TPL
Chonburi 1-2 Samut Songkhram
Chonburi Stadium
Saturday 14th July, 2012
Attendance: 5,183
Stadium
The Chonburi Stadium
Transport
Car
Cost
B350 petrol
B200 tolls + B100 speeding fine
Travelling Time
3 hours
Total Distance Travelled
180 kms (from Bangkok to Chonburi)
Programme
A full colour 36 page magazine which was issued for free upon entrance to the stadium. Lots of pics, articles, match reports and advertisements. Unfortunately it’s all written in Thai with the exception of the 2012 Schedule.
Club Shop
The shop was rather sparsely stocked compared to some of the other recently opened TPL megastores, but that’s hardly surprising as I doubt this store will be making many sales when they are charging “Nike” prices. I was going to buy a blue polo shirt as a souvenir but quickly changed my mind when I saw the B1,250 price tag. The Chonburi home shirt was B999 which is the most expensive price that I’ve seen for a Thai football top.
Stadium
It’s a relatively small stadium for a TPL side but nonetheless it’s charming with modern, clean amenities. The seats we were sat on were all numbered which made for comfortable viewing and moving up and down the aisles was pain free as there weren’t spectators sat blocking the way. For travelling fans that aren’t familiar with the Chonburi area, the stadium is quite hard to find as it’s well out of the city centre and there didn’t appear to be any signposts offering directions.
Supporters
In Thailand, supporters tend to be either spontaneous and passionate, or choreographed school sport day style to follow a cheerleader’s instructions via a megaphone. Thankfully, the Sharks faithful fall into the first category although like the majority of other Thai football fans, they are prone to venting their anger at the referee when things don’t go their way.
Also I must mention the SamutSongkhram fans who seemed ecstatic as I was passing them at half time and full time. The 150 odd souls that travelled over from Mae Khlong were a loyal throng of fans rather than a group of SCG employees that had been bussed in for the day.
Staff
The security staff in and around the stadium seemed efficient enough although I didn’t really have any dealings with them apart from receiving the obligatory stamp on the forearm when entering the stadium.
Food
There are plenty of food vendors outside the stadium selling all the Thai favourites with sausages appearing to be the locals’ favourite choice of nibble. Big Cola was raucously being promoted by accompanying loud music and leggy girls screeching into microphones. I purchased some fried chicken from the Ha dao (Five Star) stall which went down very nicely with the beer.
Beer
I bought three cans of Leo for B100. There was also Chang available and I imagine it’s the same deal for that. No drinking is allowed inside the stadium.
Local Accommodation
We ended up staying at a condo five minutes’ walk from the stadium which offered daily rates of B500. Most of the hotels close to the stadium aren’t that appealing but there are a couple of bigger hotels in town. However, you’ll need transport as they’re well out of walking distance.
Overall Experience
It’s generally nice to get out of Bangkok for the weekend and with Chonburi being only just over an hour away from the capital, it makes for a pleasant trip. The match was an enjoyable one for the neutral spectator although the majority of the home support probably begged to differ.
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