Long Boat Racing at Khao Tao 24 - 27 December 2009

Long Boat Racing will be held at the Khao Tao Reservoir, about 12km south of Hua Hin from the 24th through the 27th of December.

There hasn't been much any news about this but FBF has been able to learn that the event will be held with the following schedule:

• 24 December: Opening ceremony and music
• 25 December: Judging of boats for beauty and craftsmanship
• 26 December: Boat Races
• 27 December: Boat Race Finals

Khao Tao has beaches, restaurants, sea temples and is convenient to Hua Hin. If you're looking for something to do after too much Christmas stuffing, a trip might be in order.

Here We Go Again--Ferry: Hua Hin to Pattaya

UPDATED on 4 February, 2010

Folks, if you're reading this, there ain't no ferry. Methinks we're now talking major Urban Myth (along the same lines as the bar girl with a heart of gold). This myth was first propagated in July of 2009 by Pattaya Today and though there was something a few months ago about the boat being in the water, nothing has been seen in Hua Hin.

In fact, unless they plan on having passengers disembark among baskets of fresh squid, there's no place for the ferry to tie up--the only pier in Hua Hin is an antiquated pier for the squid boats!

Perhaps the licensing officials are taking these guys for a ride. Perhaps they fell in love and sold the boat to buy a bar. Perhaps there's another Hua Hin in a parallel universe.

So, book your taxi or buy a bus ticket, as there ain't no ferry between Hua Hin and Pattaya.

UPDATED on 23 October, 2009

This is a very popular post so in order to save folks the trouble of looking for updates, we'll just do it here.

Since the original post in July, there has been no further word on this ferry, as was more or less expected by many. If you've been around a while, stories like this are about as common,  and believable, as My Mother's Buffalo Died.

Suffice it to say, should this ferry get off the ground and into the water, we'll do a new post. In the meantime, don't hold your breath. Sorry.

Now back to your regularly scheduled pack of lies:

We've heard it all before but now Pattaya Today is saying we're really going to have a ferry from Hua Hin to Pattaya.

Many believed it would never happen, however, the new Pattaya to Hua-Hin ‘High Speed Ferry’, has finally made it into the water after two years of meticulous preparations by the Swedish owners. The new ‘Thai Living Ferry Co’ craft, aptly named ‘Imagine’, will be licensed to carry up to one hundred passengers, after it has passed its sea trials which are now taking place. The new daily service is due to start this month [JULY???], hold onto your hat when making the trip.

Hua Hin is noted for being a lovely place for a holiday, especially for those with families, but the long road or train trip is definitely a big disadvantage. However, this need no longer is a negative aspect of your trip, as the Thai Living Ferry Company will soon be offering a very fast, high speed ferry service between Pattaya and Hua Hin every day. The cost should be around 1,200 baht per passenger, and will only take around 3-hours, which sure beats the hell out of a boring 6-hour land trip.

We'll certainly see what happens but at that price FBF can't see many residents lining up to take their families to Pattaya for a leisurely lunch.