Nongbon Water Sports Center
By Richard Barrow 
Sunday 31st May, 2009 | 397 words | Category: Bangkok | 2 feedbacks »
On the eastern outskirts of Bangkok there is a new lake that offers watersports at a price that everyone can afford. Lake Nongbon (beung nongbon) was built by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) in 2006 but wasn't officially opened to the public until last year. Annual membership is a crazy low price of 40 baht per year for adults and 10 baht for children. Foreigners are charged the same price. For this you can have free lessons in three kinds of watersports. These are windsurfing, dinghy boat sailing and kayaking.
We went to check out this sports center this morning. There isn't much information on the Internet in English so we didn't know what to expect. The lake is behind the two shopping malls of Seri Center and Seacon Square. Access is on Chalermprakiet Road which passes the entrance to Suan Luang Rama 9 park. Go a bit further and turn left at Soi 43. There is a large sign across the road here so it is not hard to miss. I noticed also that air-conditioned bus 206 and non-air 11 passes this soi. The water park is at the bottom of the soi. I have posted road signs at ThailandQA Bangkok Forums.
The 254 acre lake also has a well equipped sports center which comes with a convenient waiting area and library. We arrived early under the presumption that many people would be doing that in order to beat the heat. However, we soon found out that although the center and park is open from 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., the water sport activities don't start until later. There are two rounds. The morning round is 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. and the afternoon round is 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. However, we didn't see any activity until after 11 a.m. I guess many people still do not know about this place yet.
While we were there watching, we saw two overseas families and about half a dozen Thai teenagers having fun with windsurfing and sailing. The youngest sailor seemed to be only six years old and seemed very skilled at managing the dinghy. If you need some coaching then there are people on hand to help you out. However, I am not sure how much English they know. The information brochure was only in Thai. But, at 40 baht a year who are we to complain! For further information you can contact them at 02 328 0236.
Do you have any questions about Thailand? Maybe you are planning a holiday or just want to learn more about Thai culture. Have all of your questions answered for free at ThailandQA.com. These forums are part of the family friendly Paknam Web Network.
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