Days 21-25 (what day is it?) Around Bangkok
[ Tommy typing ]
Dear Friends and Family, Thank you all for your concern about my making it to Bangkok on time. Like Sally posted we made it ok, and despite a little lack of sleep the International Conference was a great success. I met mushroom and fungus nerds from all over the world, a fungal crop pathologist from Iran, a medical mycologist from Guangzhou, Cordyceps experts from Thailand and Japan. Had plenty of beer and intellectual conversation with Dr. Moncalvo and Dr Howel-Jones. Saw a great lectures by Dr. Mueller and Dr. Hosaka (Oregon State alumnus, yeah). And I got to talk with several folks about future research opportunities. Blah-blah, enough fungus geek out talk.
I also met up with my former Thai classmates Aoy and Pop who came to San Franciso to study abroad in our laboratory. They went WAY out of their way to take us around Bangkok, incuding a wonderful dinner cruise through the central river in downtown Bangkok. I also met Dirk, a PhD student from Ghent university in Belgium. As most of you know, Sally had to head back to San Francisco to return to work as President and CEO of her design firm, and I - the absent minded academic with free summers - will continue my wanderings through Thailand for another week and a half.
On my last night in Bangkok, Dirk suggested that we head to the staduim for some Muay Thai (Thai boxing). For those of you unfamiliar with Muay Thai, basically two tough, skinny Tahi guys punch, elbow and kick the crap out of each other for five rounds a match. Muay Tahi comes with a long traditiopn of custom and ritual (including charging forigners way more than native Thais to watch the matches). The staduim seats are split into three classes: first-class is ringside and the white-upholstered chairs are mostly occupied by white people being waited on by ushers fetching food and drink. There is also a heavy police presece in the first class section and I learnmed later that gambling is forbidded down in first-class. Dirk and I opted for the second-class section which was far rowdier and full of characters. At 1500 baht per ticket for foriegners (about 40 bucks), it was still a bit expensive and foreigners were instructed to sit in a special section near the back. Dirk and I both having some Asian blood in our genetics ignore the “Foreigner Section” placards and nobody seemed to care or notice. Unlike first-class, the second class section is all about betting and the ruckuss resembles the floor of the stock exchange to some degree. In between rounds, old Thai dudes with gold rings and big dirty wads of cash holler over each other placing bets. After the entire night Dirk and I still had not figured out how the betting worked, but in between each round the entire secion errupted in guys yelling, holding up fingers to indicate the ammount wagered, writing down numbers on little note pads and at the end of each match A LOT of cash exchanged hands.
we exit the stadum at about 11 PM and catch a cab back to the hotel, the fights and betting are still going on inside.
I get in the backseat and Dirk takes shotgun.
Cab Driver: You go Thai boxing?
Dirk: Yes, Thai boxing
Cab Driver: After Thai boxing, get lady-massage.
Dirk: No, that’s ok
Cab Driver: Why… You go to Bagkok, get lady-massage, I take you.
Dirk: No thanks, that’s not for me.
After a long awkward silence,
Dirk: You like Thai boxing?
Cab Driver: Yea, I like Thai boxing. I like lady-massage better.
After another long silence,
Cab Driver: You want to go see ping-pong show?
I try not to pee myself laughing in the backseat…
