After waking up and trying to locate my friend, Dougie, from the night before, we decided it would be a good idea to get a world renowned Thai massage. Yesterday, at the second bar we stopped at, we ran into a German/American guy who had frequented SE Asia and recommended that this is something that we had to do. He told us about a place about 15 minutes away that has a 2 hour massage for 300 baht ($10). My friend and I grabbed some street food, jumped in a cab and off we went.
Traffic at this time of the day was less that favorable so it ended up taking about 40 minutes to get there but it didn't really matter to us, we were excited to have a nice relaxing day after a long exhausting day and night yesterday. After 2 hours of gentle rubbing, we left the massage place less than impressed. Granted it was only 10 dollars for 2 hours, it was the most mediocre massage therapy session I have ever encountered. (Luckily, I didn't let that affect my idea of a Thai massage as later on in the trip I tried it again and it was amazing.)
On our way back, Dougie and I were trying to figure out what we were going to do for the rest of the day and into the night. It was around 4PM at this time, we were hungry, quite tired from the night before, and, like the entirety of our trip, had no plans to do anything. Before I left for Thailand, I downloaded the Lonely Planet guide to Thailand. Anywhere you go for the first time, get this book, for all of your locations. It will tell you anything you need to know about the country from accommodations, where to eat, what to see, how to maintain a budget, history, culture, popular sayings, everything. So as I was reading before I left, there was mention of a few Muay Thai arenas around Bangkok, Lumpinee Stadium, in particular.
For whatever reason, as i was thinking about things to do, I noticed a bunch of signs for Muay Thai fighting, then a bunch of people in the street, then a bunch of street vendors, then this remarkable stadium amongst it all. I told Dougie that is what we were doing. We told the cabbie to pull over and he dropped us off. Once again, we didn't know how this whole operation worked out so we just went up to the windows to try to find out how we could get a seat. The windows were closed and there was a man with credentials who noticed a few white guys that obviously did not fit in. He said that he could get us ring side tickets for less than what they are selling at the ticket box office so our ears perked up. He brought us past a few security guards to the interior of the arena and gave us a break down of what each section of seats would cost us. Outside rows - 1500 baht ($50); Inside rows - 1800 baht ($60); Ring side - 2300 baht ($76). Dougie and I were trying to figure out what the best thing to do was and the guy with the credentials said that basically all tourists get the ring side seats. So, after some gentle bargaining we got our ring side seats for 1750 baht apiece.
The fights were unreal. The way that it breaks down is five 3 minute rounds per fight. The first round is usually meant for a few kicks, a few punches, but nothing too serious, more of the guys getting a feeling for the fight and their opponent. The second and third rounds get the intensity ramped up and the fourth is when each fighter goes in to kill mode. If the ref feels there is not enough action going on, he makes sure to let the fighters know and the fans are not shy about letting the fighters know also. When I was reading about this before, I was surprised to find out that punching with your fists is considered the weakest attack against your opponent so the use of knees, elbows, and kicks are heavily favored in the bouts.
Up in the crowd, people are betting, screaming, chanting, and the thought of sitting down before, during, and after a fight never occurs to them. About half way through the evening, we were given a list of the fighters and their weight class. I figured that the lightest guys would probably be around 150 and the main event would be around 180. I based this instinctively on how badly these guys would beat the shit out of me and was terribly humbled upon knowing their actual weights.
Finally, it was time for the main event, roughly 3 hours into the night. The champ came out wearing some kind of head band type thing with a cobra on it so you kind of knew he was all business. Now, before the fights, these guys go through about a 4 minute routine (below) as part warm up, part showing respect to their opponent, Buddha, the fans, and to the sport. I found it a little bizarre but I found basically everything bizarre in this fascinating country, so I embraced it.
During the main event, in about the 3rd round, each fighter was doing very well but no one had really taken control over the fight. Sure, there were an array of head kicks, knees to the ribs, and jabs, but nothing over the top. That was until with about a minute left in the round, the challenger hammered the champ with an elbow in the forehead and split him open for what I would say was about 10 stitches. The crowd erupted and it looked like there was going to be an upset if he could keep his pace for the next 2 rounds.
