What kind of hobbies can you have in Thailand?

[TGIR]

I only see one reference to golf as a hobby.  You don't have to be athletic to enjoy this sport.  Golf keeps me busy when I'm not actually golfing by looking up tips on how to play better and actual golf lessons on YouTube.  You can practice inside, outside or at local driving ranges.  A round of golf can take anywhere from 2.5 to four hours (more in tournaments sometimes).  Once you are a golf "nut" you can watch a multitude of golf tournaments and other golf events on television.  Golf is not limited to gender, age, or size.  I could go on, but if you are really struggling to find something that will fill your free time this is an ideal option.

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, GarryP said:

I go cycling. Crossing the road is an adventure here, so don't rule out cycling.  Used to go fishing. Luckily I am still working so only have weekends free. But when I retire I will definitely need to take up additional hobbies otherwise I will go insane.  Not looking forward to it actually. 

 

Learn to sing, take up a musical instrument, join a club, try writing the next best seller (even if it does not sell, you will be proud when you have finished the project or at least you should be). Bite off more than you can chew and have fun proving the world wrong that it wasn't impossible after all. Whatever you do, have fun doing it.   

You do not learn to sing, first you need to have an ear for music (same applies if you want to play a musical instrument) and need to have a good voice, yes, I know there are/were some Elton Johns and Michael Jacksons who IMO do not have.

 

I went to singing lessons, this was after I started playing professionally, and after the fourth, I was told I could not be helped any further. I knew I was never good enough to be a lead singer in a band, but was good enough to sing harmonies and to take the lead vocals on three or four songs a gig.

Edited July 1, 2017 by possum1931

[Laza 45]

I forgot to mention my favorite hobby.. photography!  Thailand is a great place for photographers.. you don't need an expensive camera.. editing is easy to learn with Picasa.. a free easy to use editing program.. Flickr is a great platform to share your photos.. there is no end to subjects to photograph.. Google 'Flickr' for inspiration..   have fun! 

 

Picasa..  https://picasa.en.softonic.com/

 

 

[NoshowJones]

15 hours ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

Plenty of good cheap golf courses here.

Golf?? I cannot think of anything more boring, Oh! wait, there is snooker and darts, but everyone to his own.

I do understand that golf is good for exercise, but only if you walk the full length of the course, and do not have

a fat belly and ass so you have to drive one of these thingymajigs around the course 

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, InMyShadow said:

Fly a Boeing 777 study simulation (fsx pmdg 777) one flight can take 3 to 12 hours. Lot of airline pilots have it at home as we.

I would love a game where you have a joystick and fly a plane, on my first computer, back at the beginning of this century

I had a game called the Red Baron or something like that, wish I could get something like that now.

[tonboy]

6 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

Picasa..  https://picasa.en.softonic.com/

 

 

great tip about Picasa : "This download is no longer available. This could be due to the program being discontinued, having a security issue or for some other reason."

[Laza 45]

16 minutes ago, tonboy said:

great tip about Picasa : "This download is no longer available. This could be due to the program being discontinued, having a security issue or for some other reason."

...I had heard that but when I just checked there were quite a few links for a download..  a shame it is no longer available.. I've been using it for years..  I wonder if there is a way to get a copy?  No security issues as far as I know.. it was created by Google.. I believe they have just discontinued it.. lol..

 

A google search shows quite a few free photo editing programs.. GIMP, Pixlar & Photoscape to name a few.... I have't used them but they get good reviews.. worth a try..

 

Edited July 1, 2017 by Laza 45
additional information

[bkkbarnstormer]

Bird watching? ?

[howard ashoul]

2 hours ago, skatewash said:

Out of curiosity, what were the other two words?  Sort of a hobby of mine.  

I can't remember first one.

Second one was 'you cannot lay your hands on mongeese'.

Third one was 'horning in on her territory'.

Edited July 1, 2017 by howard ashoul

[JungleBiker]

6 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

In January I tried Muay Thai and boxing for the first time, having never done anything like that before in my life. Six months later i'm still really enjoying my new hobby! 

 

Are you not concerned about damaging your brain? 

