Badminton in Pattaya

I've done a lot of sports my whole life. For the last 20 years I was a football referee, a hobby I pursued passionately.

When I got in Thailand went to live, unfortunately that was not possible anymore. You are a bit too old in your sixties and moreover, the Thai referees were preferred here. But you still have to do something about your condition and also make sure that that belly doesn't keep growing too quickly because of the good life in Thailand.

Stretching on a bumpy school soccer field, jogging on Pratumnak Hill and walking around Pattaya for hours, I've done it all. Well, of course it helped a bit, but this kind of “sport” didn't really give me satisfaction. You do it alone, in fact it is boring. For that reason, walking on a moving belt in a gym is absolutely not for me.

Badminton hall

Recently I was invited by some billiard friends to come along to a Badminton Hall. Badminton? That game where children try to keep a shuttle in the air with a small racket? Oh, I've played it on the street before, but is it really anything?

Nevertheless, after much insistence, I accepted the invitation. I provided well-muscled men in nice badminton sportswear, badminton shoes, expensive rackets; what is an old fart like me doing there? I can tell you that another world opened up for me.

I went to the Diamond Badminton Hall on 3rd Road, about 100 meters after the first traffic light past Tony's Gym towards Jomtien. A large hall with 7 badminton courts, no air conditioning, but not too warm inside. The latter is not true, because during and after playing the hall turns out to be a real sauna.

Day care

In addition to my two friends Olly and Gino, there were about a dozen others, about a dozen expats, but also a few younger Thais. No boasting about the skill or anything and I was immediately accepted into the company. No racket? Well, then why don't you take a racket from me? Don't know the rules? No problem, we'll tell you when you're playing.

I was immediately thrown in at the deep end and asked to play a doubles game with a partner. Of course the shuttles flew around my ears at first, but gradually I got the hang of the game and I was able to keep up. All the other players are not pros either and made a lot of mistakes, but no one gets annoyed or excited about it.

Condition

It is a lot of moving in a fun game and a lot of sweating I can tell you. Two hours of intermittent play and you're exhausted, sweat escaping through pores all over your body. Yes, games are played with constantly changing teams, where the result is completely unimportant.

Tired, but extremely satisfied, I went back home. I do it three times a week now and I already say that it is a great solution for me to work on my condition. One of the players, in his fifties, told me that he had already lost 5 kilos in six weeks. A nice prospect!

Costs

Nobody has to let it go because of the costs. Without membership it costs 130 Baht per hour, with membership even less. Special clothing or shoes are allowed, but absolutely not necessary. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to exercise in a relaxed atmosphere of sympathetic Farangs and nice Thais.