Matt Fong’s Blog

Last week Pattaya celebrated the Vegetarian Food festival which has its roots dating back to the Chinese living in Phuket. I didn’t know much about it, other than catching the tailwind of a parade that marched through Pattaya but apparently in Phuket they celebrate by putting swords and sticks through their cheeks and mouths (nothing like that in Pattaya, tho). I found this website with more background information and photos. Many Thais as a way to cleanse their body practiced vegetarianism for 10-days. Food stalls selling products without meat can be seen through the city displaying small yellow and red flags. Next year, I’m going to Phuket for sure!

Yesterday was Election Day in Thailand and nothing struck me as all that different, except one thing. Apparently Thai law forbids the selling of alcohol on Election Day and the night before, presumably to prevent people from voting intoxicated. I don’t know if it’s just me and the ideas of individual freedom American culture has instilled upon me, but I don’t need a government telling me when I can and cannot drink, and if I want to vote intoxicated, its my damn right! Anyway, I don’t really care, just found it wonderfully peaceful last night.

I took a short (but long airplane ride) trip back to the States last week and it was okay, but now its back to work in Thailand.

Last weekend Bangkok hosted the Thailand Open tennis tournament. I’m not a big tennis fan but it was interesting observing my Thai foot masseur and her friends watch the match on television. It’s heartening seeing the patriotism that rallies Thais behind other Thais competing at the international level. Sort of like the feeling I get watching an American win an Olympic sporting event. I wrote similarly in a previous post about a Thai actor gaining international fame and society’s reaction. It was also funny watching my friends comically laugh at the farang tennis opponent as he mouthed profanities into the camera after losing some crucial matches, a big no-no in Thai culture if you’re trying to preserve “face”.

Sunday night I treated (maybe this isn’t the right word) myself to an evening at the Thappasit Boxing Stadium for a few rounds of Muay Thai Boxing. At 600 baht a head (almost certainly the foreigner price) I can positively say I’ll never go again. All I really wanted was some traditional Thai boxing apart from the staged fights most tourists observe on Pattaya’s famed Walking Street. I got what I wanted and a little too much of what I didn’t. Muay Thai is a raw and rather vicious form of boxing that allows the use of kicking, kneeing, and elbowing, an unprotected opponent (competitors do wear boxing gloves). There’s a referee that is alert and shows authority, and sportsmanship and respect for Buddha traditions amongst the competitors. There was even active betting amongst many of the local Thais who were happily engaged in the night’s entertainment. What I didn’t like seeing was the ten, twelve, and fourteen year-olds (girls too) being put center stage in front of drunk foreigners intent on encouraging children to harm their opponents, but what’s new in Pattaya.