 

Chronic traumatic brain injury associated with boxing  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10946737 

 

What boxing tells us about repetitive head trauma and the brain https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3706825/ 

[Gary A]

It all depends where you live. I live out in the boonies. I have a large workshop/garage for as many projects as I care to do. Then there are animals and a lot of chickens. I'm pretty lazy for gardening but I like to try and grow different things. We have four ponds for fishing. I have a four wheel drive diesel tractor with different implements. My wife does the actual farm work but I enjoy playing with it. There is also a very scenic area about ten kilometers from home, waterfalls and all. Then once or twice a week the local farangs get together to drink beer and solve world problems. Then last but not least, there is the Internet. I do spend entirely too much time on the computer. My friends told me that when I retired, I would be bored to death. Wrong!

[Goldbear]

2 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I would love a game where you have a joystick and fly a plane, on my first computer, back at the beginning of this century

I had a game called the Red Baron or something like that, wish I could get something like that now.

 

If you have a few thousand dollars they have virtual reality flight simulators out there. My cousin has one (he's a real pilot) and it's amazing. He uses an Occulus Rift headset. It really feels like you are in the cockpit. I flew an F15, F18 and A10. Ever since trying that a few months ago I have been considering spending the money to explore the world of virtual reality. 

[JungleBiker]

I like cycling and it was in Thailand that I first started entering races in my early forties. There are races for road bikes (road races and time trials), mountain bikes on roads (a lot of Thai cyclists ride mountain bikes on roads) and mountain bikes off-road (cross country and downhill). They have different age categories so you don't have to compete with the younger riders. The oldest category is usually 60+. I'll be joining that category next year. I currently ride about 300km per week consequently I have an athlete's heart (it's strong and it beats very slowly when resting): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome 

 

Weight training is a good way to prevent sarcopenia http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/guide/sarcopenia-with-aging  Basically, it's a case of "use it or lose it". 

 

I also like gardening and the warm climate means you can grow stuff all year round provided you have water in the dry season. I have a laboratory for propagating species orchids from seed but I don't currently have time to do that because I am not retired! 

 

[NoshowJones]

30 minutes ago, Goldbear said:

 

If you have a few thousand dollars they have virtual reality flight simulators out there. My cousin has one (he's a real pilot) and it's amazing. He uses an Occulus Rift headset. It really feels like you are in the cockpit. I flew an F15, F18 and A10. Ever since trying that a few months ago I have been considering spending the money to explore the world of virtual reality. 

My home currency is Pounds, but I will keep it simple if I can find a way to fly a plane with a joystick and computer.

[superal]

6 minutes ago, JungleBiker said:

I like cycling and it was in Thailand that I first started entering races in my early forties. There are races for road bikes (road races and time trials), mountain bikes on roads (a lot of Thai cyclists ride mountain bikes on roads) and mountain bikes off-road (cross country and downhill). They have different age categories so you don't have to compete with the younger riders. The oldest category is usually 60+. I'll be joining that category next year. I currently ride about 300km per week consequently I have an athlete's heart (it's strong and it beats very slowly when resting): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic_heart_syndrome 

 

Weight training is a good way to prevent sarcopenia http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/guide/sarcopenia-with-aging  Basically, it's a case of "use it or lose it". 

 

I also like gardening and the warm climate means you can grow stuff all year round provided you have water in the dry season. I have a laboratory for propagating species orchids from seed but I don't currently have time to do that because I am not retired! 

 

Out of interest what is your resting heart beat ?

[skatewash]

1 hour ago, howard ashoul said:

I can't remember first one.

Second one was 'you cannot lay your hands on mongeese'.

Third one was 'horning in on her territory'.

Mongeese is the less preferred plural of mongoose (mongooses is more commonly used).  "Lay your hands on" is simply a phrase meaning to find, obtain, or procure.  I've never heard that phrase "you cannot lay your hands on mongeese" before, but apart from its literal meaning, it could have an idiomatic meaning similar to "you can't catch a greased pig" meaning generally something very hard to do (in this case, maybe because mongooses are particularly agile).

Edited July 1, 2017 by skatewash

[thaiguzzi]

Stamp collecting.

Oh, and bar girl used knickers collecting.

[superal]

4 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Stamp collecting.

Oh, and bar girl used knickers collecting.

So how many have you got now ?

[thaiguzzi]

3 minutes ago, superal said:

So how many have you got now ?

