Having established there was no need to be here after yesterday's football game was cancelled, at least we were able to recover and rearrange things so as to not miss out on football this weekend. It's no hardship to make it back to Bangkok and on to Pathum Thani to see some rabbits. The Sunday night game at 6:30 PM at True BG Stadium is between BG Pathum United, the home team, and Sukhothai FC.
The journey back to Bangkok will take only two and a half hours if we use the toll roads, and that's what we choose. There's little to be gained by extending our stay in the area given the current hot weather. With our route decided, we can have an early lunch and still be back in the city by mid-afternoon. With time to spare, we arrive at the residence for a rest before heading to the stadium. By 4:00 PM we're ready for more action, choosing to use the park and ride to the stadium to get a more relaxed experience. This included having a meal before taking the bus. Quite unusual for us, this meal is taken at KFC. We're soon at the stadium 30 minutes before kickoff.
BG Pathum United before the game lies 5th in the Thai Premier League table. The team has been most consistent in recent years but had hoped to be doing better than this with the setup here. The Sukhothai 'fire bats' have also been consistent, having been in the top tier for most of the last ten years, but this season the team is finding it hard. They lie 13th in the table, having not won in the last five league games. The team's points advantage means they are safe for now, but they have to be careful. In the context of both teams' ambitions, there is not a great deal riding on this game, and this has shown up in the rather poor footfall at the stadium before the game, but the poor attendance makes things easier for us as we grab a drink and take our seats.
After the usual formalities, the game kicks off on time at 6:30 PM. The 'rabbits' are kicking off towards their supporters in the south stand in the usual blue and white striped kit, while Sukhothai are wearing pink kits.
According to form, this should be an easy game for BG, and it soon shows. A lovely looping cross from the left by Raniel in the 6th minute is not cleared by Sukhothai, and an Ikhsan Fandi shot from the centre of the goal finds the left-hand corner of the net. How easy was that? Further pressure from the Rabbits results in a doubling of the score on 23 minutes as the same player nets from close range after receiving a ball rebounding off the left-hand post. It does look like the home team will win comfortably, but in the final moments of the half, they are pegged back with a good goal from Chaiyaphon Otton. He receives a pass from Gildo and takes a shot, finding the top left corner of the BG goal from the left side of the six-yard box. The 'rabbits' go in at halftime with some thinking to do.
Into the second half the 'fire bats' are emboldened. They are no mugs, having beaten BG earlier in the season. They're going in search of an equaliser here and could easily have gotten one, as the Rabbits look to lift the crowd all in vain. In a lackluster second half, there is no score as BG secures a rather unimpressive win, scoring a rather meaningless 3 points.
For us, we've had our football entertainment this weekend eventually and head back by bus to where we parked the car.

This has been another short tour centred around a football game that has brought us to a familiar part of Thailand's coastline that's not well visited by foreigners. Yet, as we found out, the island of Koh Samet is proving very popular. During this trip we tried some new things, and Rayong never disappoints us, becoming one of our favorite getaways. With the weather so hot now, the coast of Rayong provides some respite. For us, travelling here means a lot more than a time gap filler.

Source: Visit