Kiteboarding World Cup Hua Hin March 11 - 20 2010

There will be two events:

The first event will be the PKRA Thailand competition March 11-14. The top 2 male and top 2 female finishers will automatically be entered in the main event of the PKRA International freestyle competition! This event will be run by the PKRA international judges and a PKRA contest director which means the highest quality of judging.

Monday, March 15 through Saturday, March 20 the top riders in the world will compete in this Grand Slam event, featuring Freestyle, Course Racing, and Board Off disciplines.  It will be the first professional kiteboarding event in Asia in the history of the sport, and it promises to be a new beginning for the sport in the region, as it is expected to become an annual kiteboarding mega-event in Thailand.

A little late on posting this but if you live in Hua Hin you'd have to be more of a hermit than this guy to have missed all the signs and the PKRA has a good web site about the event so the news is out.

So, all FBF will try to do here is make it a bit easier for those NOT staying at the Intercontinental to view the event.

The maps on both the PKRA and Intercontinental sites are a little vague on where the event will be held so FBF reconnoitered the area today, mainly for selfish reasons (2 boys who need to wash up after visiting any beach) but will share what was learned here...

A platform/stage/viewing platform is under construction roughly just north of Soi 79, which is the northern boundary of the Intercontinental Hotel.  There were no kiteboards visible at that site this morning but there were several working out on the beach east of the Condochain at Soi 75/1, which is probably the BEST place to get a bird's eye view of the festivities though would imagine the Intercontinental will probably offer some most comfortable viewing areas also.

There are a few small food stalls at the end of Soi 77 complete with umbrellas, tables and chairs and an abundance of massage ladies with their amenities. One would assume that many more will be setting up shop in the next few days.

There are also a few restaurants in more permanent structures along the beach in this area and south ie, between Sois 75/1 and what would probably be Soi 83/2 for those preferring tiles under their feet rather than sand.

Denizens of Bo Fai don't often go wandering through the rabbit warren of Sois on the Southside so there are probably more places in that area since FBF last visited the beach in that area.

Parking

Parking is not going to be fun. Unless you're a high-roller flying in for the event and staying at one of the resorts in the area or willing to fight the Scandies in their Speedos at the Condochain, be prepared for a hike.

The Sois in the area are barely wide enough to handle both pedestrians and moterbikes at the same time so there will obviously be a few folks from you-know-where who will park their cars there, further complicating matters.

Petchkasem has limited street parking in the area and that will go fast. The vacant lot just north of the Hua Hin Sports Villa at Soi 104/2 may be opened up for parking and this page will be updated if that proves to be the case.

A closing thought on local publicity:

[editorial mode ON]
For many years it has seemed that local hotels and resorts and even the TAT have gone out of their way NOT to publicize (IN HUA HIN) events being held in Hua Hin. Whether it be a music festival, food festival or special concert held in a local hotel, there have been many occasions where residents of Hua Hin first learn of something going on in town when the traffic builds up on Friday afternoon with cars from Bangkok asking where to find so and so.

The Intercontinental Hotel has only been in Hua Hin a few months but have already held two international scale events and the local publicity has been nothing short of amazing. They've done a excellent job of keeping locals in the loop and that effort should be commended.
[editorial mode OFF]

Plearnwan or A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...

FBF has made a few less than complimentary comments about Plearnwan but folks continue to be drawn to the odd looking structure; thousands of folks every day. There are many expensive cars from Bangkok, VIP buses from the boonies and school kids by the classroom full. In fact, FBF Jr's class is there as this is being written.

The place is so popular that a cottage industry has grown up between the parking lot (second only to Market Village in capacity) and the entrance, selling everything from soft drinks, t-shirts, and sun glasses to noodles and True SIM cards.

Still can't imagine why but did run across a site that pretty much sums up why FBF doesn't intend on going back AND why so many others are continually drawn. It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words so be prepared for 107,000 words from Khun Pan.

11th Thailand International Kite Festival 13-14 March 2010

Painting The Sky

The 11th Thailand International Kite Festival will be held 13 - 14 March at the Rama VI Camp in Cha Am. This is the camp about 15 km north from the Hua Hin Clock Tower on Petchkasem Road.

In past years kite flying clubs from around the world have attended and there are demonstrations of many types of kites.

According to TAT the events begin at 0930 on Saturday and end at 1230 Sunday afternoon. While formal events may end at noon, one would imagine that there will still be many kites aloft throughout the afternoon as the kite flyers will want to take advantage of a (hopefully) beautiful day.

The site is not the Narasuan Camp which is conveniently located opposite a couple of well known Essan Restaurants but the Rama VI Camp which is the home of the Ratchaniwet Marukhathaiyawan Palace (or Teak Palace) just north of the Narasuan Camp.

A few years ago the organizers seemed to be more intent on getting the kites in the air rather than providing amenities for the on-lookers. Food and drink stalls were noticeably absent on Day 1 but were there in force for Day 2. Should that be the case this year, it might not hurt to stop by the Essan places on the way and grab some Gai Yang, Somtom and Sticky Rice (or beer), or even some Naem Nuang before entering the camp to see the kites. Gai Yang and Somtom will never go to waste, even if there is food available at the festival...

Also, in case some members of the party get sore necks from watching the kites, they can always go over and see the beautiful teak palace on the beach. It shouldn't be missed.

Both activities are great for children and families.
Nueng

Satukarn Square Parking Lot

First off, Happy New Year to everyone. FBF hopes it's a good one for all.

It got off to a good start in Hua Hin as the Satukarn family did a good deed and made good use of their empty lot downtown for a few days. It became a temporary parking lot over the New Year break which helped with the severe lack of parking available in Hua Hin.

Why don't they do this all the time? The lot has been an eyesore since May (some might say long before that!) and certainly hasn't made them any money. We've all heard of their plans for a hotel, shopping mall and plaza but the site isn't big enough for all that and it's difficult to figure where that kind of money is going to come from when tourist arrivals are down, down, down.

At the very least, keep it as a parking lot and gain the merit OR, charge 10 Baht an hour, hire a guard, and get less merit but a little income. OR, build a 2-3 story parking lot with lights and a guard and charge 10-20 Baht an hour and still gain merit and get more income.

The new government building across Petchkasem started construction about the same time as Satukarn Square shut down all the shops and is almost complete but Satukarn eyesore still remains.

If they don't do something with it soon, another Top Charoen will probably pop up one night...