Books and books and books. Lots of licking recquired to keep them stuck in their pages...

[Mansell]

18 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I bought a couple of Cu M of BS1088 marine ply in China, but my problem there was finding a decent epoxy (and the time- had plenty of space).  So the plywood ended up somewhere in the USA at a buddy's shop, though I doubt I'll ever see it again.

 

If you've got the space and the time, I'd suggest a strip plank construction. Then you're not at the mercy of the quality of the plywood.  The biggest Asian hiccup is finding a router table and bits to rout the bead and cove on the planks.  I found one table on Lazada for around 8,000 baht, but my 5th floor balcony just isn't big enough.  The epoxy and glass cloth is available in Thailand at boat dealers (and in bulk- but harder to find).  I still have the strips cut, waiting for me in China when my BKK contract ends...

 

My solution in China is a gorgeous fiberglass sit-in kayak, factory made.  In Thailand, all I could find was roto-molded.  Works fine but not as joyful to paddle as the  one I have in China.  But getting it to a beach without getting on an expressway is tough.

 

On an aside, there was a guy selling his strip built kayak shop near Kanchanaburi a few years back, but my contract precludes me from doing anything on the side (WP issues), so had to give it a pass.  That would have been a great hobby shop.

 

I have two Folbot folding kayaks which fit into one five foot bag, or to two five foot bags. They are great kayaks. I have done trips of 120 miles down rivers. (Utah) Also took one to Mongolia and did six hours down a river with snow on the river banks. Sadly the company went out of business, but I believe somebody was selling them in Thailand. Some models fit in a backpack. You can take in a car, small plane, big plane, and on the back of a big bike. Takes around twenty minutes to assemble. Fun stuff.

[khunPer]

After I retired – a bit early as 56 years old – I don't understand how I ever had time for work.

I can even hardly find time for hobbies – perhaps I shopuld consider to spend less time with Thai Visa Forum..?

[Crossy]

Despite my earlier post, I seem to spend most of my non-work time fixing stuff around the house.

 

Currently being allowed to rest by SWMBO as it's hissing down.

 

Rain perfectly timed to watch the Lions - All Blacks match

 

 

[lubfishin]

I was bored out of my mind after my first year of retirement. I found leathercraft and leather carving to be great thing to learn. I've made wallets, handbags, passport holders , you name it, then learn to carve pics into the leather of what ever you want. Then you have all kinds of gifts to give away to hour family. The classes are really affordable and the couple who teach it are great. You just google craftsman gus. Good luck.

[InMyShadow]

I would love a game where you have a joystick and fly a plane, on my first computer, back at the beginning of this century I had a game called the Red Baron or something like that, wish I could get something like that now. 

 

What's stopping you? A use a 55 inch screen as a platform, throttling, joystick and a powerful pc. Google pmdg 777 on you tube. It's amazing

 

 

 https://youtu.be/QcLkByuxPHs

 

 

 

[madusa]

What about making ancient musical instruments? You don't have to be good at music to make ancient musical instruments. 

I am making a Greek "Lyra Pontian" which is like a violin but smaller and narrow with only 3 strings. Almost finish now and looking forward to play it .You get all the designs and also measurement from the internet. Just google.

What I like is I don't really spend a lot of money on this hobby. You need to know where the sawmill is to go buy the wood you need. You do need some good tools as well, still cheap compare with other hobbies.

[JungleBiker]

2 hours ago, superal said:

Out of interest what is your resting heart beat ?

 

Measured after waking up and before getting out of bed, currently about 42bpm. 

[bazza73]

Sex with my Thai GF

Golf with my friends

Watching my investments provide for me

Swimming

Eating good food in restaurants

Reading books over a good coffee

Driving my Benz coupe on the mountain roads

Nearly forgot - watching people make prats of themselves on TV.

[bazza73]

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

Stamp collecting.

Oh, and bar girl used knickers collecting.

There's something fishy about this post.

[Crossy]

1 minute ago, bazza73 said:

There's something fishy about this post.

 

Must be using the black-market for stamps.

 

[waoscar]

Excellent RC Racing scene in Bangkok
https://www.facebook.com/surikarn.chaidajsuriya

this facebook link is to one race track in Bangkok