First night in the Kok and what do ya know, there just so happened to be a big fight going on at the local arena! After a pretty exhausting first day, watching two Thai guys slug it out sounded like a delightful way to spend the evening. As I mentioned in this previous post First Day in Bangkok!, my tuk tuk driver was an ex Muy Thai fighter and gave me the scoop on what to expect and sensing my excitement even offered to drive me there for free. Score!
Upon arrival, my driver hollered at one of the promoter girls out front who presented me with a price listing. Both she and the driver highly recommended that I take one of the ringside seats, which were quite a bit more expensive, but had a much better view and more importantly were sectioned off from the local crowd which I was warned can get pretty wild at these events. Alright ringside it was!
Check out the video below to step into the action, front and center!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BmKzyRCnhI
Haha it was pretty cool! Now, it wasn't as brutal as I was expecting, which was honestly kind of a let down, but the fights had a cool flow to them, with the fighters moving in sync with the weird rhythmic music playing in the background. The music also added some dramatic effect, getting louder and faster as the action progressed. Overall though it felt like more of an exhibition of the sport than a real gritty fight. There were no knockouts and none of the fighters sustained any real damage. At times they seemed to just be dancing around the ring waiting for the bell to sound, even if they were clearly losing. I also disagreed with several of the outcomes, with one guy clearly winning only for the other to get his hand raised in the end. I'm gonna have to brush up on my Muy Thai scoring for next time!
However, what really lent legitimacy to the whole thing was the sold out crowd, which was red hot the entire night. While those of us at ringside enjoyed the action from our posh little chairs, the crowd behind us in the bleachers stood the entire night and were fully vested in each fight. The roar of the crowd following a good shot or flurry of action was almost as electric as the fight itself. I caught myself looking back and forth, as the commotion in the crowd was nearly as compelling as the action in the ring! And it didn't let up in between rounds either as that is when all the betting occurred. So as the bell signaled the end of each round, chaos ensued in the stands with people fighting to secure their next bet. Very entertaining.
Although it wasn't quite as extreme as I had expected, overall it was a cool experience, and I enjoyed the fact that the locals were so into it. While a lot of things to do in Bangkok seemed overly touristy, this definitely did not. It was a packed house full of locals having a ball while enjoying the centuries old sport that their country made famous, and I was happy to be a part of that.
Posted with Blogsy
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