Erawan Shrine Destroyed
Posted by Stuart at 11:22 AM on March 22, 2006One of the favorite spots in Bangkok for locals and tourists alike is the Hindu shrine at the Erawan Hotel at the Ratchaprasong intersection. I've even been known to take out-of-town visitors there. Every night the area around the shrine is packed with worshippers and tourists snapping photos. The air is heavy with smoke from the incense and from the smell of jasmine flowers. It is a very unique and special place.
The image was placed there about 50 years ago for "Good Luck" for the businesses on that corner. This is a common practice in Thailand, but for some reason, this particular shrine became one of the most popular one in the entire city. Interestingly enough, it was made of plaster, because they didn't have time to make a metal one before the "auspicious time" chosen to bless the statue in it's new home.
Unfortunately, the luck has run out for this Hindu image. Sometime last night a mentally-deranged man climbed the fence with a hammer and attacked the plaster image, destroying it completely. If only they had more time to build a metal one fifty years ago...
The Thai government has immediately promised to rebuild the shrine within two months, as it is so loved by the people of Bangkok.
(The picture of the destroyed shrine on the left was taken from the Thai Rath newspaper's website. The article, in Thai Language, is here.)
Buri Guest House on Thong Lo and a Muay Thai Match at Lumpinee
Posted by Stuart at 10:44 PM on March 24, 2006I made another trip to the Bangkok airport today -- this time to pick up my friend Augusta from San Francisco. She's spending the next three or four months in Southeast Asia and her first stop is Bangkok.
Stephen also returned this morning from Sri Lanka, where he has spent the last three weeks building houses for tsunami victims. So that's two friends who are here on multi-month vacations. Must be nice to be unemployed!
After picking up Augusta at the airport, I took her to a guest house on Thong Lo. This place is a hidden gem to be sure. It offers rooms with air conditioning that are steps away from the Thong Lo BTS station for the low, low price of only 400 baht (US$10). The guest house is called Buri Guest House, and I highly recommend it if you are looking for cheap, convenient lodging in Bangkok.
Surprisingly, Augusta then talked Stephen and I into joining her for a Muay Thai (Thai Kickboxing) match at Lumpinee Park. Now I have lived in Bangkok for almost three years, and I have never seen a real Muay Thai match. I'm not a big fan of boxing in general, and I've heard the tickets were very expensive for farang. Well, the tickets were indeed expensive (2000 baht, or US$50 for ringside seats) but I actually enjoyed the sport, for the most part.
With an event like this, part of the fun is watching the crowd. They were definitely into it, yelling "OH!" or "WOO!" with every kick. There also seemed to be a lot of betting going on. I wonder if that's legal in Thailand. If it is, maybe I should try. I picked the winner in 3 out of 4 matches that I tried. It was beginner's luck, perhaps. Or maybe "The guy that I don't want to meet in a dark alley" is a good choice!
But actually, I still don't understand the rules. It seems like the judging is very subjective. It's not just a matter of how many punches or kicks are landed, but things like how you respond to kicks, how well you protect yourself, and how well you use "legal moves", whatever that means.
But all in all it was pretty fun. I'd even go so far to say that it was almost worth the US$50 ticket.... once.
