Last full day in BKK

While a large group of us left Bangkok yesterday to go down to Phuket (beach resort area in Southern Thailand) some of us choose to extend our stay in Bangkok. My roommate from freshmen year of undergrad is from Thailand, so before I came here I asked him what I should do in Bangkok. Among other things he suggested that I go see a Mauy Thai (kickboxing style) fight. WOW was last night a fun time. 5 of us (Steve, Brian, Esteban (other Steve), Kyle and I) all got ringside seats at Rajadamern Stadium for the evening and and it was truly an immersive experience. While we probably would have preferred to sit with the locals up in the cheap seats (behind fencing...) it was just as fun to be ringside.

Prior to the fight, Esteban, Kyle and I ate some street food from a few different vendors on our walk from Chinatown to the stadium. Mostly bbq chicken skewers. Then we had an actual "sit-down" meal prepared by a lady at a small eating area right next to the stadium. This was a local as you could get. The food was a spicy chicken curry and noodle dish. And the rats were scurrying by under the table where she was preparing the food....sooooo... hopefully I won't die before I make it back from Chicago.

Mauy Thai has a lot of ceremony involved in the pre-bout, both fighters pray before the match and move around the ring in a carefully choreographed routine. During the match there are 2 musicians who are playing traditional music while they watch what is happening in the match. As the fight gets more intense, so does the music. The crowd is very involved in just about every match, and there is a lot of gambling going on. Imagine the scene of a stock trading floor with hundreds of people placing and taking bets with each other and at the same time screaming at the fighters/coaches and with each other. Just amazing.

One somewhat shocking aspect of the whole thing is the age of some of the fighters. At least on the night we were there, most of the fights were between young men who looked to be teenagers, some very young maybe 12-13? At least the main bout for the night featured two 20-something fighters.

I would recommend seeing a match at either of the stadiums in Bangkok to anyone that wants a truly immersive experience.