Re: Asia kitesurfing spots?
Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 9:13 am
A word of advice,, I've been to Chumphon a couple of times and in reality the wind is poor. The normal pattern in high season would see about 3 windy days followed by 5 or 6 windless days. Last time I was there (peak season), we sat around for days on end with no wind. I met a pair of Germans who'd been there 15 days and been on the water just once. I think its too big a risk for a 2 week break, especially as its a long, long trip from Bangkok. Maybe different if you're going for a couple of months and prepared to wait it out. You also have to hope that when the wind does blow, it doesnt coincide with high tide as this reduces the beach to nothing and makes launching and landing very tricky and sometimes impossible.
The other big drawback is the SANDFLIES. The beach is full of them and they are evil and merciless. When you first arrive you wonder why no-one is sunbathing on the beach but after about 20 minutes of being eaten alive you soon pack up and sit inside. This is a great shame as it means that non-kiting partners wont enjoy it so much. If you're thinking of spending those endless, windless days lazing on the beach, think again.
And if all that isnt enough... last year there was a gang of thieves targetting the tourists and a lot of stuff was stolen from rooms. People lost money, credit cards, laptops, passports etc. Some people were left in a deep mess with no money or passports.
The beach at Chumphon (Tung Wae Len) is a quiet place with little nightlife so dont expect there to be much going on. Nice if you want to relax but too quiet for some.
When the wind does blow, it a good spot, but the negatives outweigh the positives for me and there are better options in Asia with much better wind stats, better nightlife and no sandflies! Its an awful long way to go to sit around waiting for the wind to come while you get eaten alive.
The other big drawback is the SANDFLIES. The beach is full of them and they are evil and merciless. When you first arrive you wonder why no-one is sunbathing on the beach but after about 20 minutes of being eaten alive you soon pack up and sit inside. This is a great shame as it means that non-kiting partners wont enjoy it so much. If you're thinking of spending those endless, windless days lazing on the beach, think again.
And if all that isnt enough... last year there was a gang of thieves targetting the tourists and a lot of stuff was stolen from rooms. People lost money, credit cards, laptops, passports etc. Some people were left in a deep mess with no money or passports.
The beach at Chumphon (Tung Wae Len) is a quiet place with little nightlife so dont expect there to be much going on. Nice if you want to relax but too quiet for some.
When the wind does blow, it a good spot, but the negatives outweigh the positives for me and there are better options in Asia with much better wind stats, better nightlife and no sandflies! Its an awful long way to go to sit around waiting for the wind to come while you get eaten alive.