The Thai Pirate - Thai Blog and Travel Stories

Get involved in Rugby in Thailand - Pattaya 10's tournament 2010

Thai or Farang, all those living / working in Thailand should consider getting themselves involved in a rugby club in Thailand.

(Pattaya Panthers half time) There is no better place to make new Thai friends and meet fellow expats socially, whether you play (or even know) the game. The Pattaya 10's tournament took place this weekend and proved to be another incredibly enjoyable and action filled weekend. Teams travelled from the length and bredth of Thailand, from Chiang Mai in the North to Phuket in the South...

All the 'more well known' regions of Thailand will likely have some form of rugby club - so have a look / search to see if there is one nearby - each one will be a bastian of sensible, fun-loving folk (thai and farang), who enjoy the game and a good drink after.

(Panthers putting in the tackles vs the Thai Young Blood) Onto the game, it's clear to me now that the expat teams have to rely on their larger frames to 'slow things down' a bit in order to get results against the younger Thai sides.

Get too cocky in the backs, and you're opening yourself up for a whipping by the nippy Thai's, who are always fast, fit, and good with the ball. Once you've spent 5 minutes chasing fruitlessly after several Thai's in 32 degrees; there is a real risk of leaving the field on your back.. Cunning plans have to be hatched, and implemented, speed and fitness have to be nulified; and the black art of 'tieing up the Thai's' is a must for all successful expat sides (especially those that are getting on a bit).

The Thai's game equally has to be played with an according strategy - a good Thai side will keep the ball moving, quickly depleting the expats oxygen; hot, sweat filled brows and thumping hearts will quickly finish off most less mobile expat sides.

Aside from the game, these tournaments are always welcoming, busy, lively places; lots of food, drink and banter, great for meeting others and finding out what they get up to in LOS (there are some very interesting individuals / careers / stories around).

(a young panther looks on) If you live or travel to Thailand regularly, I really advise all to give your local rugby club a look. If you are in Pattaya, go and see the Pattaya Panthers (website here) You would be hard pressed to find a friendlier and more welcoming bunch.. For those in Bangkok there are also several clubs, the Bangkok Bangers and Southerners spring to mind.

Someone mentioned on Saturday how a rugby match between the yellows and reds would be an interesting way to solve the current political wranglings... Haha what a great idea... would love to see that match ....

And for anyone still reading, if you're planning a trip to Thailand, don't worry too much about the goings on in Bangkok, these people only want to have a go at each other - as long as you stay away from the areas directly affected, you're unlikely to notice anything different and you can still have an awesome holiday..

Just watch the roads....

A Soaked and Safe Songhran

Despite all the drama occuring in parts of Bangkok, the rest of the country carries on as normal. It's funny cos so many people hear / see what's happening back home and worry about relatives in Thailand. The reality is, unless you venture into these very distinct (and hard to get to) central parts of Bangkok you probably wouldn't notice / experience any difference at all.

For instance, if you travel up to (the extremely flat and hot) Suphanburi, its as if you are a million miles away from any guns / soldiers / bombs.

Our Songhran began the same as last year; the first day of the festival and we had a few beers and some food round gran's, and the whole family gave her a scrub (although she didn't strip off this year, dammit).

Aiden had a swift bath in the cold Songhran water, lucky little bugger, I almost jumped in with him it was so sweltering.

For a few days the Thai's party heavily in the streets and arm themselves with various water launching equipment, anything from a rusty old bucket to the latest in high tech water soakers.. Some clever souls even attach huge hoses to whatever fits and pump it from buildings / houses / rivers to really generate some serious soaking power, although as they have to remain in one spot they generally get even more of a soaking.

Today we drove through Ayutthaya, the streets absolutely solid in what was just one huge waterfight, a series of traffic jams that were a pleasure to be stuck in. A carnival atmosphere, without a frown in sight (although I've never seen so many ambulances in one day in Thailand...)

(the mobile waterfight, heading towards Ayutthaya town centre).

After a while we took a few blind turns and stumbed across a nice little restaurant sitting beside the river. A great little find, and we spent some time away from the excitement and traffic, and watched the world float by for a bit.

A quick, private (but noisy) Loy Krathong

That time of year again, Loy Krathong. With Sutiya in the last stages of pregnancy we are not as mobile as last year,  so we literally just nipped over the road to the temple opposite the house.

The temple grounds were very pretty, with bright multi-coloured lights hanging amongst all the trees. Although it was only early in the evening, there were still quite a few people present in the grounds and on the pierside. There was also a very distinct and relaxed anticipation in the air. 

Our pretty little krathong cost a whopping 40 baht, or 70p. A few people were sat along the river, casting off their krathongs. We lit the candles on ours, said a few little wishes, and cast her off down river.

The one 'downside' about living near the temple is the full on rave that takes place into the early hours. It gets seriously loud, stupidly loud, right up to 3-4am. But it's no problem, just another side to Thai life that we are used to.

Is it a Boat? Is it a Crane? No, it must be a....... Brane?

What the hell is that? A kind of hybrid crane stroke floating platform stroke boat, which this guy was using (quite unsuccessfully) to scoop large water lettuces from this river...

Seems like a totally pointless job, reminds me a bit of the peasants in the Holy Grail, piling up dirt and filth.

Genius.

note: the views expressed by the peasants in the clip are in no way a reflection of the Thai Pirate's personal views on either the UK or Thai monarchy..... (Although he wholeheartedly agrees that having a sword thrown at you by a watery tart is not a basis for serious government).... Er.... Long Live the King... (and the Queen)

Meeting other Thai Bloggers!

This week I've been lucky enough to meet up with two very popular Thai bloggers!

Steven Cleary a.k.a Steve Suphan writes great blog posts for Thai-Blogs.com. We ended up out on the mean streets of Suphanburi last week for a few beers where Steve showed me his VERY impressive scar on his foot from a recent motorbike accident, nearly took his whole big toe off!

Yowzer.

Steve's been in Thailand for 12 years now and we had a good drink and chat about many things 'Thai'. I'd say Steve won the drinking contest, which doesn't say much, Mini Me could probably drink me under the table these days, but I'm well keen for a rematch soon Steve!

And this week the famous 'Malcolm and Ciejay' showed up at our place and shared breakfast with me at the TEE Coffee Shop in Sri Prachan. Malcolm writes his very popular blog 'Retired in Thailand and Loving it' and we had a good chin wag over Eggs with Pork and Garlic ('the cornerstone of every nutritious breakfast'). Thanks to both Malcolm and Ciejay for popping in, please make sure you come see us again when you do the drive to see your family, you know where we are!

Perhaps there should be a big 'Thai Bloggers Meet-up' or something? We could book a big convention centre like the BITEC or Queen Sirikit, and hold long discussions about Thailand, politics, the Monarchy and general South East Asian issues....

Just kidding.

But, if you're in Thailand and fancy sharing breakfast or getting drunk with the Pirate, my door is open.