Muay Thai & Rally at Koh Lanta

Alright, Tanja is taking a nap again so I can update the blog. I wish I also could sleep anywhere, anytime.

After a loooong muay thai free week we finally got a chance to see some more thai boxing at Koh Lanta. On Sunday Jan 14th there was a big event called Battle of Charity at Lanta Stadium baan Phra Ae, which is quite a big and very popular boxing arena. On that evening 15 fights took place and the tickets were expensive - again. We tried to get cheaper tickets by convincing the staff that we want to sit farther away from the ring and not by the ring side. They tried to explain that as foreigners, we have to buy the ring side ticket for 1200 baht but we can sit anywhere we want to. What's the logic in that? Finally we managed to negotiate the price to 1000 baht for ring side. When we got inside we decided to sit near the ring but not on the soft seats, which most probably are meant for farangs. And also we wanted to be as near to a ring corner as possible, as watching the trainers & families during the fight is very entertaining.

During the first fight the arena was filling up slowly but surely. The people from Koh Lanta were eager to see a local champion Penthai Sitnomnoi fighting. At some point we noticed that our section was full of very excited & loud men and money was changing owner frequently. We were sitting in the middle of bookies and men were shouting towards our seats from every direction. What an atmosphere!!! I also got to hand over money a few times.

For everyone's delight the local champion won :) Also a german guy won by knock out. It was a great evening. A special mention for the gorgeous tattooed fighter Manggornpek from Bangkok. I might have to stalk him somewhere...

The next evening we found out there's a fight evening on another boxing stadium. For that one we got stadium tickets for 700 baht and we thought that's where the locals sit. Well.... not really. The arena was quite a bit smaller than the one night before and it was filling up really slowly. With tourists :( Of which 90 % were swedes as a swedish dude was having the main fight.

One hour after the previously announced starting time disco lights went on and the first small 10 year old fighters came to the ring. The stadium looked more like a disco than a boxing arena and during the rounds they played Top 10 hits. Jeez... The atmosphere was quite something else than the night before, also the french couple making out next to us made us want to puke. Get a room!!! But nevertheless, it's always a pleasure to watch the fights. The thais can really kick, but clearly lack on boxing skills. That's how the swede also won his fight, it took only about a minute for him to land a good right straight and the opponent's lights went out.

I'm excited to see what Krabi has to offer on thai boxing!

And yes, rally. We decided to rent a scooter for a day because it's the easiest and cheapest way to explore the island. I drove my grandmom's moped in the summers when I was a teenager, but haven't touched a 2-wheel ever since so first I had to ask some quite stupid questions first: where's the brake, how do I start this thing, where's the tank... No wonder the guy looked a bit worried but Tanja convinced him that I'm a good driver during I was doing a test round in the hotel yard.

And driving a scooter is really a no-brainer. There's a scooter rally going on on the streets of Koh Lanta, everybody drives one. I of course drove very safely and slowly as I also had a passenger (this sentence is directed to Tanja's parents). I actually don't have any idea if I need a motorcycle license to drive a scooter in Finland, but in Thailand you probably just have to be tall enough so that your legs can reach the ground when you stop.

Now we are on our way to Krabi, let's hope we can find a cheap place to stay at East Railay.

Vi mår bra på Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta. A dream if you are a swede, want to speak swedish and hang out with other swedes. You can eat swedish meatballs and munch swedish candies (a diving shop here really does has imported lösgodis). Even our hotel's bar played swedish reggae. Heja heja! We didn't stay there long.

So this is an excellent chance for us to be unsocial again. That's a good thing in finns, if we hear that somebody speaks finnish in the next table, we speak in lower tone so they don't notice. The swedes on the other hand pull their tables together and act like they've known each others for years. I prefer the first option, I can see enough finns in Finland.

Otherwise Koh Lanta is actually a nice laid back island. I finally went for thai massage and the little lady tried to tie me into a knot. That was excellent, might have to go back tomorrow. And today we'll head to a thai boxing stadium but this time we'll get tickets for the locals area, I assume on the ring side the most common language is swedish. Nej tack.

We'll stay here until Monday and then it's time to move on towards Krabi. We booked a ferry directly to Railay, where I'll probably stay when Tanja flies back home on Wednesday. Or if it's also full of swedes I might head to Phuket and be social among the finns. Not.

Tomorrow we might rent a scooter and drive around the island for a day. The last time I drove a moped was 15 years ago. I'm more scared than Tanja who's the passenger. Keep your fingers crossed.

