Welcome
DT fans from around the world. It's my esteemed pleasure to
inform you that the "crack crew" at DartsThailand.com has sobered up
long enough to bring you yet another very special newsletter issue.
We feel that this our best one yet and hope you will enjoy it -
including a special interview, some new things and of course our
popular favorites. Ultimately our goal is still to get back to a
more regular issue of our newsletter.
Updating our local Bangkok darts scene since our last Oct 2012
newsletter - here are some places we mentioned. Sadly the Side
Pocket has since closed and the even newer darts venue we'd
mentioned on our FaceBook page - The Spa & Bar - has changed hands
and no longer has darts. So much for the bad news and onto the
positive. Buddy's Bar on Sukhumvit Soi 22 thrives and is featured
below. As well - The Sportsman doing well in their new location as
seen below by receiving a visit than none other than Phil Taylor.
Have a growing group of steel-tippers that have really been
enjoying our visits to iDarts Thailand on Ekamai. Good news for
soft-tippers - word has it that iDarts will be starting a weekly
event possibly with competing teams as well as a monthly event. When
we get more details on this we'll be sure and put the word out.
Bourbon St. Restaurant back as a darts venue? Chances looking good.
As of last week owner Doug Harrison was mentioning getting darts
back as Bourbon St. was a darts mainstay for twenty plus years in
their prior location in Washington Square. Well known to us locals -
here's a tip for newbie soft-tip darts players in Bangkok. Allow
enough time for a meal at Bourbon St. before darts as they are only
a short walk from iDarts on Ekamai.
In response to some correspondence - yes, we are doing our best to
get more darts news from other than just Bangkok. DT crew recently
returned from Pattaya and will be making more regular visits (with
reports) as Pattaya is now the happening darts place.
Special thanks
to Simon of The Irish Rovers and Charlie from PCDO (Pattaya City
Darts Organization) for the Pattaya darts information seen here and
in upcoming updates. Putting out as much darts information Thai-wide
as possible is our ultimate goal here at DT. Now grab a cold drink,
sit back and enjoy the rest of the newsletter. - - Johnny
Buddy's Bar & Grill on Sukhumvit, Soi 22 - a relatively new darts
bar quickly making its mark as a major player of the darts venues in
Bangkok.
No surprise that - with an airy & open friendly atmosphere
- great darts throw and a top notch staff.
All this plus the great
food (huge portions) in this classic diner-like design are no lucky
chance of a newbie to the business but the creation of our good
friend Tom Nordell of the D'Pelican Inn found just down Soi 22.
Easy
to find - just steps in from the Sukhumvit and Soi 22 intersection
and across from the brandy new Holiday Inn.
Well worth a visit -
bring your darts and a hearty appetite.
So the New Cowboy on Sukhumvit 22, my fave darting watering hole had
it's first Cowgirl knockout , the brain child of friend of DT,
Scott. Our 8 Annie Oakleys lined up , pistols at the ready and ready
for some tough saloon darting action. All gals shot well, young
'Deadly Little Miho' (Miho) after finishing her homework and
watching her cartoons on TV is Cowboy's young rootin' tootin'
whipper-snapper of a darter and has come a long way since she first
threw an arrow several weeks back, these days she actually throws
them point first. 'Sheriff Tia' (Tia) the law enforcer of this part
of the Old West of Bangkok threw with Colt 45 precision as did the
ever steady handed 'Lasso Laylai' (Laylai) and 'Ellie Mai' (Mai) and
'Nine Shooter Nee' (Nee), two new cowpokes on the scene. 'Deputy
Dang' (Dang) was a surprise gunslinger of precision on the night but
the big surprise was poor old 'Wai-at Earp', her usually accuracy
was missing, possibly too many red-eyes the night before. The
tournament was won by New Cowboy's fastest gun in town, 'Sioux City
Su' (Su) who was the pre show down favourite and she blew away all
in sight. Well done to all and a fun filled night was had until the
sun set over Dodge.....well Soi 22.
So darters and darter-ettes of Soi 22. A challenge has been set down
to our darting adonises of the area by cheeky, wannabe upstarts 'the
Irish Rovers' from the LK Metro area of some place called Pattaya. A
challenge match where they actually believe they can come here and
beat the pride of Bkk on our own patch. A date has yet to be set but
bring it on you Shandy Drinking Southeners :-) (If Simon is reading
this I don't mean you, I mean them other blokes).
Watch this space for more details and news of our impending triumph.
- - Jayke - -
Khao-San
Rd-Un-Amazing Thailand - For those of you who don't know, Khao San
Rd is the apparent backpacking, spiritual REAL Thailand of Bangkok
for those who come to live the Thai style, rough it, be at one with
the locals and drink cheap beer, local food and 'find themselves'
whatever the hell that means.
Every year thousands flock to this
mecca of Thai culture and blend into the Thai lifestyle to be at one
with the heartbeat of Bangkok and the South East Asian people.
Before we continue with our discussion of the Buddhist sanctuary of
Khao San, anyone called Jarvis, Tarquin or Serendipity who has
actually spent time there may want to look away now and get out your
Zen bible and do some yoga exercises to stimulate your tiny mind
instead.
