Although Nov is a peak period for golf holidays in Thailand, we have decided to make the trip because we had to avoid the rainy seasons in Sep - Oct. For the same reasons, the green fees for all the premium courses like Laem Chabang GC, Siam Country Club; almost doubled during this time. So we have decided to avoid most of these courses and maybe come back again during the promotion period.
Day 1 - 4th Nov......
We arrived at Don Muang airport about 9am, load our baggage on the pick up van and head straight to Pattaya. This time only 6 of us made the trip..Dennes, Lee, Lim, Alex, Khoo and Liaw.
At the biggest R&R along the way, we stopped for a quick lunch since we will be playing Bangpra International GC for our first golfing stop.
Bangpra GC is set amongst the hills and jungle near Sriracha, originally built in 1958 but gone through a redesign in 1987. So this is a fully matured course, the greens are well kept to the extent that the slope looks very subtle yet extremely fast. Making 3 to even 4 putts on a green is an experience that we wont forget easily. The best gross score for the day is 94!!!!
After checking into Areca Lodge around 7pm, all were hunger for a Thai dinner. Lining the street near the hotel are many small bars and pubs offering mainly beer and simple local and western meals targeting Western tourists. We were told there is a nice Thai restaurant on the left of the main street, a dog leg left par 5 distant. We found it and by the look of the layout, this one definitely caters more for tourist who can afford to pay. True enough, we realized later that we can get it for less than half the price when we go to a Thai tai-chow restaurant.
Lesson learned.... if you see any restaurant that also offer live Thai traditional music, avoid......
Areca Lodge, although a 3 star hotel is located quite convenience to shopping, beach and walking street. It has three blocks of building, each with a small swimming pool and breakfast area. My only complain is that the breakfast buffet seems to be same everyday, maybe the chef never thought that we do eat something different for breakfast!
Day 2 - 5th Nov......
St Andrew 2000 is the only course that we insisted for this trip because, except Dennes and Lee, the rest had heard a lot about the famous 2 par 6s in this course and were all eagerly waiting to see how to play these holes. However, for some reasons the management had made some changes to the 2 par 6s, where the first par 6 hole #4 (blue Tee) has been shorten to 700 yds instead of the original 878 yds, but the 2nd par 6 hole #13 has been lengthen from 861yds to 910 yds. Although there is no need to tee off across a vast span of water hazard on hole #4 as per the original design, landing the tee shot on the seemingly small patch of fairway along the right hand side, guarded by water hazard on left and right, is still a very challenging task. Actually, this is the landing area for the 2nd shot before the changes. In other words, in the original design the 1st and 2nd shots crisscross the lake.
Only Lim managed a par on hole 4 whilst the best score for the second par 6 was an 8! Overall the condition of the course has slightly deteriorated and the lockers definitely need to be refurbished.
Day 3 - 6th Nov......
Today is planned to be free and easy. So we have decided to go sight seeing around Pattaya.
Since Nong Nooch Tropical Garden is highly recommended in many tour websites, we shall not missed the opportunity to visit one of Pattaya's most popular tourist attractions.
Apart from the biggest botanical garden in Southeast Asia, Nong Nooch features a variety of attractions like elephant show, an exotic zoo, animal shows, and Thai cultural show with dance performances and Muay Thai demonstrations (for entertainment only).
The highlight of the visit, however, is probably the amazing elephant show that is great fun to watch. You can watch the jumbos play a game of football, basketball, bowling and darts. Some elephants can also paint images with their trunks, while others have been trained to do massage using their foot and trunk!
It was a hot day, so we did not tour the whole garden.
Entry fee is 500Baht for foreigners, 250 Baht for Thai nationals.
Then we went to the floating market. But after realizing that we have to pay 200 baht for entrance, we gave up the idea and head back to the hotel. Later, we also realized that we should have negotiate for a more flexible rental of the van. We ended up paying full rental when we only spent half a day on tour....a second lesson!
