Today was a pretty lazy day for us. We mostly hung around the resort, worked on this blog, checked emails… didn’t get up to much of anything… I think we’re getting a handle on this whole island-thing.  At around 3 PM, we finally got our shit together and headed down to the beach to get some sun and sit in the water on our chairs.

Since I sort of got on the subject of “things that get expelled from one’s body”, I’d like to share an interesting observation. Some readers have military or law enforcement experience. So, they are familiar with Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray. However, most everyone else will know it by it’s more common names; Pepper Spray, Bear Spray, and Dog Spray. How’s this relevant you ask? Well, dear readers, there comes a point in one’s gastronomic journey that you reach a milestone… a highlight, if you will. You know you’ve consumed too many spicy pepper products in too short a time when you have created (discovered?), CO Spray. That would be one of the most intense, debatably non-lethal man-stoppers ever brought into the light of day; Colonic Oleo-capsicum Spray. Johnny Cash would be done proud; every time one “fluffies” there’s a “Burning Ring of Fire”, the crowd disperses, and the room clears out… plus all the “What the hell was that” looks, coughing, and tear filled eyes.

Anyway, I digress; we had our usual sun-downer at the beach and retired to the room to get showered-up. We had originally planned to walk up the beach to find a different restaurant for dinner. But when we got to the beach and saw their sign and all the tables all lined up on the sand, we figured what the heck and helped ourselves to seats.

Beach sign for San’s Sunset Bar.

During dinner, a number of vendors came by offering “Sky Lanterns” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_lantern). Eventually, some of the tourists bought some, lit them, and released them to float up and out over the Andaman Sea.

Lighting and preparing a Sky Lantern.

Sky Lantern taking flight.

Peaceful and romantic, eh? Well, back to reality; we finished dinner, hopped a tuk-tuk, and we were at the fights. Technically, we were at the “Williams Thai Boxing Stadium” for “Max Fight 7”; the season-closing  Muay Thai Boxing tournament here on Koh Lanta. There were five bouts billed with one being an “International” between a Thai and a Norwegian. This stadium is actually a tin-roofed, open-sided structure with a bar at one end, rough-hewn 2X4 bleacher seating on two sides, VIP seating on one side, and with ring-side seating surrounding the boxing ring.

Round Board at stadium.

Muay Thai Boxing ring.

Bar at one end of the stadium.

The Farang-section of the bleachers.

Cute toilet sign.

Over-all, this event did not have the sophistication or the organization that characterized the operation of the tournament in Chiang Mai. However, we both felt the calibre of the fights was actually better here.

Bout #1.

Bout #1 – to the mat.

Bout #1 – charging forward.

Bout #1 – taken down again.

Bout #1 – ends in a KO.

Bout #2.

Bout #3 – that kick had to hurt.

Bout #3 – close but missed.

Bout #3 – that knocked him back.

Bout #4 – fighter and Rasta-cornerman.

Bout #4 – collision.

Bout #4 – knock-down.

Bout #4 – connects to the head.

Bout #4 – down for the count.

Bout #5 – pre-fight ritual.

Bout #5 – both coming forward.

Bout #5 – good inside leg-kick.

Bout #5 – barely checked that kick in time.

Bout #5 – got that Thai Clinch.

Bout #5 – ends in a KO.

Bout #5 – the Norwegian is still out.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of empty seats in the stadium; there would’ve been even more if the locals hadn’t been ushered in to fill some of them after the first bout had started. If the promoters weren’t so greedy and dropped their prices, they would see a lot more ticket-buying Farang butts in those seats. They were charging 1200 Baht (about $36 USD) for ring-side and VIP tickets and 800 Baht (about $26 USD) for stadium seats. The Chiang Mai prices were a comparative bargain at 600 Baht (about $19 USD) and 400 Baht (about $13 USD) respectively. This stadium had the better fights but the Chiang Mai tournament was a better all-around Muay Thai experience. In either case, no one at either stadium complained about or even raised an eyebrow about my smoking cigars during the fights.

The tuk-tuks were all lined up in front of the stadium. So, we got one to give us a ride back to the resort.