Chiang Mai: Ong Bak & Thai Massages

Okay, that’s probably the only name I can relate to Muay Thai boxing--- that, or my brother who took some Muay Thai classes a few years back. On the first day we arrived to Chiang Mai we decided to do two things we’ve been wanting to do while here in Thailand: get a Thai massage and watch a fight.

Thai Massage
We walked along the street where our guest house, Same Same was and found a massage parlor that was around our price range. I was really excited to get one since I’ve heard so many great things about Thai massages and because we’ve been lugging around our backpacks from place to place, so it was an alleviating feeling to know that I could finally get the knots out and feel the sensation of relaxation.

We walked into this parlor, got situated and prepared for the massage by washing our feet and removing our clothing and getting into towels. We chose the oil massage, which smelled quite sweet. My masseuse was a male, a shorter man who literally felt like he was pounding me into my bed, it’s no wonder why I felt an immediate forgiveness from my body by experiencing a relaxed feeling. I tried not to laugh as much because I was still very uneasy that it was a male who was massaging and rubbing oil on me. Shouldn’t they ask? What if the client has a preference? I think they should take that into consideration. He also did this back cracking method where I sat with my legs crossed and he sits behind me with his knees hugged into his chest and started running them into my back. I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. He was so small. I was way too big for him to be massaging my back like that. Once our massages were over, we agreed that we would get one again possibly in the islands, one with a better ambiance—this place had cell phones ringing, people talking and décor in the room that just didn’t exude relaxation.

Muay Thai Boxing

So far, Lara and I have broken 2 rules that female backpackers should not do: 1. Do not accept rides from strangers (when we got lost in Vang Vieng after tubing and got into that mini-van) and 2. Do not walk in dark alleyways. The latter we had no other option since we had a map to get to Kawila boxing stadium and knew no alternative way to get there. We walked for about an hour outside of old Chiang Mai city center which is surrounded by a moat. We found ourselves an hour and 30 minutes early to the fight so we managed to get good seats and take lots of pictures. On this night, there was a special fight that included 3 foreigners from France and Canada (not sure which country had 2 foreigners fighting) in line to fight local Thai fighters.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Muay Thai, it is a traditional Thai boxing that typically used eight points to attack an opponent using the hands, shins, elbows and knees. The fight was everything that I expected, the four B’s: bloody, brutal, full of booze, and betting. I saw that majority of the audience was populated with foreigners which somewhat comforts me at times because it generally indicates that one of them speaks English and reminds me that I could communicate with people when we’re lost. Each fight felt like it ran on for about 10 minutes or more, some were quicker than others since (in my opinion) they were paired up unfairly. I’m really not sure how long all these fights ran until since neither of us owns a watch or a charger for our phones and because we opted out of viewing the last 2 fights.

One memorable fight we watched was luckily caught on camera by Lara. I don’t remember where this foreigner was from, but he was really funny when he fought because he ran around the ring during his fight. Watch the video!

I mentioned earlier that some of the fights were paired up unfairly. I think even the Thai fighters knew it. Typically, before fights, they would stretch and have their own regimens; some just lounged at the corner of the ring fearing the imminent pain. Others gave us a Hollywood show by immediately dropping to the ground, resulting in a t.k.o. Who knows if that was real or not. One thing that was interesting was the very first fight. All the fights were organized by weight class in ascending order. The lighter weight class jump started our muay thai boxing experience. It was really fascinating to see these kids fight, they were so young and fragile! I think I weighed as much as them when I was like 6 years old. So tiny!

t.k.o.!

The drummers who play during the fight. In Muay Thai, there's a specific beat the fighters begin their attack with.

Collectively, our first day in Chiang Mai was a positive one. It’s nice to experience the touristy part of Thailand as well and do all these things that are advertised in guide books. I think we had a good balance with Isara and these next few weeks of traveling throughout Thailand.