In the end, after a late flurry by the champ, the challenger maintained his poise and was crowned the winner.
After the match, there were hoards of people going to some area behind us so we thought it would be a good time to be followers. Everyone was going back into the locker room area, which was not a locker room area at all, but a lobby where the fighters prepared. There was no special room for them, no curtains, no nothing, they were right in the middle of a high traffic area for attendees. Yet another thing that was very different to me. Most high profile athletes always have their own areas and rooms for preparation or post fight but not in this culture.
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| New champ |
So, our night at the Muay Thai fight had come to and end and it was time to figure out the rest of the evening. We started to walk back to our hotel not knowing how far away we were when a Tuk-Tuk started honking his horn at us. A Tuk-Tuk is basically a high powered tricycle that bobs in an out of traffic and are notorious for over charging. We bargained from 250 to 100 baht ($3) to get us home and after a few near death experiences, we were back at the Ambassador. We got ready for the night, went down to the White Bar again to meet our new Thai friends and they said it would be a better idea to head away from the city to enjoy the night. We stopped to play pool for a bit then took off on a 45 minute journey to God knows where, cracked open a few more bottles and called it a night. This was our last night in Bangkok. Tomorrow to Pattaya.
Day 3 - Bangkok/Pattaya
We got up around 11AM to give us enough time to check out of our hotel, grab something to eat, and jump on a but to Pattaya. Once again, everything that we decided to do on our trip was hearsay and taking advice from people we did not know, yet this country had been very welcoming to us so we had no reason to not listen. Our bus to Pattaya was about 120 baht ($4) for a 2.5 hour trek south east. There were 2 stops along the way so the bus filled up pretty quick and what was once a potentially comfortable journey with a whole row to myself, was now a long sleepless ride with intermittent air conditioning. I did my best to shut down for a few minutes but was overwhelmed with this new part of the country we we driving through. With broken down homes, rice fields, and a bit more diverse landscape, I found myself, once again, intrigued. Sleep did not seem like an option anymore, taking this place in did.
We arrived in Pattaya with no place to stay so we were dropped off at a bus station right next to tourist travel information center. We were greeted and helped finding a hotel for 2 nights. While we were there, we made sure to think ahead and decide where our next destination would be. We knew that Pattaya was going to strictly be a place to party so we wanted our next stop to be a beach to relax with crystal clear waters and snorkeling. We decided on Koh Chang but told our help that we would get a hold of her later when we wanted to book our bus down there. Until then, we wanted to stay in Pattaya for 2 nights then let the winds take us elsewhere. We booked at the Balitaya Hotel which was a bit off the beaten path but nothing too major. It ended up costing about 1550 baht ($51) per night for a double so we said that would work out. Some of the other places that were suggested were a bit higher and we wanted to somewhat stay on a budget. Once we got checked in to our hotel, we again thought it was necessary to take a few hour nap to prepare for the evening.
The Beach Road in Pattaya is full of vendors, both food and clothing. Also mixed in are beer bars which are basically 7 bars in a row with girls trying to get you to go in and have a drink with them. If you can resist the urge of these beautiful Thai women begging you to come in and enjoy a night with them, you will soon find yourself on Walking Street.
It wasn't until very late that we got to Walking Street when we were approached by a guy asking if we wanted to see a show at a go-go bar. Against my will (haha) I was dragged into a world I had only heard legends about. For 400 baht ($13) we got to see women do things with their parts that I never thought imaginable. Blowing out candles, popping balloons with dart guns, opening coke bottles, smoking cigarettes, and pulling out razor blades were just a few of the sights. During this time, I felt like I had fallen in love with one of the girls that worked at this place but I would soon notice that falling in love in Thailand seems to be an epidemic amongst most, nonetheless, it was inevitable.
We decided that we had seen more than enough for the night, were tired from traveling, and it seemed like a good time to pack it in for day 3 in Thailand
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