It’s Friday night and the smell of Icy Hot and sweat permeate the air as we sit down to our front row seats in Kawilla Stadium to watch Thailand’s national sport, Mauy Thai. With a cold Singha in hand we are ready for the boxing matches to begin. The fighting is also known as the “Art of Eight limbs” as hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all potential weapons against your opponent. We wouldn’t want to be in the ring with these guys. Here’s a video clip to make our point (not sure it’s quite a fair fight
Australian vs. Thai, allegedly the same weight class).
It’s hell on wheels in the morning when we rent a motorbike to explore the city for the day. First stop after donning our striking safety helmets is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. We hike up the just over 300 steps to the temple drowning in the humidity and throngs of people. The temple is set up on the mountain side
which provides a nice view of the city and also houses a model “emerald Buddha.” Later in the evening we set out in search of the forest temple Wat Umong, where supposedly you can hear the Buddhist monks chanting, but after almost an hour of searching we didn’t find it. To make up for the disappointment we head out for a Khantoke Dinner. This involves authentic northern Thai food, like pork curry, and chili-tomato-minced pork. While you eat traditional dances are performed like the freaky fingernail dance to the candle dance.
We spend the next couple days being bums, getting a 2 hour Thai massage, stocking up on reading material, and strolling down the huge Sunday night market sampling the yummy treats. On our last day we rented some shotty 8 baht/hr bikes, determined to find the chanting monks of Wat Umong. Surviving the 45 minute bike ride out of the old
city with crappy brakes and a flat tire we finally come upon the temple. Just in time for the supposed chanting sessions, we find a nice bench near the lake and watch the locals feed the catfish as we patiently wait to be rewarded for our efforts. Time goes by and no chanting, but we do chat with a couple friendly monks from Bangkok before we drag ourselves back to the guest house to figure out how we are planning the next couple of weeks.
It’s Friday night and the smell of Icy Hot and sweat permeate the air as we sit down to our front row seats in Kawilla Stadium to watch Thailand’s national sport, Mauy Thai. With a cold Singha in hand we are ready for the boxing matches to begin. The fighting is also known as the “Art of Eight limbs” as hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all potential weapons against your opponent. We wouldn’t want to be in the ring with these guys. Here’s a video clip to make our point (not sure it’s quite a fair fight Australian vs. Thai, allegedly the same weight class).
It’s hell on wheels in the morning when we rent a motorbike to explore the city for the day. First stop after donning our striking safety helmets is Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep. We hike up the just over 300 steps to the temple drowning in the humidity and throngs of people. The temple is set up on the mountain side 
which provides a nice view of the city and also houses a model “emerald Buddha.” Later in the evening we set out in search of the forest temple Wat Umong, where supposedly you can hear the Buddhist monks chanting, but after almost an hour of searching we didn’t find it. To make up for the disappointment we head out for a Khantoke Dinner. This involves authentic northern Thai food, like pork curry, and chili-tomato-minced pork. While you eat traditional dances are performed like the freaky fingernail dance to the candle dance.
We spend the next couple days being bums, getting a 2 hour Thai massage, stocking up on reading material, and strolling down the huge Sunday night market sampling the yummy treats. On our last day we rented some shotty 8 baht/hr bikes, determined to find the chanting monks of Wat Umong. Surviving the 45 minute bike ride out of the old 
city with crappy brakes and a flat tire we finally come upon the temple. Just in time for the supposed chanting sessions, we find a nice bench near the lake and watch the locals feed the catfish as we patiently wait to be rewarded for our efforts. Time goes by and no chanting, but we do chat with a couple friendly monks from Bangkok before we drag ourselves back to the guest house to figure out how we are planning the next couple of weeks.
This brings our “Lightning Striketh Scoreboard” (all things un-PC and taboo) to the following:
All joking aside we find Buddhism an interesting religion and respect the way of life. When we thought of monks, we envisioned gentle smiling old men dressed in saffron robes that remained secluded in their temples. However, this image is not quite accurate as you see adolescent boys to old men walking the streets and riding trains (still draped in orange cloaks) carrying electronics like cell phones and cameras. Something we didn’t really expect. We also noticed that a lot of monks are heavily tattooed, which come to find is for spiritual protection and blessing. Despite a different impression, these monks still radiate a peaceful and pleasant charm while living a modern life. 
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