Skiing in Thailand

[rodecon]

Anyone ever skied in Thailand? We are taking a family vacation there over Christmas and I would love to sneak in some skiing if possible, any info is appreciated!

[Horton]

I know Reflex was doing some testing in Thailand recently but I have no idea where. You might want to track down Luca Spinelli on facebook and ask him

[wtrskior]

Theres a site just outside bangkok. Http://www.tewake-ski.com

 

Never skied there but know some who have. They run a professional ski school by all accounts

[andjules]

I will make it there one day.

TE Wake 'n Ski is about 45-60 minutes north of Bangkok;

you can email geoff [at] tewake-ski [dot] com

I've traded a few emails with him; I feel badly as I've cancelled/postponed twice.

If you go, please let me know how it turned out. Perhaps I'll get there in 2017.

 

Does anyone have any intel on other ski sites in South East Asia?

- Indonesia?

- I believe there is a site in Singapore but I don't know if it's pay-to-ski or a private club

- I know there is a site outside of Kuala Lampur, Malaysia

- Phillipines?

- I believe there is a site in Sri Lanka, but not sure if it's a 4-ball course

[Tevskis]

Don and Sareeya Parsons live and ski over there in the winter. I am not sure of the exact location but will definitely check into it

 

[wtrskior]

http://www.wakescout.com/ has a lot of listings

[jipster43]

I skied with Geoff at TE this past July. He has T-Gas' old TXi, two courses and a jump. July is typically windy & rainy, but I skied in pristine conditions every day. It's pretty magical to ski a course in glassy conditions in a very foreign country.

 

[jipster43]

TE is the Reflex hookup. As previously stated it's about an hour outside of Bangkok.

[cragginshred]

Is that why the air looks gray? Ray lay bay (sp)? is a uber killer climbing destination and about 4 hours away from Bangkok where I hear the air is about as polluted as anywhere in the planet.

[andjules]

When I was researching a trip a year ago, I also (through wakescout.com) found that this place mentioned having a slalom course: http://wakeboardingthailand.com/waterskiing/

but I've no idea if it's still true and if they have non-wakeboard boats. Seems to be a bit of an expat community about 2 hours south-east of Bangkok.

[wtrskior]

@cragginshred that is absolutely false regarding pollution. You may be thinking of Bejing China... It is very humid though and during the rainy season it can be overcast.

 

Railay is about an hour by plane (Krabi Airport) south of Bangkok, probably a days ride in a bus.

 

it is a mecca of climbing and base jumping as well. Amazing place.

[Ed_Johnson]

That's a great area. I spent 2 Combat Tours flying Fighters out of Korat Air Base during the War, not far from there. Also use to go Skydiving at a small airport right by there. Sure wish they had a course back then. Bangkok sure was a lot of FUN also.

[cragginshred]

@wtrskior good to know they cleaned it up. In the 90's when climbing was first developed in the Railey sector friends went. They got huts on the beach for something like 6$ a night. They said Bangkok air quality made them cough for days with headaches as well.

 

Site looks rad with excellent currency exchange!

[rodecon]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I will definitely email Geoff at TE watersports and see if I can set something up, thanks for the pic @jipster43 , the site looks awesome!

[rodecon]

Just wanted to follow up on this thread:

 

I skied 2 sets this morning with Geoff at TE Wake and Ski which is about 45 min outside of Bankok, although it was a bit windy today the skiing was fantastic, air 91, water 85......Hard to beat for Dec 27th!

 

Geoff was super accommodating and I ended up demoing a Reflex Wide Ride ski as all I brought from NY were my boots. They are the Reflex testing center as the ski's are made just outside of Bankok Thailand even though the company is based in France.

 

They get mostly Korean and Japanese skiers there, apparently water skiing is exploding in Korea.

 

The lake is huge, with plenty of set up time, backwash was not an issue.

 

They have a 2015 Malibu Txi which apparently is Thomas DeGasperi's previous ride.

 

 

If you find yourself in Thailand and wanting to ski, I highly recommend looking Geoff up!

[rodecon]

Post ski smiles :)

 

 

[UWSkier]

Awesome! While it's not SEA, I've found a course and ski site in my home away from home of Taipei too.

 

With the subtropical climate of SEA and all the water, there's no reason skiing shouldn't be bigger there.

[Web]

Looks like fun @rodecon . How was the Reflex compared to the Vapor? Let's see a shot of the Franken boots on that ski!

[rodecon]

@web, as requested, my boots easily bolted onto the reflex plate, they have a sweet adjustable SS stud mounting system routed into the carbon fiber of the plate.

 

I hadn't skied in almost 2 months but it was actually a pretty easy transition jumping on that Reflex, it was a 69" proto type wide ride but it did not feel that big riding it.........It actually felt shorter than my 68" vapor.......I don't know why, maybe they measure/label things differently in Thailand?

 

 

[wtrskior]

@rodecon the tail of the ski looks Like a beaver tail! Massive!

[andjules]

Reviving this thread... just got back from 2.5 weeks in SE Asia, including including several sets at TE Wake N Ski. Great place with a nice club atmosphere on weekends (quieter on weekdays, unsurprisingly), including a beer fridge and great cook serving up thai or western food. Geoff is an easy-going former show skier from Wisconsin, but no stranger to pulling short line slalom skiers. Had some engine trouble with the Malibu and now has a SN 200. Apprx $40 USD/set. One of the great things about Bangkok is taxis are cheap - $15-20 bucks for 45+ minute trip. There's also a tolerable hotel closer-by if you're willing to stay in the less-tourist-friendly northern suburbs of Bangkok.

There's one other pay-to-ski lake in Bangkok (search Facebook or wakescout for 'Rabbit Lake'), but I didn't get time check it out.

 

As a Canadian, the 93º water was a bit of shock!

 

 

[UWSkier]

Looks like a great spot. Geoff sounds like he's got it all figured out. I've thought about quitting the rat race and opening a ski school in Thailand on numerous occasions. Seems like it'd be a really rewarding time.

 

Of course, my wife would probably never go for it...