When I was in Siem Reap, Cambodia, I met three other girls travelling solo when I signed up for the Angkor Wat tour at the hostel I was staying in; we got on well and ended up sticking together the next few days. One of the girls, Masha, heard of a Muay Thai fight that was taking place and asked if we fancied going along, I am always up for new experiences and felt that since Muay Thai is so popular here that I should go along and see for myself what it is like. It was also quite an important fight, I'd been told, and was going to be televised - so that clinched the deal! Boxing, wrestling and fighting has never been something that I've been interested in and I wasn't even sure if I liked the idea of it at all - it seems so aggressive and violent; but going to the Muay Thai fight completely changed my opinion and I actually now can see it as a sport and respect the competitors. The men were incredibly lean and disciplined, they showed a huge amount of respect for their opposition and fans. Watching the four fights and some junior rounds as well really made me appreciate the training, skill, discipline, fitness and agility that is required for Muay Thai.
The receptionist at our hostel said there was a man also going to the fight and asked if he could join us in the tuk tuk and share the cost of the ride - of course we didn't mind (although the tuk tuk driver took some persuading to let us squeeze 5 people in!) and it transpired that our new friend was in fact a boxer himself and had fought at the same indoor arena. So, it turned out to be a strong case of it's not what you know, it's who you know! We were given VIP seats on the stage with the best view of the arena! Cue lots of inquisitive stares from local Cambodians and from the few other travelers also
there!
On the stage in the VIP seats.
A tiny (super cute) fan!
A short clip of one of the fights:
That's the end of this post folks! I hope you enjoyed reading - let me know what you think? My advice; if you're traveling in Asia, definitely go and see a Muay Thai fight - even if you don't think you'll enjoy it, you might be like me and surprise yourself!
No comments:
Post a Comment