Bus number 2nd class (4 – 1). Bus type Merc aircon. Note: right hand drive bus.



33. This is a shot of a Route 256: Ubon Ratchathani - Nakhon Phanom bus. Taken as it was entering the bus terminal. Bus number 256 – 7. Bus type unknown.



34. This is a shot of a Route 928: Bangkok – Mukdahan bus. Taken as it waits in the bus holding area. Bus type unknown 2nd class intercity. Bus number 928 – 2.



35. This is a general view of a couple of left hand driver Hyundai Thai – Lao international buses. Taken as they wait in the Mukdahan bus holding area.



36. This is a shot of a Route 927 bus. Taken as it was arriving at the bus departure platforms at Mukdahan. Bus number 2nd class (927 – 1). Bus type Merc 2nd class intercity.



37. This is a shot of Route 555 bus. Taken as it waits to depart from Mukdahan bus terminal. Bus number 555 – 30. Bus type Very old Merc non aircon. Note this route has both aircon and non aircon buses.



38. This is an inside shot of driver seat on bus number 555 – 30. Note the condition of this bus. This bus is over 40 years old.



39. This is another inside shot of the passengers seats on bus number 555 – 30. Note the condition of the seating and the 2 + 3 layout. Which was common 30 years ago in most rural buses.



40. This is another angle on bus number 555 – 30. Taken as it waits to depart Mukdahan. Note on this bus the engine is at the front next to the driver rather than at the rear. This is a real classic bus.



41. This is an image of a Route 278 bus. Taken as it waits in the bus holding area. Bus number 278 – 31. Bus type unknown. Note how the engine cover has gone missing. Unlike on a lot of Metro buses in Melbourne a lot of Thai buses have extra ventilation around the engine due to chronic overheating.



42. This is a shot of a Route 829: Mukdahan – Mae Sot bus. This bus runs right across the centre of Thailand to the Burmese border town of Mae Sot over 1000km away. Bus number 829 – 1. Bus type Scania double deck 1st class aircon.



Now for something completely different.

Here is a video taken at the Transport company bus departure platforms at Mochit 2 at 9pm on a Tuesday night. Even on this mid week night its hard to find a place to sit down while you wait for your bus. On a Friday night just finding a place to stand in hard any ware near your bus platform due to huge numbers of people. Really despite over 150 bus departure platforms Mochit 2 is now too small for the ever growing demand placed on it. Despite it being only 15 years old.



I hope you enjoyed the images and information on Mukdahan's mass transit system. If you have any comments or questions about this topic please post some comments below.