Patong Cricket Club tour to Chiang Mai - May 2012

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Patong Cricket Club tour to Chiang Mai - May 2012"

Ernest Allen
6 years ago
Views:

1 News and Information Pack Gentlemen and friends of Patong Cricket Club! As most of you may be aware, Thailand has an abundance of world-class tourist attractions, areas of immense natural beauty, cultural and spiritual areas of interest, numerous historical religious sites and an abundance of wildlife to view. When the idea of planning a tour was initially raised, the PCC committee was faced with a dilemma, knowing that its members needed to immerse themselves in all of the above, but also include the three key ingredients of any good tour, - beer, tits and cricket. After much deliberation and discussion, there really was only one choice, and that was Chiang Mai! So in February, the 2012 Patong Cricket Club tour to Chiang Mai was organised. Having been starved of regular, competitive cricket in the Phuket League, a destination which would provide stiff competition, have first class facilities in which our vast talent could be put on show and include nightlife to satisfy even the most hardcore Bangla Road pisshead was needed. Chiang Mai ticked all the boxes, and after close consultation with our good friend, Chiang Mai cricket guru and bar owner David Walker, and thanks to Air Asia s convenient timetable, the decision was made. A brief history lesson... An historical cricketing city, the first game of cricket was played in Chiang Mai way back in 1895! In 1981, Chiang Mai s Gymkhana Club was made available for cricket league matches, and has since been hosting famous touring teams from the UK such as the MCC, the highly popular cricket sixes tournaments, international Asian Cricket Council tournaments and now, the infamous Patong Cricket Club (est 2006). The Gymkhana club has in fact has been hosting sporting events for a total of 106 years. Established in 1898, the Chiang Mai Gymkhana Club enjoys the reputation of being the oldest gymkhana in the whole of Thailand. Spread across acres of green land, one can spend hours just marvelling at the 100 year old trees that line the little pathways, or not. Flood lit tennis and squash courts, a golf course, fitness centres, billiard rooms, cricket and football grounds are only a few of the facilities offered. All year long, the management hosts social soirees and sports events for the people of Chiang Mai. Sounds alright to me and a fitting venue for PCC 2012 tour. Below are some pictures of the ground to wet you appetite!

2 Lush outfield at the Chiang Mai Gymkhana Club, perfect for those diving catches and stops. Grass wicket!! (Ok this one is at PREM but I couldn t find a picture from Gymkhana, sure its the same!)

Accommodation Riverside House http://www.riversidehousechiangmai.com/ An in depth audit of various accommodation options to suit our varied requirements was carried out prior to booking.

3 Accommodation Riverside House An in depth audit of various accommodation options to suit our varied requirements was carried out prior to booking. With strict instructions to avoid the Downtown Inn, a gem in the heart of Chiang Mai was found, perfect to relax in after a hard days cricket. For those who know Chiang Mai, the Riverside House is next to the TAT opposite the Iron Bridge. It's walking distance to the night market & Loi Kroh, and 5 minutes from the ground. We have booked out all their 12 Deluxe rooms for 700baht/night. Friday & Saturday night will be paid from PCC funds, if you stay longer, you will need to pay yourself. Overlooking the Ping River, less than 10 minutes stroll to Chiang Mai's famous Night Bazaar together with a riverside swimming pool, what more could you ask for. And all for 700 baht per night! Check out the pictures on the following pages to see how nice the place is.

9 Order of Play It s going to be an action packed weekend, starting Friday morning at Phuket airport for our team flight up, till Late Sunday night for the flight back. Official Team Flights from Phuket are: Going AirAsia FD3974 Friday 18th May at 1035 (also flight at 2015 for those who can't get the day off) Return Airasia FD3977 Sunday 20th May at 2245 You are of course welcome to fly earlier or come back later if you choose. If you are on the official flights, don't pay for any luggage as 55kg has already been booked! Below is the weekends Planned Itinerary (subject to change and hangovers): Friday 18 th May 09h00 Check-in at Phuket Airport and meet at Bill Bently Pub for pre-flight beverages, and team shirt presentations to any non-patong players. 10h30 - Depart Phuket for CM 12h40 Arrive CM and transfer to River View Lodge (pickup by hotel minibus) 13h30 Check-in to hotel and have lunch, swim, massage, beer and generally chill out. 17h00 Welcome team dinner at the Riverside Restaurant 19h00 Out on the lash Saturday 19 th May 09h00 18h00 Breakfast, transfer to ground for 40 over match against CM Cricket Club. 18h00 late Hotel, shower and evening festivities hosted by Chiang Mai cricket legend David Walker at his very own Zoom Bar in Loi Kroh.

10 Sunday 20 th May 10h00-15h00 20/20 Against CM Cricket Club 16h00 20h00 Social afternoon/evening at the Gymkhana club before heading to hotel. 20h30 Depart hotel for airport 22h45 Fly to Phuket and arrive home wee hours on Monday morning We are all pretty excited about the tour and have a great bunch of lads already booked to come. For those that have not been to Chiang Mai before, it really is a great place, relaxed vibe and totally different to Phuket. Our hosts are fantastic and will ensure that a good time is had by all. Chiang Mai is known as the most well equipped place in Thailand to play cricket and the facilities, including grass wicket, will be an experience to play on for the cricket purists amongst you! The PCC have tried hard to make the tour as reasonable as possible by subsidising costs through club funds, so get those credit cards out, book those flights and we look forward to seeing you there! Sundries The ground fee at Gymkhana will be 5000 baht for the weekend (40 over on Sat, T20 on Sun), this will be covered by PCC. There will be no tour fee, so all you need to do is book your flight & carry some fun money - you know it makes sense! Please contact Dave Thomas davethomas01@hotmail.com, or Richard Folds Foldsy@hotmail.com if you are interested in joining us. Both players and supporters are all very welcome. Cheers Patong Cricket Club

15 days Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phuket)

15 days Thailand (Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phuket) Day 01 Saturday Geneva/Zurich Leave by air for Day 02 Sunday Bangkok Arrive change planes Bangkok Leave by air for Chiang Mai Arrive meeting and assistance