Crablife on the islands

On Monday we arrived in Trang airport in the late afternoon and thought it'll be an easy&cheap ride to get to Haadyao, where we had a few nights booked. But nope, there were no tuktuks waiting at the airport as we were told so we had to book a private car. It took us to the center of the town where we found out that last minivans had already left and the only way to get forward is to book a private van. Nice. So it was a about 400 % more expensive than we originally thought.

But anyways, after some hours we got to Haadyao nature resort in a small fishermen village and were ready for some sleep after a few obligatory Changs (Singha is so last season). The next day we did basically nothing. Explored the village a bit, had a few daytime Changs and chatted with a nice lady in a cafe and she ended up booking us to a small island nearby for the next days. Thanx a lot to Pai from Marine Room!

Haadyao is a quiet & nice place with only a few tourists around. Recommended if you're passing by to the islands and want to spend a few cheaper days in a beautiful surrounding. The beaches aren't maybe as nice but the rock formations absolutely amazing. There were also some caves nearby but we really couldn't really be bothered to do anything so we just hanged around, observed a cross eyed cat and looked lazy. And ate lots of squid of course.

On Wednesday 11th we took a longtail boat with a few local fishermen to the emerald cave at Koh Mook. The first boat broke down after about 10 minutes so they had to call a new one to bring us forward. But well, we're for sure not in a hurry, I really don't have any idea anymore which weekday & date it is if I'm not looking on my laptops calender.

At Koh Mook you have to swim about 80 meters through a dark tunnel to get to an amazing small lagoon/hidden beach whilst the waves are hitting next to the walls making a roar in the tunnel. Our timing wasn't the best one, there were quite a few other ones at the same time, but at least we weren't in a group and didn't have to swim in a row wearing life jackets. It would have been fantastic if the lagoon would have been empty but unfortunately we had to share the place with too many swedes&italians. Worth a visit for sure nevertheless.

On the way back out of the tunnel Tanja got surrounded by lots of fish and looked more than happy. Hangon keksi! It's really not fair, colorful fish like Tanja and mosquitos surround me.

The dogs also like Tanja and want constantly steal her sitting places but she has been fighting back and also has occasionally won!

After the cave trip the fishermen dropped us off at Koh Kradang where we spent the rest of the day walking around at an endless long amazing beach and also made a walking trip through the jungle to a remote small beach on the other side of the island. There's nothing really to do here, it's a true paradise island but maybe a bit too quiet for my taste. Especially as the only local ones are the ones working on the few resorts, nobody really lives here. But it's nice for a few days to relax and to take it more than easy. And to watch funny crabs on the beach. But I still don't like paying 60 baht for a small Chang.

Now we still have to decide what to do next, on 13th we should move on, maybe to Koh Lanta but it's full of swedes who pull their tables together at restaurants. But it's also too early to go to Krabi as I'll be hanging out there anyways for 10 days after Tanja goes back home. Any suggestions are welcome!!!

We love Umphang!!!

On Wednesday we flew from Bangkok to Mae Sot, which is quite near the border of Burma in western Thailand. It was a bit of a shock to see the plane but when we took a closer look, it wasn't that old, it was just really small. And bigger planes probably can't even land/take off from Mae Sot's small but cosy airport.

From Mae Sot we headed directly to Umphang with a local “bus” which was a mix between a pick-up & truck where we sat sideways for 4 hours on a road with over 1200 curves... On the way to Umphang we had some really nice company: a turtle. But it was in a leaking plastic bag so we had to pour more water to the bag to keep him/her happy. The cute little thing was on the way to Umphang to be a pet, not to land on a plate. Later we also got company from a policeman and a motorbike.

We had no idea where to stay when we got to Umphang so our “bus” driver brought us to place probably owned by his aunt/sister/mom. Nope, that wasn't a place for us, really far away and no windows in the rooms. He tried another one but the finns were on picky mood and reclined again. Finally we picked up a place from Lonely planet guide and it was the best choice we could have made.

Trekker Hill run by Mr T was terrific! We booked a trekking&rafting tour with them to Tee Lor Su waterfall, which has been called one of the most beautiful ones in the world.

Yeah a nice one, especially coz in the winter you can swim in it! And that's what we did until our guide looked so bored that we had to head back to the camp. We were also lucky to be the only ones at the fall so we swam in the huge pool alone. In the summer when it's monsoon time it's even more stunning, but the masses of water makes it impossible to dip in.

We slept in a camp a few kilometers away from the waterfall in tents (yea, I slept in a tent!!!). There were also a weird&unfriendly group of Danes and in the evening also a big group of Germans arrived and started doing odd exercises. I asked if they were Scientologists but at least they didn't admit.


