Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [131]
Thailand Cultural Centre (Map; 0 2247 0028; www.thaiculturalcenter.com; Th Ratchadaphisek btwn Th Thiam Ruammit & Th Din Daeng; Metro Thailand Cultural Centre) Occasionally, classical dance performances are held at this venue featuring a concert hall, art gallery and outdoor studios. International dance and theatre groups are also profiled, especially during the International Festival of Music & Dance, held twice a year in June and September. Call for upcoming events as the website doesn’t carry an up-to-date schedule.
Dusit Palace Park (Click here) also hosts daily classical dance performances at 10am and 2pm.
Thai Boxing
Thai boxing’s best of the best fight it out at Bangkok’s two boxing stadiums: Lumphini Stadium (Sanam Muay Lumphini; Map; 0 2251 4303; Th Phra Ram IV; tickets 3rd/2nd class/ringside 1000/1500/2000B; Metro Lumphini) and Ratchadamnoen Stadium (Sanam Muay Ratchadamnoen; Map; 0 2281 4205; Th Ratchadamnoen Nok; tickets 3rd/2nd class/ringside 1000/1500/2000B; bus 70, 503, 509). You’ll note that tickets are not cheap, and these prices are exponentially more than what Thais pay. To add insult to injury, the inflated price offers no special service or seating, and at Ratchadamnoen Stadium foreigners are sometimes corralled into an area with an obstructed view. As long as you are mentally prepared for the financial jabs from the promoters, you’ll be better prepared to enjoy the real fight.
Ringside puts you right up in the central action but amid a fairly subdued crowd where gambling is prohibited. Second-class seats are filled with backpackers and numbers runners who take the bets from the crowd. Like being in the pit of a stock exchange, hand signals fly between the 2nd- and 3rd-class areas communicating bets and odds. The 3rd-class area is the rowdiest section. Fenced off from the rest of the stadium, most of the die-hard fans follow the match (or their bets) too closely to sit down. If you’re lukewarm on watching two men punch and kick each other, then 3rd-class offers the diversion of the crowd.
Fights are held throughout the week, alternating between the two stadiums. Ratchadamnoen hosts the matches on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6pm and on Sunday at 5pm. Lumphini hosts matches on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at 6pm. Aficionados say the best-matched bouts are reserved for Tuesday nights at Lumphini and Thursday nights at Ratchadamnoen. There is a total of eight to 10 fights of five rounds a piece. The stadiums don’t usually fill up until the main events, which usually start around 8pm or 9pm.
There are English-speaking ‘staff’ standing outside the stadium who will practically tackle you upon arrival. Although there have been a few reports of scamming, most of these assistants help steer visitors to the foreigner ticket windows and hand out a fight roster; they can also be helpful in telling you which fights are the best match-ups between contestants. (Some say that welterweights, between 135lb and 147lb, are the best.) To keep everyone honest, though, remember to purchase tickets from the ticket window, not from a person outside the stadium.
As a prematch warm-up, grab a plate of gài yâhng (grilled chicken) and other northeastern dishes from the restaurants surrounding the Ratchadamnoen Stadium.
SHOPPING
Welcome to a true buyer’s market. Home to one of the world’s largest outdoor markets, numerous giant upscale malls, and sidewalk-clogging bazaars on nearly every street, it’s impossible not to be impressed by the amount of commerce in Bangkok. However, despite the apparent scope and variety, Bangkok really only excels in one area when it comes to shopping: cheap stuff. The city is not the place to buy a new Nikon SLR or a (real) Fendi handbag – save those for online warehouses in the US or bargain-basement sales in Hong Kong. Ceramics, dirt-cheap T-shirts, fabric, Asian knick-knackery