Khao
San is all that is wrong with Bangkok and Asia. A flux of middle
class idiots visit this plastic cauldron of nonsense every year
causing much amusement to locals and ex-pats alike. Firstly you have
to look the part. A back-pack the size of a teenage boy, braided
hair done by a 'local' and henna tattoos, Che Guevara always a good
bet. A t- shirt from one of the stalls, Chang Beer vests always a
good bet, help the local economy or better still the stall owner who
is laughing himself stupid as you haggled him down to a price that
is on par with a downtown department store. Banana pancakes are
almost a fashion accessory as well. You can't look a complete fool
without eating the 'local' grub. In between talking about how the
corporations do this blah blah blah there is always Starbucks, McDs
and KFC available to keep your hunger in tact on this spiritual
un-spoilt haven. You can even buy a Bob Marley rasta hat outside to
really look the part. Ironically there is a local temple nearby ,
the Thai word for temple is Wat or Watt, the latter being an anagram
of a Khao San Road tourist ironically.
Now
the food and beer prices. Whilst these tourist trapped fools, sorry
spiritual visitors are regularly heard discussing their slummy 1000
Baht guesthouses, little do they know they are paying the same as a
nice hotel downtown, oh yes and REAL Thai people live downtown as
well by the way in case they felt by leaving Starbucks on their
Buddhist enclave that they weren't helping the economy.
Ironically
all these guesthouses accept Daddy's Amex card as well, the REAL
Thailand eh? Now the bars, this poor area where you can feel at one
with the Nirvana of Buddhism and rough it so you can tell tales to
your best friends Rupert and Portia on your return to Mayfair has
some of the dearest pub prices in Bangkok.
The down-trodden poverty
of Mulligan's Irish Pub (5 UK a pint) and of course service charge
included, wouldn't want diddle the poor ex farmer of a waiter out of
his tip would we? Premier League football on the big screens,
English Breakfasts available and live bands blaring out the latest
hits. Khao San screams look at the fools and their parent's money
from every corner. It also seems that looking like you haven't
showered in days is another fashion statement in this beautiful
corner of the Thai capital.......the local water festival was mid
April and what I'd have given to put a water cannon on this whole
street, in fact forget the water bit.
Due
to the recent election, Bangkok bars were shut on a Saturday but on
hearing that Khao San had beaten the booze ban and it was after all
football night on TV, myself and DT's own roving cameraman, Damo,
donned our shabbiest clothes, bit our lips and headed off to watch
our respective matches. Well done to all the bar staff who whenever
we mentioned switching TV matches that the empty bars were showing
we were met with them same two words...'Man U'!!!! Damo did actually
manage to find his beloved Everton on one screen, settled down with
an over-priced pint and as the teams appeared from the tunnel,
click, yes they switched the TV over to Man U which was already
coming from every other screen on this joke of a street .Annoyed and
keen to get away we headed through the crowds and laughed ourselves
stupid at these spiritual beings we encountered . A guy dressed in a
blanket obviously soaking up the vibe of Northern Thailand and it's
spiritual essence and monasteries was a favourite, just before he
popped off for a Big Mac of course. Our fave had to be a young
English lad though, boasting to his friends that 'Ya , I've just
been up with the Buddhists in Chiang Mai' , much to their looks of
excitement.
I mean, Buddhists in one of Thailand's biggest
cities!!!!! What next? Irish men in Pubs? Chinese in casinos? What
further tales young Sebastian from Richmond had we can only guess
and no doubt all thoroughly spell-binding and so mesmerising that
Michael Palin would only be able to listen in awe.
So
there you have our take on Bangkok's REAL side according to anyone
who has seen the diabolical piece of celluloid called 'The Beach'.
If you fancy a game of darts there then don't bother, I mean darts
are so dangerous and pointy man and represent everything that is
wrong in the world, Ya?
To all our Khao San Roaders, please don't EVER leave there as is a
good way from the lights of UN-REAL Bangkok and the last thing we
want is you people on our streets looking like the plastic tourists
you are. Keep Daddy's credit card to the ATM's of the non corporate
banks of HSBC in your own ridiculous part of town.
In case you haven't noticed I don't like Khao San or its people. In
the mean time, Happy Darting and YA!!
01
- 02 June 2013
EGAT "Wan Kaew Project Charity Open 2013" - EGAT Bldg. - Nonthaburi
.
We
hope you've enjoyed this newsletter issue and will be doing our best
to lessen the time before the next one. Looking good on that with
the addition of one more skilled contributor on the DT team. We
welcome Adam to the DT crew and you'll get to meet him in the next
issue with his dart bars reports from Chiang Mai and Cha Am. Really
proud of the quality of work that DT now produces with this talented
crew and happy to be part of it. Stay tuned for a much expanded DT
video department as pro video TV cameraman Damian upgrades his kit.
And we're also setting up regular Pattaya Darts Leagues Updates. And
for those who contributed in the past we invite you to join us
again. More good things coming on DT !
If you're a darter traveling to Thailand by all means pack your darts. New
to Thailand? Contact us and we'll point you in the direction of the
nearest darts bar. Traveling in a group and want an impromptu darts
match - no problem
01
- 02 June 2013
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