Sports and Pastimes
If ever there could be a sporting paradise on earth, it would undoubtedly be on Thailand’s majestic shores!
Everything from the simplest of passive pursuits like bird watching or lazing on a sun drenched beach, to the most energetic of activities such as surf boarding, rock climbing and river rafting – Thailand has them all!
How is it that this tropical paradise is able to provide such a vast array of activities and pursuits for visitors of all ages and from all over the world?
Probably the biggest contributory factor is the continuous sunshine and blue skies which even in the monsoon season are never absent for more than an hour or two under normal circumstances. Far from being last and certainly not least is the psychological effect derived from the smiling faces that are everywhere. A factor that must come into focus also is the matter of cost effectiveness as applies to holidays and the pursuit of leisure activities . In this respect too, Thailand offers more value for money than most other countries in the world today!
Continuous fine weather, wholly cooperative happy local people, high quality and relatively low financial outlay! These are undoubtedly the most significant reasons why Thailand is able to offer such attractive venues for all manner of sports and pastimes to meet all tastes and requirements.
GOLFING IN THAILAND
As local golfers all know full well, there are plenty of excellent golf courses right on their door steps, here in Thailand. The availability of golf courses is so significant that reservations for tee-off times are usually unnecessary at the majority of golf clubs. Moreover, so widespread are the courses that no matter where you travel in Thailand, a club or links is never far from your accomodation or hotel.
Every golfer has a favorite golf course and the reason for liking a particular facility can vary enormously. It may be due to a particularly memorable performance there, a competition-wining round, a hole-in-one or a best-ever score.
It may also have something to do with the surroundings, the scenery or that indefinable quality, ambiance. Thus, it’s rare to find total agreement on which course in Thailand is the best overall.
The best way to sum it up is to say that “as long as one can pay the fee, one can take one’s pick”.
ROCK CLIMBING
Phra Nang and Railay Beach are located on a peninsular which juts out from the mainland. They are only accessible by boat from the provincial town of Krabi in the South of Thailand. The entire area is covered with fabulous towering cliffs of limestone and dense unspoilt jungle which conceals fantastic caves full of stalactites and stalagmites.
This makes Railay Beach the beginning point for great climbing and exploring adventures. This location is suitble for beginners, intermediate level climbers, and advanced experts right up to celebrities such as Todd Skinner, Lyn Hill, Francois Legrand and Ben Moon to mention but a few.
When one is tired of climbing what better than to relax on the almost snow white beaches which melt into an aquamarine sea underneath a perpetually shining sun. If too much warmth becomes a problem, there is an abundance of palm fronds and billowing foliage to provide shade before being tempted to plunge into the crystal clear waters of the azure blue sea.
TREKKING
In the mountainous region of Northern Thailand, the spectacular scenery is awe-inspiring, the mountains seem to be constantly shrouded in mist and yet the the valleys are so colorful that it seems one is in some kind of a time warped “Shangri -La” mosaic. The people that inhabit the hills of Northern Thailand have long been a curiosity for visitors to the Kingdom.Most of them made long treks from Tibet, Myanmar, Yunnan, Lao PDR and Vietnam to settle in the relative calm of Thailand, bringing with them different languages, costumes and cultures. What better a place toundertake an “eco” trek combined with the adreneline rushes that are acquired through river rafting?
To whet the appetite even further, cast your eyes over the extract that follows from a typical Tour Company’s Web Site, “After breakfast, depart from Chiang Mai by road for a Shan Tribe Village. A stop will be made en route at a local market before continuing on to the staggeringly beautiful Mokfha Waterfall where a lunchbox will be provided. After arriving at Ban Mae Sae, a three hour trek will begins which will end at a Lisu hill tribe village. Dinner and an overnight stop at this village completes the day’s activities. Immediately after breakfast on the next day, another three-hour trek ends up at the Elephant Camp. Following a rest for lunch, experience an elephant ride for one or two hours through the jungle amidst beautiful scenery to the rafting camp at a Karen hill tribe village for dinner and an overnight stopover. Next day to the landing pier at the river for the first leg of a river rafting experience of a lifetime ………”
Thailand has it all!
DIVING IN THAILAND’S CRYSTAL CLEAR SEAS
Scuba diving is Thailand’s most popular water sport, and it’s an experience you will never forget. Explore the brilliantly colored coral reefs and be dazzled by fish of a thousand hues. Expect close encounters with giant barracuda, manta rays, sea cows and even sharks!
Thailand is the central focus for scuba diving in South East Asia. Thousands of people come here either to dive or to learn to dive and get a certification which allows them to dive all over the world. The reasons for this are very simple, diving in Thailand is competitively priced and there are world-class locations for every level of expertise and scores of professional instructors. All over Thailand you can expect modern amenities, dive boats having international standards of safety and associated professional facilities.