Kiting in Thailand in May

Not a good time to go kiting in thialand and generally asia.. the wind is right in the middle of the changing period from north easters to the south westers and it wont really pickup till june/july.. still heaps of things to do besides kiting.. just make sure the mrs doesnt catch ya

Hey mate, I spent two weeks in pattaya in April/may of 2008 for some dinghy racing. We had 15-25 knot seabreeze EVERY single afternoon for the entire two weeks. We went expecting a light series too and the locals said it was unusual.. But the wind was unbelievably good. The water is a bit scummy tho, it's not like the islands. The massages a cheap. You'll need to hire a scooter for around $10/day so you can outrun the hookers and ladyboys who will litterally chase you down the street!

The wind tends to be fairly sketchy in Thailand, but it's possible to score some good kiting. Generally the wind blows from the west in the middle of the year, and from the North East at the end/beginning of the year, and as Fellodawind said, you will be visiting right in the ‘changeover’ period. If the ‘Westerly’ season is early enough, Phuket would be my pick (I’ve had a couple of good sessions in Phuket during May - I don’t know about Pattaya). When the Westerlies are blowing, most of the kiting in Phuket happens at Nai Yang beach in the north western part, just south of the airport. It’s a half moon shaped bay with a sandy bottom, and rocky points/reefs at either end. There’s a couple of decent shops with newer equipment www.kitesurfthailand.com www.kiteboardingasia.com I recommend you check with them as far as rentals, and typically in Asia they want to see an IKO card or equivalent before giving you any gear without a lesson.
Pros:
Sometimes you can get some decent waves on the reefs at either end of the bay, but the southern reef is the go. (The reefs can get real shallow!)
Plenty of space in the bay, particularly if you make you way upwind away from the beach. Typical open water / choppy conditions with some swell moving through.
As the wind tends to blow more from the SW, there is also some flatter water available in the southern end of the bay. (Make your way out towards the southern point to get the clean wind and flat water, just inside the waves)
Two well-stocked shops right on the beach.
There’s a lot to do in Phuket on no wind days. (i.e. Partying, Cable park, diving, shooting range, golf, etc)

Cons:
If the wind gets too southerly, it can get real gusty near the beach – gotta make your way out the back to get the clean wind.
The westerlies tend to bring a lot of logs and other crap up onto the beach (This is not the time of year to see the beautiful beaches of Phuket! They are really nice when the wind is blowing off-shore i.e. NE Monsoon season, but not when the westerlies are blowing.)
There are some local fishing boats moored near the beach, and a number of mooring ropes floating on the surface.
Nai Yang is a drive from the main area of Patong, about 45 minutes. You can stay at Nai Yang in ‘cheap and cheerful’ to ‘5 star’ hotels, but there aint much else there.

If the Westerlies haven't started yet when you're there, you might look at Hua Hin or Pranburi.

If you need more specific information just send me a PM.