Back in chaotic Bangkok. I tried to get a room yesterday at {{link http://www.baiyokehotel.com/baiyokesky/ Baiyoke Sky Hotel}}, Thailand’s tallest hotel and, indeed, its tallest building, but I ended up staying back at Wendy’s again. I walked all around the airport, inside and out, looking for a Bangkok Hotel Association desk, but couldn’t find one. A couple of tour companies tried to hook me up with Baiyoke and a couple of other ones I wanted to stay at, but they called them and said they were full. The Lonely Planet guide warns that they will do this, calling instead an associate who will pretend he is at the hotel, just in case you want to talk to the “reservation desk.” They will then try to steer you to another hotel that is paying them a commission. Thus, I didn’t believe them. I tried to get a room at the Reno Hotel, a mid-rate place, near Wendy’s, but they were full (I actually went to the hotel, didn’t phone). Wendy’s, though, did have a room. From there I easily booked a room, another junior suite, at Baiyoke over the internet. I had tried to call the hotel, but being unfamiliar with the public phone system, I couldn’t get hold of them.
Anyway, once settled into Wendy’s, I strolled over to {{link http://www.mbk-center.com/en/index.asp Mahboonkrong (MBK) Shopping Center}}, just one of several large shopping areas in the Siam Square area of Central Bangkok. I wanted to find {{link http://www.fotofile.net/main.html FotoFile}}, a camera shop I had found on the internet. I was curious, just curious, mind you, to look at the {{link http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=9430 Canon Digital Rebel}}, the camera I’ve been lusting after for almost a year now. I had read on the ‘net that they were located on the ground floor of MBK, but after searching this huge shopping arcade for over an hour, I didn’t find it. I went up to the 3rd floor, where I had seen another camera shop earlier. Lo and behold, the shop turned out to be Foto File, but they had changed their name and location. They are now called Foto Thailand. They had the camera, and I hope I didn’t get it too wet with my drool. I didn’t plan on buying it, figuring that it would cost about $1200 with accessories, a price some $400 cheaper than in Korea, but with a warranty that is only good in Thailand. Still, once I saw the camera and handled it, looking through the viewfinder, I knew that I wanted it, that I didn’t want to wait and buy one in Seoul. I promised the clerk I would be back next day, wanting some time to think about it. That promise would turn out to be false, in a way.
Then it was on to a {{link http://www.bangkok-city.com/muaythai.htm muay thai boxing}} match, so I scooted out of MBK and collared a motorbike driver to take me to {{link http://www.bangkoksite.com/Parks/LumpiniPark1.htm Lumphini Park}} and the {{link http://www.thailand.com/travel/recreation/recreation_bangkok_thaiboxinglumpini.htm boxing stadium}} for the Saturday night bouts. If you ever get a chance to ride on a motorbike in Bangkok, think twice to make sure you really want to chance it. I did (think twice and want to chance it). These guys, and some women, too, flash down the crowded streets at breakneck (literally, I’m sure) speed, weaving in and out of heavy traffic, zooming ahead of slow buses and slicing through pedestrians (not literally, but close). They squeeze through side-by-side cars and buses into narrow openings–keep your legs and arms tucked in! They give you a helmet to wear, but I’m not sure how much help it would be–they’re usually one of those old {{link http://www.speedracer.com/ “Speed Racer”}} type helmets. So, if you get the opportunity, think twice–but then . . . do it!! Great fun! It’s almost as thrilling as the Indy cars that my brother, Bob, and I drove down in Vegas a few years back, though I felt much safer at 150 mph in the Indy car than I did at 30 mph on the motorbike.
So, we got to the stadium ok, where I bought a ringside seat for 1500 baht. Next time, I’ll get a cheaper ticket and sit in the middle or outer circle–the view is just as good, if not better. I’ll try to describe the spectacle that is muay thai, a fascinating sport to watch, and not just for the boxing.
There is the pre-fight ritual, probably the best part of the event. Before every match, both competitors walk, dance and cavort around the ring, first going to all four sides (why do they call it a ring?) of the enclosure and performing an action that appears akin to prayer. Then they go through their elaborate ritual, each different according to their boxing school. This is primarily to honor their trainers. In the background and sitting near the middle of the stadium is the “band.” This is a 3-piece instrumental group, comprised of a drum, triangle, and an oboe-like instrument. They play for the entire 5 minute (about) period of the ritual and they play throughout the five, 3-minute rounds that make up each bout. It’s weird-sounding music, difficult to describe. Listen to some {{link http://www.swedishmuaythai.nu/music/music.asp here}}, if your internet connection is fast enough. Click on waikru or a round and then click the “open” box (or “save,” if that’s what you want to do). The fighters wear sacred headbands, or mongkols, and garlands of flowers, both of which they remove before the fight begins.
Pre-Fight Ritual–These guys were only 15 and 16 years old, among the first of the matches. I took these photos as my camera flash was eating up my batteries, and I didn’t get any of the later matches.
Here is a {{link http://www.montanaron.com/archives/muaythai.avi video}} showing a small part of the pre-fight ritual. It’s a very large 9 megabyte file, so if you’re connecting with a modem over the phone lines, it will take quite a while to load. You can download it if you want (“save”) or you can choose to view it without saving (“open”). It’s not very high quality but worth watching, I think, so access it at your own discretion.
So, then the fight begins. Kicking is a major part of the contact, kicking that is head-high, lightning-fast. There is punching and they do wear boxing gloves, but punching is considered to be part of the “softening up” process. I did see two rare knockouts this evening, one of the young men having to be carried out on a stretcher. I think that both of the knockouts came about because of punches, one for sure, as the fighter walked right into a heavy blow to the side of his head. The other I couldn’t tell because everything happened so fast. Just about anything goes–knees to the stomach or lower, kicks to the head and elsewhere, elbows to the mid-section, punches, but no biting or eye gouging. The first round is a feeling-out process, and the middle rounds are usually fast and furious. Many times the outcome of a match is pretty well determined by the fifth round, and much of this last round is free of action as both contestants avoid trying to do unnecessary damage, both seeming to have a silent agreement that the superior boxer has an insurmountable lead. I like this gentleman’s agreement, and after the violence of the preceding rounds, the peace is quite incongruous. Throughout all this, the band plays on, increasing the intensity of their cadence as the fight progresses. It’s all quite exotic. Between rounds, the handlers of each boxer try to get their charges ready for the next round by massaging and kneading and pushing and pulling on them with more physicality than they have been experiencing in the bout itself. Each boxer sits in his corner on a stool that is placed in the middle of what resembles a very large, plastic, garbage can lid several feet in diameter, a necessity considering the large amounts of water that are poured over the fighters; it’s very hot and humid in the enclosed stadium.
I witnessed 8 matches tonight, with the ages and experience of the boxers increasing as the night wore on. By the end, 22- and 23-year olds with dozens of fights under their belts were competing. The crowd grew throughout the night as the more experienced fighters were on display. There was some raucous cheering from the spectators, but most of the noise came from the handlers and trainers and, I presume, from relatives or friends who stood in a roped off area behind each fighter’s corner. Each time their boxer landed a kick or punch, cheers sounding like the “oles” of a bullfight rang from the rafters. In time, the bouts ended and we filed out of the stadium. I noticed, however, that others were coming into the stadium, filling up the seats we had just vacated, so I think there was a second set of matches scheduled. It was quite an evening and I highly recommend seeing a muay thai match if your ever in Thailand. I know I’ll go the next time I return to Bangkok.
The action is fast and furious at muay thai boxing.
