Thai Country Fair

I just attended a country fair in a village near Kang’s village. It was a tribute to some ancestors. Laid out in the dry rice fields next to the village were some small rides, games and food booths but the main attractions were the Likay (Thai theatre) and Muay Thai (Thai Boxing). There must have been over a thousand people there and it was as much a treat for them as it was for me, as I have wanted to go to some muay Thai for awhile. The Thais are very much enamored to this, their national sport. Young boys train and compete for a chance at fame and stardom. Indeed a Thai man can have been both a boxer and a monk during his lifetime. They take this sport seriously and indeed enjoy it immensely as I do myself. Kang and First settled in to watch the Likay as she likes this drama much and I went to the ring. The air was thick with the smell of liniment and the pungent buri cigarettes that Thai country folk like to smoke. It wasn’t easy trying to get a good position for a photographic view. At one point I was perched on a berm overlooking the ring. I started getting bitten by small red fire ants. A Thai man noticing my discomfort remarked “mot” which means ant and I nodded yes that I indeed understood but kept right on shooting. I ended up taking over 600 photos that night. Ah the beauty of digital! I’m not sure how many ant bites I took but my one foot was swollen up for 2 days. The boxing started out with very young boys in the 5-7 year old range. After about 5 or 6 bouts I was wondering when the older fighters would enter the ring. Then came 2 old guys late 50’s early 60’s that probably had been good fighters in their day. One guy fell into the ring as he climbed over the ropes. The crowd just roared, they loved it. They put on a very spirited and amusing fight and were both declared winners. The best fight of the evening was between 2 15-16 year olds. They both enjoyed their fight tremendously and neither could be beat. After a few hours I went back to watch the Likay but couldn’t understand much. It seems to be Indian inspired costumes and make up with comedy and slapstick thrown in with good measure. I do see where Thai television soap operas get their drama from. First and I went back ring side for a while. We finally left about 2 AM though Kang said she could watch the Likay all night. You mean they have this all night! I exclaimed. Yes, till 5 or 6 in the morning.