Sam lors drivers in Udon Thani practically doubled their rates overnight when 50 Americans arrived to work on the VOA station outside the town in 1990-91, apparently the engineers were throwing their dollars around with abandon. With a permanent contingent of VOA employees in the area, just about any farang (foreigner) who happens to pass through Udon Thani will have to deal with this two tier price system. Reasonable fares are 10 baht to 15 bahts per kilometer.