2017 Thailand Princess Cup - Part 2

Destination: Bangkok...

Saying goodbye to our kids...

We have an early flight to catch to Bangkok. The plan was to leave our home at 06:30 am in the morning. The night before, we had our equipment packed onto our trusty Plano parallel limb bow cases. We also filed in the relevant documents for Customs prior to departure. Our bows and shooting gear was listed in a cover letter which is submitted to the Customs Department at the KLIA airport. For this, be sure to give yourself enough lead time prior to departure. With the paperwork in place, we are assured of a smooth return trip.

Declaring the equipment at the airport's Customs office 

 After submitting the paperwork and clearing the gear with Customs, we checked-in and headed towards the KLIA executive lounge. It was at the breakfast table that I noticed a final call for boarding. This was our flight and we had minutes to spare. We dropped everything and rushed to the departure gate to board the flight. The rest was a smooth trip to the land of smiles...

Rolling out in Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok

After hours of travel, it's time to chill with some local beers!

We booked a stay in the outskirts of Bangkok. A hotel which is roughly about 6 kilometres away from Fashion Island Mall where the event is held. The accommodation is located at Khu Bon Road, a small suburb, 30-minutes from downtown Bangkok. Even the taxi ride from Suvarnabhumi was a small scam. Our taxi driver took the scenic route by heading into the city and back. So much for the short distance from the airport!
By mid-day, we arrived at the hotel, but our room was not ready. So, with plenty of time on hand, we scoped out the neighbourhood. 
There are food stalls everywhere, so, eating out is not a big issue. There's a big hypermart in the neighbourhood, that's where we stocked up on drinking water. We had lunch opposite our hotel, and by the time we are done, the room was ready.

The shooting experience in Bangkok...

Archery Thai's pro shop on the outskirts of Bangkok...

Arriving at the range

continuing with our training in Bangkok

Michelle's arrows hits its mark

Michelle during practice at the Thai range

We have booked the rest of the evening for a shooting session at the Archery Thai range. Seems that the location of the range is pretty near to our hotel, some 11km away in the outskirts of Bangkok. But the traffic jam, I must say: is something out of this world! From the hotel, it took nearly an hour to get to the range where I booked an hour of shooting time at one the lane available. 
It costs 60 baht (RM7.59) and another 10 bath (RM1.29) for a target paper. Since I am sharing the lane with Michelle, there was no issue at all cramming two persons onto a lane. We shot there for an hour and while we were at it, some of the regular Thai barebow archers were scoping us out. 
I realised this when one of the guys there started chatting in Thai and the word "Barebow" was mentioned a couple of times. 
On the way we arrived, the range was rather quiet. So, we shot our money's worth and headed back to the hotel. While waiting for a cab, Michelle bought a tourist SIM card for internet connection. It was then when we realised that the card could not be activated. What a bummer! We had until the next day to do so at a DTAC centre located in downtown Bangkok. I made prior arrangements with my friend Preeda to meet up for lunch. The rest of our first day there was over. We needed some rest since it has been a long day.

Honouring a good friend... 

With my buddy Preeda who works in downtown Bangkok...

I needed some new carbon shafts for my bow and sought the help of Preeda, a buddy of mine who is based in Bangkok. He helped to source for the arrows and sent it over to Malaysia. 
I owed him postage money and made arrangements to meet up with him in the downtown area for lunch.
Michelle and I met up with Preeda and had lunch at the Central Embassy food centre. The fare is pretty decent and we caught up for lost times there. After a good fill, it was time to head back to hotel. There, we met up with our teammate Jeff who flew in from Kuala Lumpur on the morning flight.

Shooting with Jeff at the Archery Thai range

 That evening, we made our way back to the Archery Thai range to sight-in our bows. Two days of acclimatisation actually helped me a lot!
This time, we spent about two hours at the range and met an archer from India. He introduced himself as Amit and competed in the compound category at the tournament. The small-sized guy said he was very keen in taking up barebow archery and kinda scoped us out at the range. Later, he gave a couple of hunting bows a try. I think he will be making a trip back to Bangkok later in the year.

Jeff having a go with his Gillo G1 barebow riser at the range

After spending some time at the range, we headed out to the Thailand Outdoor Shop located nearby. Jeff went shopping while Michelle and I waited. We later boarded a cab and headed back to the hotel.
Khu Bon Road is a real quiet neighbourhood. There are some really good eating places nearby. We settled for dinner at Jasmine Restaurant opposite Big C marketplace. The fare was pretty decent.

Leo beer anyone?

Fried chicken wings

Chicken feet soup

By the time dinner was done, time caught up with us. We headed down the road to the Tesco Lotus store to stock up on drinking water.
Almost everyone is in Bangkok with the exception of coach Lau who is taking an afternoon flight the next day...

Part 3: Manager's meeting and qualifiers...