Ten Pin Bowling

[Gregjam]

Went bowling for the first time in a while today and was wondering if others have similar opinions to my own.

As usual I took a pair of earplugs as I find the music both overly loud and annoying. Whether there are only a few people or all lanes are in use you have to shout to be heard above the music. I never remember being bombarded with so much noise when I played in the UK. Okay, the noise from the lanes is not going to make it a quiet affair but am I just showing my age in disliking the music volume being set to high.

I was in before lunchtime and found the approach surface very sticky. Usually there is a certain amount of slipperiness to the boards but it was like playing in grippy training shoes. This stickiness extended to the house balls which makes me think the air con had not reduced the humidity to a suitable level.

It was a while ago I played there but I cannot remember not being able to see the full height of the pins when setting up to bowl. I have not grown taller but felt sure I used to be able to see the full height of the pins.

I can only average around 130 in a good game and do not spin the ball so cannot comment on the lane condition. Lane 5 had some marks right in the middle near the bowling end which may have been repairs (not surprising with some of the 'techniques' on display, my party included).

The staff were helpful and their English is good which indicates that foreigners use the place a lot.

A concern for better bowlers will be the reliability of the equipment. While I was there a group on another lane had to shift over due to equipment failure and in the lane I was using it was noticeable that not all the pins remaining were counted or picked up properly. On more than one occasion only eight of nine balls felled registered on the first bowl and the ninth registered on completion of the second bowl. Not a problem on this visit as it was for pleasure but if the players were competitive it would be annoying trying to get it sorted out each time.

A lot of the above are minor comments and I did not complain as it would have spoiled an otherwise pleasant experience.

Am I just being a picky miserable sod or have others had the same experience.

[bonnielass]

Have never tried this experience in Hua Hin.

But in other places faulty equipment has worked in my favour.
Sometimes registering all pins down when one remained standing.

Only ever go for a laugh, so maybe next time in HH will give it a bash.
Where is the bowling alley? I don't remember seeing it.

BL

[Big Boy]

Top Floor of Market Village, next to the cinema.

[GLCQuantum]

I found the approach surface very sticky. Usually there is a certain amount of slipperiness to the boards but it was like playing in grippy training shoes.

I cannot remember not being able to see the full height of the pins when setting up to bowl. I have not grown taller but felt sure I used to be able to see the full height of the pins.

Lane 5 had some marks right in the middle

Come on now tell the truth. You took the missus and she beat you... no need for excuses.

Jokes aside, I've found all the bowling alleys in Thailand to be around (give or take) the same standard as the one I played on regularly in the Uk (bloody big place with multi screen cinema, snooker hall and... a bingo hall for the less able of the customers )

Again, I just play for fun only (is there competitive bowling in Thailand? - I think you just get ya pool league type of competitions) . The one thing I have found is it's bloody expensive in most places so I recommend getting a membership if you're going to play a few times a month for a number of rounds each time. I did that in the Market Village place 5/6 years back and it saved me a chunk of change. Not sure what the membership fees are now though.

[Gregjam]

Not saying the wife is bad but even if she had the barriers up to stop the balls going in the gulley I could still beat her with my left hand (yes, I am right handed).

It cost 1200 baht for three of us to play three games each plus a soft drink each. In the past I was given a coupon that gave a healthy discount if I used the place again within a month. It was fun and a way of escaping the heat for an hour or so. Market Village is not for the faint of wallet at the best of times which is probably why the wife likes it. Not what I would call Thai prices but not cheap enough that you would find too many people there and never get a game.

A long time ago I playing in Bangkok at what I would call 'competetive' lanes. A much larger place that obviously had leagues and ran competitions. Here it is definitely aimed at the casual player although I did see a guy wearing a shirt with something like 'bowling trainer' on the back and he was using a proper technique rather than the average chuck the ball down the lane and hope for the best style.

There is always problems with the equipment at any bowling alley, usually the lighter balls not being returned or something jamming in the equipment but I don't usually see problems with pin counting and it hints of an alignment fault which us usually linked to lack of routine maintenance. Having been here for many years I am well aware of the Thai concept of routine maintenance (why I will never buy a used car/motorcycle) which is the reason for my suspicion in that regard.

I am probably doing a bit or looking through rose tinted specs.