oh.my.word.
Muay Thai Boxing. a highlight of our trip. an absolute must see/do when in Thailand. put it on the itinerary. now.
i thought it would be too much uhhh...well...violence for me. i don't love boxing or wrestling and find myself having to turn my head sometimes when i see violence on the tube. i just don't like it, it makes my stomach goes in knots and my insides hurt. Now, you have to understand my boxing knowledge is limited to my Turbokick class and Rocky movies, so I will not claim to be knowledgeable on this subject, but there was something different about this. Something intriguing and athletic and strategic and cool. In muay thai you can kick, knee, punch, roundhouse (Chuck Norris, this is your sport) and all sorts of other ridiculous moves i don't know how to describe. They kick one another so hard, as their foot slaps the others body, it immediately begins to swell up and make a red whelp. They have like this relationship with the other fighter and communicate through their eyes as well as body language. They have a some stretchy stretching moves and pray and bless the ring before their match begins. Reminded me a bit of Sumo in that it was very ritualistic and traditional.
We knew we wanted to go see muay thai boxing (well, Tdub more than I) while in Bangkok. So, we traveled by Tuk Tuk to the Lumpinee stadium. As we arrived we were greeted by several salesmen, trying to sell us tickets. we were planning on just buying normal (cheap) seats in the stands, and the salesmen wouldn't sell us the nose bleeds. they insisted that we have ring side seats, because it was "sooo much closer and such a better view". :) they gave us a discount and even threw in a DVD of the boxing...thanks. needless to say, we caved and went for the "box seats" and I have to say, it was actually really worth the upgrade. :) we were engulfed in the energy, mesmerized by the people watching, the boxers, the chanting, the betting going on behind us in the "cheap seats", and intrigued by the mommas watching their young sons fight it out.
go ahead and splurge for the ring side seats. :)
the crowds behind us putting in their bets. this is serious business.
knock out! "hey guys, after you get me on the stretcher, would you mind grabbing my mouth guard too? thanks."
big fans.
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