I will be heading out to Cha-am Beach, Thailand on 15 October for a 2-week metal detecting hunt.
Cha-am is located about 2 1/2 hours from Bangkok and is close to a more familiar beach, Hua Hin, that I did some metal detecting on last April.

Metal Detecting Koh Samet

I love metal detecting with a passion – an addiction so bad my wife tells me I love my metal detector more than her.  Not true – but close! Unfortunately, I only get to the beach twice a year and once in a while hunt a reservoir in the northeast, Isaan, Thailand.

Anyhow, I am in the “prepare to depart” mode mainly charging up my equipment.  In today’s electronic age, it is amazing how much I rely on batteries and chargers.

Here is a run down.

I have to charge the battery on my main detector, a Minelab Excalibur II 800 and also charge the spare battery – just in case.

I will be bringing a spare detector – again – just in case – my ACE 250 – that takes AA batteries – so charged up 12 of them.

I bring a head lamp so that I can hunt very early morning or at night and have it charged up and ready to go.

I will be bringing my Sony Digicam and it is charged and will also be bringing a sports cam (helmet cam0) to strap to my detector to video all the exciting action of a hunt – see me live find bottle caps and other trash!

My phone stays charged as does my laptop, but I like some music when I fly, so I have my Walkman (Mp3 player) loaded with music and ready to go.

I won’t be bringing along a small camera as mine is fried – but – I am able to shoot photos with my phone and with the Digicam in photo mode.

So, you can see it takes me a couple of days to get all the gear charged up and ready to go.  I take the extra precautions since once I am at the beach, I have no backups other than what I bring with me from Khon Kaen.

This also means that I have to bring a ton of chargers, card readers, video cam docking station, 110-220 step up/down converter for my 110 metal detector charger, and batteries.

The other metal detecting gear consists mainly of my long handle, stainless steel scoop.  It is very heavy, but cuts down the time it takes to dig a target and metal detecting is really a numbers game.  The more targets I can find and dig quickly, the more likely I am to find something good.  I also bring along a smaller, older, crappier, scoop in case the big one has some kind of malfunction (about all that could happen is the wooden handle snapping).

The rest of what I take is mostly clothes (shorts and T-shirts and a couple hats), a little reading material, boots (lots of nasty things on the beach), and sun block.

I will finish up the charging today, and get 95% packed.  I like to get it done early and then check it a few times to make sure I have everything.  I don’t like to rush and pack at the last minute.  I would rather take my time, use a checklist, and have it all with no worries.

So, now it is just counting down the days hours until I head to the Khon Kaen Airport and make my way to Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok where a driver awaits to drive the 2 1/2 – 3 hours to Cha-am.  I just hope that  Bangkok is not flooded and that I have success while metal detecting.

Hua Hin Beach Hunt

Off on one of my twice a year, two week hunts.  This time it was back to Hua Hin beach, Thailand.  I hunted there in May, 2010, but under different circumstances.

Buddhist Monk Hua Hin Beach Thailand

The first time I hunted in Hua Hin, I was at a bit of a disadvantage – I didn’t have my Minelab Excalibur II and had to use my Minelab X-Terra 705 and my ACE 250.  Both good machines, but cannot compare with the waterproof, discriminating Excal II.

I also had a few Thai beaches under my belt, and felt that I knew the beaches better having done some analysis on where the goodies are on Thai beaches as compared to where the goodies are on Hawaii beaches – big difference.

It is a bit of a journey for me to get to the beach since I live in Khon Kaen, Thailand – a 45 minute flight from Bangkok.  From Bangkok, I am met by my reliable driver, Kob, and 3 hours later we arrive at Jing’s Guesthouse in Hua Hin.

Thirty minutes of unpacking and preparing my gear, and I am off for the 5-minute walk to Hua Hin beach.

Hua Hin Beach Sunrise

I chose Jing’s Guesthouse due to favorable online reviews, it proximity to the beach, price, and free wireless.  I was completely satisfied with my choice and have only good things to say about Peter and Jing and their guest friendly and family friendly guesthouse.

I only hunted for about 2 hours the first day as I was re-familiarizing myself with the tones and also to get a “feel” for the beach.  I also had a brand new scoop to break in and wasn’t sure how long I would be able to lug it around as it is a bit heavy.

After day one, I was ready and my daily routine was to get up at 0445 and be out the door between 0500 and 0515.  This would get me to the beach just before sunrise and with enough light to hunt.  Trust me.  You want to hunt when it is cool.  Once the sun gets out, it gets very hot.  I usually went through 4 liters of water during a 5 hour hunt.

