We've done our best to conquer all the major attractions in Bangkok... and we're doing a terrific job. We read in the Lonely Planet that it is pointless to try and see everything in one visit. I can see why. Bangkok is so incredibly large and confusing, and the heat is so deadly; it is dangerous to push yourself to exhaustion in an effort to do it all. We're pretty damn close, though.

We started out late in the morning, caught a river boat north, ate an early lunch at the Royal India restaurant (which has excellent dahl and panak paneer!). We wandered through Little India and soaked in the vibe. This area consists of row after row of fabric stores, gold shops, and food vendors. We weren't really in the mood to buy anything, and most of the stores clearly catered to locals. We decided that other than the restaurants and wholesale shops, there isn't much of value here to the typical tourist.

Walk a few blocks away, and you're in the heart of Chinatown. It's like a maze of more vendors that cater to locals. If we were shopping for 2000 plastic pearly white buttons or tiger-pattern socks or green lace ribbon, etc etc - Chinatown is the place! Otherwise, we found it all pretty confusing and not really geared for tourists. Being culture whores, we loved the vibe. But that's about it.

I was leading us down a busy four lane road that snakes through Chinatown in search of an area called the Thieves Market. It is world famous for antiques, and we hoped to shop around for some more authentic statues or carvings. As I've mentioned before, maps of Thailand are really just shots in the dark. We wandered and wandered and started to get really frustrated. Before too long we were walking past hardware stores with pipe shops and eletronic gauges. It was dirty, hot, and very stinky.

I kept stopping to read street signs and try to compare it with the two maps we had. Nothing seemed to work. Either the street wasn't listed or (even more frustrating) there was no street sign. This is normally the time when Shaunna would ask for directions, but she was following me and I was doing my best to pretend like I knew where I was going. We men are really retarded sometimes.

Thankfully, we were walking along and I saw a sign that pointed down the road. Below it were the words "Wat Saket". This was one of the sights we had hoped to see while in Bangkok. I felt a huge sense of relief as we approached the long road that drives up to Wat Saket. Beyond the wat was the Golden Mount, upon which is a huge wat that contains the ashes of some clothes worn by the Buddha.

View image

The road was divided by gorgous boganvillas, and it was flanked by a huge school for monks.

View image

Wat Saket itself was undergoing renovations, but we took off our shoes and went inside anyhow. It was quiet and massive, and the Buddha image was huge! The cieling and walls were covered with beautiful murals, and massive scaffolding was set up in an effort to repaint sections of the temple.

View image
View image

We ventured back out and climbed up to the top of the Golden Mount. The views of Bangkok from here are stunning. At the top of the man-made mountain is a huge temple.

View image
View image
View image
View image

After checking out the views, we caught a cab back to the hotel. We had plans to check out the muay Thai boxing at the Lumphini stadium, and we need to rest up.

After catching some terrific pizzas from an Italian joint, we caught a cab to the stadium. The touts in this area are some of the worst and most persistent I've ever seen. It's a really hectic area with scroungey-looking Thai men chatting and betting, dazed and confused tourists trying to figure out where to go, and touts screaming at anyone that either doesn't look Asian or doesn't seem to know what's going on.

I had read up, and I grabbed Shaunna and walked past the throng of touts. A couple times they tried to grab my shirt to stop me, they were yelling "sir! sir!" and flashing some phoney-looking credentials that said "Lumphini Boxing Authority". They had sheets of paper with prices and pictures of people sitting in chairs ringside. They were saying, "Sir, you can only sit in first class. Do you want to buy a first class ticket?"

I waved them off, bought a second-class ticket and grabbed Shaunna so we could head inside. We passed by some tough-looking cops who smiled and greeted us as we went inside. We were led to some dingey wooden stadium seats. I grabbed the first seat we could find in the middle of the front row, thinking that this would give us a great view. The stands to our left were filled with Thai men screaming and betting - the Third Class section. And just as it appeared in the pictures, the First Class section was around the boxing ring with chairs. Each area was separated by chain link fences and grating.

Being a HUGE fight fan, I was really excited to witness muay thai. Alot of people don't understand boxing, and some people think it's just brutal. Once you figure out the point system, study the styles, and learn about the sport, the best thing to do is see it live. Then you'll learn to love boxing... or any other fighting sport. I was really happy that Shaunna was finally going to see some live fights. She's really learned to appreciate boxing, and muay thai is relatively new to her.

I had our usher rush off to get some beer and we watched some "preliminary" fights. The boys in these fights were about 15, and their inexperience showed. The Main Event was the fifth fight scheduled, so we had a few fights and a few beers to put away in the meantime. About the time that the second "main" fight was going into round three, things really started to heat up. The fighting was intense, the cheering in the Third Class section was deafening, and people were beginning to file into Second Class.

The Second Class section was filling up with tourists and some Asian fans. All around there were middle-aged Thai men standing, shouting and betting. They would walk right up in front of us and block our view. It was getting really annoying. Even more disturbing, they would stand right at the fence that divides First Class from Second Class, thereby blocking everyone's view.

We were feeling a little awkward and confused: should we say something to them? Should we get upset? Is this how they do it here? We didn't know what to do, but I was starting to feel like an angry American that was getting ripped off. It was pretty rude, I thought, for them to stand right in front of us when there was tons of space all around for them to sit or stand without blocking anyone's view.

Eventually, some tourists next to us walked up to the fence to get a better view. We quickly joined them, and we were joined by others. When the old Thai men would walk up to get a view around us (or squeeze in), I would block them. Turnabout is fair play, and I was feeling pretty pissed. If they didn't like it, to hell with them. They should have sat their asses down to begin with. Now they could look at the backsides of some bigger, wider, taller and fatter farang. Obviously I was drunk.

From our new vantage point, we could see everything!

A band played traditional muay thai music during the rounds and while the fighters did their traditional pre-fight prayers. As the rounds passed, the music would get more hectic and the fight would get more violent. The intensity of the fights continued to increase as more seasoned (and older) fighters were brought in.

Unlike international boxing, which utilizes the hands only, muay thai can use hands, feet, knees, and elbows. Fighters can also grapple and throw each other down. Points are handed out for technique, speed, and how much they hurt their opponent. Using the feet or knees awards the fighter more points than fists or elbows... Points will win the fight if a knockout doesn't occur

The main event took place between two fighters in the 132 pound fight class (pretty light). This fight resulted in a stunning knock-out. The loser caught a series of kicks and punches to the face that sent him spiraling to the floor. He had to be assisted from the stadium. The crowd literally roared during this fight.

View image
View image
View image
View image
View image
View image

We were also treated to an international boxing match after the main event that lasted ten rounds. This fight was also pretty good. The fighters were very well-trained and put on a terrific show. I was pretty pleased. Shaunna got to see muay thai and international boxing in one night! All in all, it was terrific way to spend the evening and watch some contact sports.