A month in Thailand

International Wake Park
The park is located close to the airport, ten-minute scooter drive from Phuket city. Planes landing several metres over the cable is a normal sight, but also a terrible roar, so I don’t recommend staying overnight in the park (even though they say you can get used to it). Besides of that, IWP is fantastic! Well, maybe apart from the salty water ;) The cable is quite short but with a lot of obstacles – these are easy ones, so you can learn some new tricks there. A charming service and great atmosphere, including two swimming pools to cool yourself in. And after the ride you get a scooter, buy a coconut water with fresh mango and chill on the beach watching the sunset! Is there a better way to spend a perfect day?

Anthem Wakepark
This park is located right in the middle of the island and it’s the only lift that rotates clockwise (on a left leg). It is situated on a clean lake (!), in surroundings of palms and greenery, which was quite a surprise for me. There’s a huge climbing wall for those who are looking for another attraction, as well as delicious Thai food served by a wakepark crew. Prices are a little bit higher, compared to International Wake Park, but it’s worth to visit Anthem for a change. At first glance the obstacles look very “home made”, but these are not that bad, if you ride on them for some time – everyone will find something for himself/herself there. 

The plan was to spend two weeks on Phuket and then two weeks in Bangkok (Thai Wake Park). But after two weeks on the island I still hadn’t enough, as I prefer to spend off-days on the beach, rather than in the city. Moreover, there were lots of places to see on Phuket and a group of wakeboarders from all around the world I made friends with. So I prolonged my stay on Phuket for another week, and left the last seven days in Bangkok for a dessert :)

Thai Wake Park
After some incidents with a local airline (“No, it’s not a board, it’s an yoga equipment” – I told them, when pointing on a mat that was sticking out of the quiver – now that’s a new excuse!!!) and a one-hour flight I arrived in Bangkok. There’s only a one-hour cab drive and I was there. The park is just in the middle of nowhere with obstacles that scared me, and first few rounds only deepened this sensation. I thought I had spent some time in various wakeparks, but here I felt like a novice. Fortunately, my friends told me: “You’ll get used to it” and they were right – after two days I was feeling like a kid in a playground. TWP is very “technical” lift, you have to get some practice to feel the obstacles, but then each progress gives you more fun. Besides of riding, there’s not a lot to do there. You can go for a rice and chicken in a local stall, or maybe to the market, and that’s it. During the day-off you can leave for a whole-day trip to Bangkok, where’s a lot of attractions: cheap and delicious food, massages, shopping, parties... well, you have to find out by yourself!