Depending on the tides, I would usually select a section of dry sand to hunt initially and when the tide slowly moved out a couple hundred feet, I would hunt “where the water used to be”.

Hua Hin Beach Umbrellas

Areas with lots of palm trees and touristy beach umbrella/chair ares are best to hit bright and early – before the umbrellas get set up and the tourists arrive.  Primarily – Thai tourists hang out under the palm trees, and foreigners rent the beach chairs.  Both areas yield coins and jewelry – and tons of trash.

Hua Hin Beach Hilton

Another reason I chose this area, is there are 3 very big, expensive hotels grouped close together.  The thought process was this was where folks of wealth would hang out.  I found that to be true, but I also learned that this is an area with older tourists who tend to walk out into the water and just stand – no activity.

I only saw one other detectorist on one day the entire time I was there.  He came to me and we chatted in Thai a bit.  He was a typical Thai hunter – using an old Fisher with controls hip mounted, and swinging his stick like a pendulum barely covering a couple inches on each swing.  He also dug and didn’t fill holes and did not pick up his trash.  He also missed quite a few targets.  Thanks.

Studying the beaches in Thailand over the past year has paid off.  Knowing where to go and when the tide is going low, is essential to a successful hunt.  This trip yielded the most coins, most silver and most gold.

Thai Army Silver Ring

This is my favorite find of the trip.  Even though I got my first gold ring (which my wife immediately claimed), this ring is nicer to me.  A nice orange stone and .925 silver.  Unfortunately, there was no name on the ring or I would have made an effort to return it.

As I mentioned, I got my first gold in Thailand.  With a little help from a beach vendor, who told me a girl had lost a ring, and gave me the general direction, I found it within 10 minutes.  It is small, but it is 96.5% gold – about 23K.

Hua Hin Gold Ring

I also scooped up 2,240.75 Thai baht and got a nice Tiffany silver (.925) necklace and pendant.  But, Thais don’t really like silver – they prefer the pure gold stuff.

I got a few other pieces of jewelry – rings, bracelet, earrings and some pendants.  I also got 4 Buddhist amulets.

Along with finally understanding Thai beaches, having a big, heavy-duty, stainless steel scoop was the missing piece.

It is heavy, but I got used to it.  I can add a little bit of foam on the handle to make it easier to carry on my shoulder.  And, I got used to carrying it.

Metal Detecting is all about numbers.  The more you dig, the more you get.  With my previous scoop, it would sometimes take me 5-7 scoops to get a target.  With my new monster, one or two scoops was the norm.  Only times it took more, was when a target was deep.

I also dug up my share of trash and Hua Hin beach is now much cleaner.  The maid wasn’t happy that I dragged it back to the room for disposal, but that is what I do.

So, all in all, a very good hunt.  Really happy that I found gold – now my wife can’t rag on me anymore and may actually encourage me to go and hunt instead of arguing with me.  We shall see.

I will leave you with one of the things I really enjoy seeing at the beach.  Buddhist monks on morning alms at sunrise – doesn’t get much more peaceful.

Hua Hin Beach Buddhist Monk Morning Alms

Metal Detecting Scoop And Handle Are Joined Together

I wrote about the trials and tribulations of getting a beach scoop shipped from the USA to Thailand to assist me in my metal detecting here. Yesterday, in preparation for a two-week hunt in Hua Hin, I finally got a new wooden handle for the scoop.

Metal Detecting Beach Scoop

My wife was nice enough to run to a hardware store and pick up a wooden handle/shaft that is normally used in Thailand with a shovel or a hoe – not for metal detecting.  I explained that I wanted a handle approximately 4 feet long, rounded on one end and square on the other.  She picked up a standard hunk of wood and things started to look good.

I also explained that I needed a couple of holes drilled in the wood and would need a couple of nuts and bolts so that I could carry it on the Thai Air flight and quickly assemble it once I got to the guest house in Hua Hin.  I want to be able to hit the beach and start metal detecting within 30 minutes of arrival.

My wife called her step-dad and he came over a short time later.  Was really nice of him to do this as he had already scheduled a 9-day trip to Chiang Mai for Songkran (Thai New Year) and would be catching a bus at 8:00 PM.  I am sure he had better things to do than help me out, but that is what family is all about in Thailand.

We immediately had a couple of problems.  Thailand is on metric system and America is not. But, you knew that.  Anyhow, the square end of the wood shaft was just a smidge too big.  No worries – mai pen rai – says step dad.

