Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [155]
Admission fees are the same at both stadiums and vary according to seating. Ringside seats (2000B) are the most expensive and will be filled with subdued VIPs; tourists usually opt for the 2nd-class seats (1500B); and diehard moo·ay tai fans bet and cheer from 3rd class (1000B). If you’re thinking these prices sound a bit steep for your average fight fan (taxi drivers are big fans and they make about 600B a day), then you’re right. Foreigners pay more than double what Thais do.
We recommend the 2nd- or 3rd-class seats. Second class is filled with numbers-runners who take bets from fans in rowdy 3rd class, which is fenced off from the rest of the stadium. Akin to being in a stock-exchange pit, hand signals communicating bets and odds fly between the areas. Most fans in 3rd class follow the match (or their bets) too closely to sit down, and we’ve seen stress levels rise near to boiling point. It’s all very entertaining.
Most programs have eight to 10 fights of five rounds each. English-speaking ‘staff’ outside the stadium, who will practically tackle you upon arrival, hand you a fight roster and steer you to the foreigners’ ticket windows; they can also be helpful in telling you which fights are the best match-ups (some say that welterweights, between 61.2kg and 66.7kg, are the best). To keep everyone honest, however, remember to purchase tickets from the ticket window, not from a person outside the stadium. For more on the fighters and upcoming programs, see www.muaythai2000.com.
The Isan restaurants on the north side of Ratchadamnoen stadium are well known for their gài yâhng (grilled chicken) and other northeastern dishes; a visit is something of a fight-night tradition.
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ĐÀ·GRÔR
Sometimes called ‘Siamese football’ in old English texts, đà·grôr (also spelt takraw) refers to a game in which a woven rattan or plastic ball about 12cm in diameter is kicked around. Đà·grôr is also popular in several neighbouring countries and is a hotly contested sport in the Southeast Asian Games.
Traditionally đà·grôr is played by men standing in a circle (the size of which depends on the number of players) and trying to keep the ball airborne by kicking it soccer style. Points are scored for style, difficulty and variety of kicking manoeuvres. Like watching someone juggling a football, there is something quite mesmeric about watching the best players stand about 8m apart and volley the lôok đà·grôr back and forth, sometimes hitting it with their heel while completely unsighted after it has sailed over their heads. Modern competitive đà·grôr (known as Sepak Takraw) is played with a volleyball net, using feet and head instead of hands. At the 2009 Southeast Asian Games, Thailand won in five of the eight categories.
Pick-up games are played throughout the city, most commonly in Lumphini Park (Map; Th Phra Ram IV; Lumphini; Ratchadamri, Sala Daeng) and National Stadium (Map; 0 2214 0120; Th Phra Ram I; National Stadium).
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