On The Road - Ratchaburi: 2017

On The Road - Ratchaburi
7th July, 2017

Stadium
Mitr Phol Stadium; AKA The Dragon Stadium; AKA The Theatre of Sweet

Transport
Car from SriRacha

Cost
B750 - petrol
B235 - tolls
B1,700 - hotel (Ooh! Get me!)

Travelling Time (total journey)
4 hours and 5 minutes outward
3 hours and 20 minutes return
7 hours 35 minutes total
The outward journey took slightly longer due to the holiday traffic, but my wife's trusty satnav found us a very interesting alternative route!

Total Distance Travelled
455kms

Match Ticket
B200

Programme
Nope!

Club Shop
An excellent new club shop. Well stocked and with plenty of room to move around. All the usual items were on sale - reasonably priced - and there were a couple of bargain bins selling off old stock cheaply (Chonburi - please take note).

Away End
A part of large uncovered stand near to the corner flag. Lovely new seats with plenty of leg room. A decent view of the pitch.

Staff
Some were very friendly, some weren't. We had been told by a female member of staff that "all" drinks could be taken inside the stadium, as long as they were in plastic cups. However, on arrival at the turnstiles (oh yes!), a rather belligerent male security guard informed me that I couldn't take beer in due to the Buddhist holiday. Fair enough, but please get your stories straight. The police on duty on the away terraces were up for a laugh. At one point during the delay, we'd just about managed to convince them to join us in a 5-a-side match on the pitch. Sadly, the teams came back out again.

Food
Very disappointing. I'm not sure if this was due to the aforementioned holiday, but there was very little in the way of food being sold in and around the ground. However, you could buy ice cream and crisps in the away end.

Beer
Beer was not officially on sale, due it being the start of Buddhist Lent. Thankfully, some enterprising Chonburi fans had managed to acquire some and located their cool boxes near enough to the "cage" (more of which later), so we could help ourselves throught the long evening.

Highlight of the Day
None. In all honesty, it was a fairly uneventful evening.

Overall Experience
This was my first visit to the stadium and I was really impressed. Not everything is finished, but already it is clear that this is one of the better purpose built football grounds in the country. My only real gripe is that if we're not going to be allowed to leave the arena at half time - as you can at most Thai grounds - don't keep us in a cage. It is possible to make the concourse quite pleasant. I felt like I was in the state pen when my mate Sven came round for a chat during the break, and we had to converse through wire mesh. Other than that, I'd heartily recommend a visit to the Theatre of Sweet to anyone.