He goes in the kitchen and grabs a meat cleaver and starts shaving the wood one fine layer at a time until it fits snug.  He gets out his drill and does up the two holes and all is good.  Not.

The bolts are also a tiny bit too big so he will need to ream out the holes in the scoop with his drill.  But, he has never seen stainless steel so tough.  After about 20 minutes, and one broken drill bit, the bolts slide in.

I had hoped for wing- nuts so I could hand tighten, but my wife said that there were none that fit at the hardware store she went to.  Will have to look later.  In the meantime, I will just carry a pair of pliers with me on the trip to Hua Hin.

I am anxious to get on the beach and in the water and give this new metal detecting scoop its first test.  Hopefully it finds gold and silver.

Here are a few more pictures of the scoop.  I may try and find a thin piece of foam to attach towards the bottom so that I can sling it on my shoulder with less pain.  Maybe also some sort of tether so I don’t lose it in the water.  Not sure if it will float or not.

Metal Detecting Scoop Close-up

Metal Detecting Scoop And Handle Fit

Metal Detecting Scoop Front

Counting the days now until 18 April when I head out for some metal detecting on Hua Hin Beach.

I kept my word to my wife that I wouldn’t bug her about going hunting at the beaches of Thailand until after our house got built.  Completion is right around the corner and we plan to move in on 31 March.

Khon Kaen House

I thought about heading back to Jomtien where I have hunted my last two times and hook up with my buddy Tony, but I decided that since I hunted it hard last time, and Tony continues to hunt it, there may not be much there.

So, i decided to head back to Hua Hin.  I hunted here shortly after I retired in Thailand and didn’t really get much of anything.  However, I blame myself and not knowing much about Thai beaches and the tides.  I think I have a better understanding of where to hunt and when to hunt, and I hope to do much better.

For example, on my last hunt in Jomtien, I found 18 rings in 21 days.  I also found some other jewelry, Buddhist amulets, and over 2,000 baht in coins.  No gold, but some silver and some nice Buddhist pendants and rings.

These trips don’t come cheap.  I am already booked at a guesthouse for 9,000 baht for the 13 nights I will be in Hua Hin.  Airfare was almost 5,000 baht and my ride from Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok will set me back another 1,800 baht.  Throw in food and drink and the two week trip will cost me about $600 or so.

But, I don’t care!  I love to go metal detecting and I love the beach.  And, who knows, I may get lucky and find some gold.

I have a buddy that is a photo-journalists in Iraq that will be in Thailand at the same time and I am hoping that we can meet up in Hua Hin.  I plan to go right after Thai New Year, Songkran, once all the insanity is over with.  Hopefully some drunk tourists lost some valuables!

So, off to Hua Hin in April – photos and videos to follow.  This will also give me a great opportunity to try out my new heavy duty, stainless steel scoop.

I finally broke down and ordered a heavy duty beach scoop as the two that I currently have are pretty well beat up.  They were both bought used and one has been re-engineered at a different angle to allow digging and not pulling back. My original plan was to have one made here in Thailand, but I gave that up as the language barrier and the quality of work would result in a scoop that wouldn’t be exactly right.  I don’t speak the language well enough and I have seen Thai craftsmanship and it isn’t all that good.

So, I did some hunting online and contacted my buddy in Hawaii and he also did some searching and we came up with a scoop that is made of steel and is sold without a handle.  All one needs to do is supply a wood (or whatever) handle, bolt it on, and hit the beach.

My biggest problem is shipping.  Most on eBay won’t ship to Thailand and the ones that offer free shipping to the Continental US charge more to ship to Hawaii, where my buddy is.  Once in  a great while we can find free shipping to Hawaii, but it is rare.

So, anyhow, my buddy ordered the $110 scoop for me, paid the extra $35 for shipping to Hawaii, and then re-packed it and re-shipped it to me in Thailand for another $50.

The shipping cost almost as much as the scoop!

This scoop should last me a lifetime and I should only have to worry about replacing a broken handle, if anything.

The dry sand here in Thailand is very powdery, but the wet sand and under the water it is really hard packed and tough to dig.  Hopefully this heavy duty, bigger scoop will do the trick.

I am also anxious to see how it does at a local reservoir.  The lake bed is like clay and also very tough to dig.  Will keep you posted as to how it goes.

Here is my new toy all boxed up and ready to ship.  I should have it in about one week.

Beach Sand Scoop Boxed