We ended up in the guides&locals table having beers, nice chats and for sure much better company.

On the 2nd day we headed back to the falls for a morning swim before we trekked a few hours through the jungle back to the river & raft. And of course we saw a snake, what else... Why not a tiger or a gibbon?

Back in Umphang we stayed another night in the Trekker Hill and met up with 2 of the locals guys we had met in the jungle camp. And we had some more beers with them, first in a local bar, then at a bon fire in the yard :) We'll be back for sure and next time the beers are on us! And I'll also miss the cats!!!

On the next day it was time to leave Umphang behind, not happy at all. Mr. T had organized us bus tickets to Bangkok and when we arrived in Mae Sot we were hanging out at his brothers place. In the evening he gave us a ride to the bus station with an old hippie VW mini bus!!! And this was all without any extra charges, they were just being helpful.

It was a delight to meet all these sincerely nice & helpful people in Umphang&Mae Sot who absolutely made the trip!

Now it's time to fly to Trang & do some island hopping. Tanja also promised to start a food blog, as she's been photographing EVERYTHING we've gotten on a plate.

Muay Thai @ Lumpini

On our last night in Bangkok (Jan 3) we bought ring side tickets for Thai Boxing in the legendary Lumpini stadion. It's probably the most famous place to see some quality muay thai, and even if the price was ridiculous (1900 baht), it was for sure worth it. In that night there were 9 fights, of which quite a few were with very young boys. Or what do we know, they might have been 16-17 but looked like 12.

The locals arrived quite late and clearly came to see the main fights, which were quite something else than we're used to see in the thai box gyms in Finland. Worth every penny. Lots of knockouts! And they also served beer to the audience, points for that :)

Hopefully we'll have the chance to see some more fights in the islands with free/inexpensive tickets.

What to wear at Immortal bar?

Bangkok. City of angels and sweaty finnish women. I arrived here early yesterday after a horrible flight squeezed into a too small seat for 10 hours in a plane full of germans. Next to me sat a big smelly boy which I could have dealt with until he fell asleep and begun a snoring concert. But I do have sharp elbows and also the screaming kid woke him up eventually.

Anyways, I cant express how happy I am to be here. And I got even more happy when Tanja arrived 5 hours after me.

The first impression of the locals was superb as I got tip from the taxi driver. In most of the countries they would have made funny hand movements and pretended they don't have enough change. My driver had only big change so he of course gave me back more than we had originally agreed on the price. That's suits me for sure!

Also today we got a bit lost trying to find a pier and a local man was telling us the way we should go. After a while he and his wife drove past us and decided to give us a lift coz we probably looked like we would anyways get lost again. They also had a nice Mercedes so why not. I hope I didn't leave a big stain of sweat in the seat.

Yesterday was mostly filled up with eating & drinking at Khao San area. I suppose I don't have to tell anyone how delicious the food is down here, amazing! And to get 2 portions & 2 drinks for 3 euros... Okay if the drinks would have been beers then for 5 euros. It's quite ridiculous that I pay for a glass of latte the same as for 2 plates of food in a food stall.

Mira, my dutch friend recommended Gekko bar which was the last one we visited and yes, it is full of europeans who are stuck in Asia and quite lost in many ways. Nice evening nevertheless.

We also had to admit that Chang beats Singha big time. Important research based on quantity.

Okay time to wake up Tanja who of course is taking a nap. Then lots of seafood before it's time to test a local metal bar called of course Immortal bar. I wonder how the logo looks like.

Booking&packing

Exactly 2 more weeks and I'm gone! 5 days at work and 9 days chilling, meeting friends and taking care of last minute necessities. Which will be shopping related I assume. And yes, I know, I shouldn't buy anything here as in Bangkok (my first stop) the same product can be found wayyy cheaper. But easier said than done.

I'm also having serious problems with packing. The sport gear (climbing gear, yoga mat, hiking boots & clothing) has already filled up my backpack. When I add 3 cameras & a laptop I wont be having any space for normal clothes anymore. But how much do I really need? A bikini, 2 pair of shorts and a few sleeves tops. And a longsleeve for Malaysia. No space for a thick jacket for Tibet & Alaska. Hmmm...

And I DID manage to squeeze Tokyo into the plan!!! I even already booked a hotel, which is quite weird considering I dont know where I'll be staying in Thailand. But I found a quite "cheap" one near to the fish market so I had to grab it. Meaning I'll be eating sushi 24/7 and rolling to LA a few days later.

So, I've got the most of the important (=long) flights booked. The car problem is also solved, thanx to my parents. Now I only have to be patient and wait... Not really my speciality.