jitagawn Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Yeah - its weird, but I often forget that Bangkok is a 'city by the sea'. It really needs the surfing beaches Sydney has - can you imagine how many people would be down at their version of 'Bondi' every weekend ? I dont know if they share the Balinese fear of the sea (particularly post-Tsunami), but I'm sure there would be plenty of young Thais willing to risk life and limb to get out amongst the breakers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGxgK-XG5R4 Nice looking right hander. As a life long surfer now with over 40 years of surfing quite frankly if Thailand had good waves I WOULD NEVER EVER LEAVE. There are afew soft waves in Phuket but happily Indo is only 4 hours away...I lived in Bali for a few years near Greger Beach in Nusa Dua which ia a huge reef with an open ocean wave that breaks like Sunsetin Hawaii but alas now Bali is supercrowded and over developed. The Balinese have a lot of great surfers now but they always avoid Nusa -tooo big and heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 I surfed for about 5 years from late teens to mid-twenties, but soon got sick of grown men fighting over 2-foot slop in Sydney. I knew surfing was in trouble when Nat Young, arguably one of the fathers of Australian surfing, was brutally bashed at his own break, Angourie, and now the focus is on 'gangs' like the Bra Boys. Sounds funny to anyone who has never been to Maroubra, but there arent many smiles when you paddle out there. My biggest concern with surfing in Asia is that we export our problems - younger surfers are invariably quite aggressive in their quest for the best waves, its bred into them in ultra-competitive city breaks from South Africa to Frisco, and I just see that ending very badly with Thais. You would have seen some clashes between the Balinese and tourists - imagine that translated to a place like Phuket. FWIW, I ran into a guy who was trying to get a kite-surfing 'surfari' business going in Asia, and he claimed to have been all over Thailand without any success re decent spots for his sport - his next stop was Vietnam. I suspect that he was more interested in the women than the waves, but he claimed to have surfed '15 footers' in WA - who knows. The PI vid looks great with so few people out there, but I wonder how long that will last. Anyway, good to hear you are still surfing - its the only 'workout' I've ever enjoyed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted November 9, 2011 Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 Yeah - its weird, but I often forget that Bangkok is a 'city by the sea'. ... Bangkok is not a “city by the seaâ€. It’s a city by a river that runs into the Gulf of Thailand. The container port mentioned earlier (at Klong Toey) is on the river and only smaller, low draft, ships can make it up the river from the Gulf. As an update, bottled water and San Miguel Light is getting hard to find in Pattaya. Wife is going out today to try and find some as the usual places of Foodland, Tops at Central, and various 7/11’s and Family Mart are out. We have enough for another week, but need to stock up (also known as hoarding) to make sure we don’t run out. Water is not a real problem, there is actually a lot available, just not the normal brands. There are still the bring your own bottle coin operated reverse osmosis machines, so not worried about water. The beer could be a problem. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted November 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2011 You say 'estaurine river', I say 'sea' Alright - you're right - I just know that port area on the way to Hua Hin doesn't look like the Mekong. Technically, it probably isnt 'Bangkok', but that whole urban sprawl shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Like driving from Newcastle to Wollongong and wondering how long it will be before its just one big metropolis .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 You say 'estaurine river', I say 'sea' Alright - you're right - I just know that port area on the way to Hua Hin doesn't look like the Mekong. Technically, it probably isnt 'Bangkok', but that whole urban sprawl shows no signs of abating anytime soon. Like driving from Newcastle to Wollongong and wondering how long it will be before its just one big metropolis .... "Technically" that port is located in Klong Toei district and is about 2km from the Emporium, which is also located in Klong Toei district. I have no idea what you think you saw on the way to Hua Hin. The trip to Lotus and Big C looking for water was fruitless as they were limiting sales to 3 bottles per family. Arrangements have been made through a connected relative to buy some 200 1.5 liter bottles (@13 baht each) from a wholesaler in Chonburi. A source for big bottles of San Miguel Light were found a Family Mart in Nakula. We are set for a while. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Should things deteriorate further I have two large bottles of Leo, left over from my last visitors, in the fridge that I shall offer for online auction next week. Genuine offers will be considered immediately, purchaser to pay packaging and postage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radioman Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Just about done in the 'land of no smiles', heading back to BKK tomorrow night. Have points to burn so will take a couple of free nights at the Holiday Inn in Pattaya with my local 'consultant'. Hopefully all the bars have beer in stock, though the damage my Norwegian friend who's there at the moment might do to supplies, he doesn't understand the word stop, no telling if there will be any beer left by the time we arrive. The thought that places might be running out of San Mig Light fills me with dread, tis her tipple and the pout a repetitive 'mai mee' might produce could see her objecting to do her duty. Not funny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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