Days:16, 17 and 18...I think. Slackers gon' slack.

Definitely a bit behind. The internet has been in and out, so I think I'll just blame it on that.

Day 16: Banged out morning training quick (still no Kru Daam), ate breakfast and fresh off the tree coconut that Jun hacked open with a giant butcher's blade and then the Englishmen, Doug, Brendo and myself headed to Bangkok via an 80 baht minivan ride. $4 for a 2 hour trip, can't beat that. The van ride wasn't bad, not the most comfortable seats but there was A/C which was very necessary on that 92 degree day. Pii A waited for us to get on the van safely before taking off. Sho' nuff I'll be doing an entry dedicated to just Pii A, pictures and all.

Anywho, we did some gear shopping and minor sightseeing. The weather was pretty unforgiving but it could've been worse. Thanks to Doug's great navigational skills, we made it to all our destinations without a hiccup.

First, we stopped by Boon. Grade A gear shop that carried just about everything. We got some gloves, some guys got shorts, shirts, jump ropes, wraps, etc. Again, great store and the young girl working spoke some good English. Met a French dude who was training out of Kiatphontip who spoke well of the camp and wished us luck training. I guess that's not a big deal to some people, but it's pretty cool that even with the language barrier - a few charades and some Thai boxing buzzwords, we were able to have a full fledged conversation. We took a motorbike back to the end of the street as Brendan had never took one and why wouldn't you want 3 dudes on one bike?

 

Next off was Actionzone, which I was fairly familiar with from my last trip. This shop has tons of hidden gems, cheap Songchai DVD's, cheap bags, all sorts of gloves and shorts...most importantly...free water from the shop owner! Super nice lady with some good english. 

We all got what we needed and hoofed a taxi over to Rajadamnern to grab some food at this spot Doug spoke very highly of. Sure enough, Likit did not disappoint.

Straight up frog. Bones and all.

After dinner, we parted ways with the Englishmen as they would choose to stay overnight and carry on with the English debauchery and such. Doug, Brendan and I walked around for a bit...bought oreos and ate poorly before heading home on a nice air conditioned bus that gives you a complementary water.

Day 17 was Sunday, Apisit's fight. Mama took Doug, Jen, Brendan and I to see Apisit fight for Channel 7 as the main event. He fought someone I recognized but couldn't quit remember his name. We were plenty early and all the while, Mama was making her rounds like the social butterfly queen she is. Everyone knew her and made sure to wai to her as she passed...quite impressive. Probably has something to do with her son owning a well known camp and her husband being a ranking police officer. Apisit lost the fight by a hair after absolutely handling his opponent for 3 out of the 5 rounds. The first 2 rounds (that aren't really ever scored unless something significant happens) he spent picking apart his opponents legs ala basic Sitmonchai style, his opponent looking very apprehensive and unsure how to do anything but throw a lead body kick when Apisit looked to advance. Round 3, his opponent pressured the clinch to score some points and get a good lead on the fight. Apisit continued the leg kicks and landed a glancing monster left hook that shook his opponent. Round 4, Apisit bought into the clinch game and really poured it on against the ropes, even landing a massive throw that quickly rallied the crowd behind him. His opponent again, retreating with that lead body kick and making due in the clinch to make this round even. Round 5, Apisit looking much fresher than his opponent pushed and pressed and completely dogged his opponent for a good minute or two before they both conceded the round leaving it to the judges. His opponent did land 2 body kicks before the concession with methinks could've given him the round and inevitably the win.

Apisit did look kind of bummed after the fight but when you're fighting once a month, you tend not to sweat it too much. It was very cool seeing a live Channel 7 fight - Doug and Brendan even got some face time thanks to creepy mr. camera guy. My phone was dead, hence the lack of pictures...sorry.

Jun, Pornsaneh and Apisak are getting ready for their fights. P'neh had his fight changed to a week earlier which he clearly is not siked about. He looks deathly skinny right now and I am not even going to attempt to take a picture. He fights Tuesday and Jun fights Wednesday. Apisak...sometime this week, I forget. All the guys have been living in their sauna suits, constantly on the scale with little to nothing to eat or drink. They spend most of their time in their rooms and don't look too siked to be alive. Truly vicious what these guys do to cut weight.

The twins and Pii A got me to try pickled chickens feet today. I broke the toes and tried to bite the foot but got poked by the toe nail. Never again chicken feet, never again.

Day 18...well, that's today apparently. I typically don't update about the current day but since it is the end of said current day...here's your update. Slept through the morning training thanks to hell roosters keeping me up all night. I hate you roosters...I hate you with a fiery passion. Every fiber of my being. Crow once and crow at the appropriate time and I'll retract my slander. Until then, get chopped up and fed to me you terrible spawns of Satan.

Taam returned from his home visit and I actually got a video of him kicking pads. The younger guys seem to be warming up to us more and more, probably because the big guys have been keeping to themselves avoiding as much human contact as possible. Got to hit with Kru Daam this afternoon with my new gloves. Forgot how much I hate breaking in new gloves although these Boon gloves are pretty awesome. Longer wrist wrap to prevent too much bending if you miss on a punch. 3 rounds on Thai pads, one round on mitts, 2 rounds on leg kicks. Afterwards we do what they refer to as "Sa-peed" or 'speed' aka sprints. Sprint up and down the driveway, 5 pushups, repeat x5. Doesn't seem like much, but after pads and before weight training, it definitely gets ya especially when you do it in groups of 3 or so...keeping it competitive.

We ate a great dinner afterwards followed by...FRIED BANANAS. I don't even care how bad they may or may not be, I ate my bodyweight in them and I felt no remorse. After dinner and copious amounts of snacking, we made our way to the evening market spot as there was a huge M-150 sponsored concert there. It was essentially a night market with a huge stage and giant bouncy slides. Brendan and I fed an elephant who wiped it's trunk snot on Brendo's shirt. Gross Mr. Elephant, gross.

Tomorrow: P'neh's triumphant return to Lumpinee!