That One Time I Went Boxing on Ko Phi Phi

I spent loads of my first journey around the globe partying. I used to be twenty-five and able to minimize free after 1 / 4 century of dwelling a reasonably sheltered, middle-class life. In my thoughts, loads of backpacking was about assembly fellow vacationers, partying, and saying sure to something that got here your means. And that always result in some outrageous experiences.

Like getting right into a boxing ring in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand.

Before I started that journey in 2006, I used the web site MyHouse to satisfy vacationers prematurely, since, as an introvert, I used to be very nervous that I wouldn’t make any buddies on the highway. MyHouse had loads of journey teams, so I reached out to folks in hopes of assembly up with them on the journey. (I used to be early to utilizing the net as a social software: I had a weblog in 2001, and I met my first girlfriend on Friendster again when assembly folks on-line was taboo.)

After touchdown in Bangkok on the finish of that 12 months, I occurred to run into Lindsay within the airport, a Brit I used to be scheduled to satisfy later that week in Krabi. She was together with her buddies John and Stephanie. As luck would have it, we had been on the identical flight to Phuket, so we determined to start out our journey collectively early.

In Phuket, we had booked lodging on the hostel made well-known by the film The Beach. It was as horrible because the movie made it out to be, with skinny partitions, soiled loos, and exhausting beds. We stayed one night time.

From there, we went to Ko Phi Phi, the place we deliberate to spend three nights. The island was nonetheless reeling from the tsunami that had devastated it two years earlier than, a cacophony of noise because it tried to rebuild itself. There was particles and building all over the place, and lots of companies had been nonetheless closed and houses deserted.

We discovered an affordable room on the far finish of the primary city, bunking collectively to economize, a traveler’s most treasured commodity.

That night time, we did what backpackers do on the island: we partied. We ate low cost meals within the bustling night time market, with distributors promoting overpriced pad thai to vacationers who didn’t know higher. From there, went from bar to bar, getting progressively drunker, earlier than ending up on the Reggae Bar, which is legendary for 2 causes: buckets of low cost booze and a boxing ring within the heart.

But the ring isn’t for watching skilled Thai boxers. No, it’s there so backpackers can watch different backpackers beat the shit out of one another totally free buckets of booze. (A “bucket” is Thai whiskey, Red Bull, and Coke in a baby’s seaside pail. It will get you very smashed.)

As we obtained drunker and drunker, James dared me to go field within the ring. “Come on! We need more booze,” he stated egging me on.

As the night time wore on and the alcohol did its factor, I made a decision to say fuck it. “Fine, I’ll do it,” I agreed, giving in to the will to say sure to something and impress my new buddies.

I ended up within the ring with an outsized German man who was about as drunk as I used to be.

“Go easy on me,” I stated. “I’ve never been in a fight.”

“No problem. This is just for fun anyway,” he replied in a slurred, accented voice.

Being drunk, I obtained a bit overzealous and didn’t “go easy” on him. I obtained aggressive, touchdown blows the place I may, and the primary spherical was referred to as in my favor.

In the second, he fought again, not eager to lose to an American who was half his measurement. His blows harm, even in my drunken state.

That spherical was referred to as for him.

In the ultimate spherical, we each obtained a bit aggressive. He simply defeated me, because the ref, not wanting me to get too pummeled, rapidly referred to as the spherical — and match — for him.

But everybody loves an underdog, so boos erupted from the viewers.

Aiming to please the group, the bar additionally ended up giving me a free bucket, and the German man and I cheered one another. His buddies joined mine, and we partied the night time away.

The subsequent morning, once I wakened, I used to be stiff as a board and had a horrible hangover. Though simply evenly bruised, I may barely transfer. Every a part of my physique ached.

“Why is everything sore? What did we do last night?”

It took a couple of minutes, after which it hit me (so to talk).

“Ohhh, yeah, I boxed someone last night!”

While I used to be not considering of the repercussions to my physique the night time earlier than, I used to be effectively attuned to them now. It was like a truck had backed up and down my physique a number of instances as I laid flat in mattress.

My buddies and I laughed and joked about how silly it was to field somebody double my measurement for some alcohol. I lay there aching as my buddies obtained prepared, till I lastly needed to dress myself. We headed to the seaside to take in the solar on the sand and get some breakfast.

Boxing in that ring was one of many extra spontaneous issues I did on that journey and, whereas I gained’t ever do it once more, it’s a type of “fuck yes” moments that introduced me nearer to my buddies and made for a superb reminiscence.

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