Bangkok Activities Travel Guide

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Bangkok abounds in sports activities of all kinds to suit your choice and interest. [more]

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Local Bangkok Sports: Thai Boxing (Muay Thai)

Thai boxing is fast, furious, and incredibly graceful, and probably the only sport you'll even see accompanied by a wind and percussion ensemble. The martial art is very popular in Bangkok, with tv channels broadcasting fights five nights a week. Boys start training as young as seven or eight, and their dream is fight at the two most famous fight stadiums, Lumphini and Ratchadamnoen. The match programme starts at 6.30pm with young fighters trying their skills, building to the main event at around 9pm.

Before each bout, the fighters perform a wai khru dance, in which they pay respects to their teachers, and this is also a good warm-up exercise for the fight ahead. The bout consists of five three-minute rounds, with a two-minute break between rounds, and is decided by points or a knock-out. As the fight progresses, the musicians of the band rack up the tempo until the excitement reaches fever-pitch. It's very noisy, very emotional and very Thai.

You can catch those flying feet in action at the Lumphini Stadium every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, or at the Ratchadamnoen Stadium on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Ringside seats are reassuringly expensive, but seats on the outer ring are much cheaper, and Sunday Specials at the Ratchadamnoen feature cheap ringside tickets. Ask your Bangkok hotel concierge to book you a ticket. If you want to try Thai boxing for yourself, the Muay Thai Institute holds 15 day courses for four levels of ability, from beginners to professional levels.

Sepak Takraw: Asian Football in Bangkok

Despite the Thai obsession with foreign football teams, especially English premier clubs, it's their own version of football that is mainly played in Bangkok. Sepak Takraw is a cross between football and volleyball, where team member perform incredible high kicks and jumps to kick a hollow, grapefruit-sized ball over the net. The three players on each team leap, kick and spin their way around a pitch the size of a badminton court, aiming to get the ball over a 1.52 metre high net within three touches by their team, as in volleyball. The first team to score either 15 or 21 points wins. Imagine the Matrix moves made by Manchester United's finest, and you're not far from the mark!

Matches are played in public parks most evenings, such as Benchasiri park on the Sukhumvit Road, or weekend mornings during the summer at Sanam Luang on the Ratchadamnoern Road, Banglamphu. Games are also played every evening at the National Stadium.

Fitness Centres in Bangkok

Most five-star hotels in Bangkok offer a fitness centre on site, where you can build those muscles or reduce your waistline in air-conditioned high-tech gyms. Most Bangkok fitness clubs are members-only, but offer short-term membership for visitors.

Fitness First have branches across Asia and Bangkok, and if you are a member at home, ask about Passport Membership, which gives you gym entry anywhere in the world. International chain Clark Hatch Fitness also have branches in Bangkok, which include swimming pools as well as gyms, and squash and tennis courts.

The Capitol Club's dome covers a fine range of sports facilities including an eight-metre rock climbing wall. If you are staying at any of the President Group's Bangkok hotels, you can get in for free.

The California Wow Experience has branches at Silom, Sukhumvit 23 and Siam Paragon, and offers a range of equipment plus combat and dance classes. It's one of those clubs where the music is loud and the personal trainers louder!

Thai Chi, Massage and Yoga in Bangkok

Bangkok is more about treating the body than exerting it too much. Thai Chi classes are often held outside, and you can join in with this gentle but thorough workout every morning at Lumphini Park. Yoga classes and sessions are also popular, and the age of some of the fittest members of the classes puts the Europeans to shame... Whatever your sports-based ace or pain, a genuine Thai massage at Wat Pho or a Bangkok hotel spa will probably sort it out.

Horse-racing in Bangkok

Horse-racing in Bangkok may not be quite the same as the 3.15 at Goodwood, but the Thais enjoy it none the less. Races are held every Sunday from 12,30pm to 6pm either at the Royal Turf Club of Thailand on Phitsanulok Road, or at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club on Henry Dunant Road.

Golf in Bangkok

Golf in Bangkok might sound like an impossible dream, but the Krungthep Kreetha course has been around longer than most, and has recently been totally rebuilt. Green fees are very reasonable, and you can hire a caddy and a golf cart. The Natural Park Ramindra course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and is constructed around a network of lakes that inevitably seem irresistible to your golf balls. You can always drown your sorrows too at the clubhouse bar, or celebrate your birdie at one of their restaurants.

The Navatanee Golf Club was built for the 1975 World Cup, and the par five ninth hole across the lake still challenges players to day. You can also play golf in Bangkok at the Panya Indra Golf Club north of the city and its sister course, the Panya Park, plus the Robert Trent Jones Jnr course at the President Country Club.

Swimming in Bangkok

Swimming in Bangkok may involve a quick dip in the river for the locals, but this is absolutely not recommended for visitors unless you particularly want to become violently ill. Stick instead to your Bangkok hotel swimming pool (and spa), or have fun splashing a round at the Siam Park City amusement park with its man-made beach. Public swimming pools can be found at the sports centres listed for tennis (see below).

Tennis in Bangkok

Since the international success of Thai tennis star Paradorn Srichaphan, most top Bangkok hotels have squeezed in a tennis court somewhere. Equally, fitness centres and sports centres have courts, although you will have to book even for the public park courts. Ask reception at your Bangkok hotel for the nearest court, and to book you a time slot. Tennis facilities in Bangkok include the Soi Klang Racquet Club, the Indoor Stadium Huamark & Rajamangala National Stadium, and the sports centers in Bangkok at the Chulalongkorn and Thammasat Universities.