After experiencing the expensive yet not-so-good dinner on the first night and a fast food meal at the food court located in the shopping complex on the second night; we know that we have to venture around for a better dining place. Yes, we found one after crossing 2 streets to the right of our hotel. It was a typical Thai "Tai-chou" place, where unlike Malaysia, the Thai stall displayed all food ingredients, sea food, vege, meat etc in front of the shop with frying woks just beside. The food were served super fast. However, it was typical thai cooking, delicious and relatively cheap so much so we went there for our dinners for the next 2 days as well! The deep fried bass with no toppings at all, was crunchy and yummy that we even doubled our order!
Day 4 - 7th Nov......
7/11 is without doubt the best golfing day of this trip. First of all, Pattana GC is truly one of the best golf course in Pattaya. As soon as we enter the changing room of the club house, we could see that this is a 5 star resort. We were not disappointed. As we step out of the building we can't help but to admire the beautiful sight in front. You can immediately tell this is a well maintained, beautiful course. Better still, today the sun is hiding somewhere, whilst at the same time, a rather strong wind was constantly blowing. What a beautiful day for golf!
Unfortunately, can't say the same for the game. Just like Bangpra, the greens here are hard to read and as fast. Furthermore, the wind has been blowing in all directions depending where the hole is. Since we seldom play under such condition, selecting the right club and knowing where to aim are new challenges! There is also a par 6 on hole #5, though only 663 yds. Everyone scored above 90 as well! This course is definitely worth a 2nd visit!
Day 5 - 8th Nov......
The morning has been raining since last night. After arriving at Emerald GC, the rain though not heavy is dense. The group decided to tee off in the drizzle after having waited for another half hour. Alex had a bad experience with his caddy, who seems to have no energy walking in the rain and could not find his ball a couple of times. Surprisingly, she seemed to have all charged up after a beer at the half way hut, where we had to stop as the rain is pouring again. Finally, we were forced to abandon the game at hole #11. Later we realized that we should have abandoned the game right in the beginning but instead play another course tomorrow on the way back to Bangkok since our departure is at 6pm......lesson 3.
Day 6 - 9th Nov......
Today, we have planned to check-out early so we could go to the biggest shopping mall for golf items in Bangkok at the Thaniya Plaza. However, we were advised against the idea. Apparently, there is a mass protest in the city against the govt-backed amnesty bill, which if passed, would absolved all leaders and protesters involved in the previous political unrest of any wrongdoings. As such, many road were blocked by the police.
No golf shopping, Dennes suggested we detour to a sea food restaurant in Siracha for lunch on the way to the airport.
Upon arrival at the restaurant, we were amazed by the setup of its dining area. Believe me, you have not seen or eat out in any restaurant like this! The dining area is 3 tiered, stretching from the street level right down next to the beach. The dining tables and
chairs are made from discarded railway sleepers, set in the open air but shaded by big trees. Another surprise...the toilet is fully air-conditioned.
Well, the food...simply aroi mak mak (delicious)! We had fish, oyster, scallops, clams and the price, probably 1/3 for the same in KL.
Highly recommended for anyone who will be visiting Pattaya!
And the name of the restaurant...sorry forgotten la. But here is the business card..
....oops you don't read Thai also???
Summary....
Only one sore point on this trip...our driver, though a local, has no initiate to suggest place of interest, entertainment or good food. Neither is he willing to deviate from his set schedule unless we pay him extra. Do you think we should give him tips???
Appr. Cost per pax........
Air ticket......Rm 300.00
Golf bag check-in 120.00
Golf package 1,800.00 - 2,200.00
Hired van to LCCT 50.00
Caddy tips 120.00
More Photos..........
achieved on 10th Sep on Tasik Nine. However, this time it was on the Sawit Nine. On the first hole (hole#10), his 3rd approach shot from the light rough about 80m away, saw his ball landed less than a feet from the hole; giving him an easy tap in birdie. Another birdie was achieved on the Par 3 hole #17 from about 8 ft below the flag. All in all, Lim shot 4 more pars and 3 bogeys.
