That One Time I Went Boxing on Ko Phi Phi

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

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

Earlier than I started that journey in 2006, I used the web site MySpace to fulfill vacationers upfront, since, as an introvert, I used to be very fearful that I wouldn’t make any associates on the highway. MySpace had lots of journey teams, so I reached out to individuals in hopes of assembly up with them on the journey. (I used to be early to utilizing the online as a social device: I had a weblog in 2001, and I met my first girlfriend on Friendster again when assembly individuals on-line was taboo.)

After touchdown in Bangkok on the finish of that yr, I occurred to run into Lindsay within the airport, a Brit I used to be scheduled to fulfill later that week in Krabi. She was together with her associates John and Stephanie. As luck would have it, we have 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 Seashore. It was as horrible because the movie made it out to be, with skinny partitions, soiled bogs, and arduous 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 in all places, and plenty of companies have been nonetheless closed and houses deserted.

We discovered an inexpensive 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 middle.

However 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 without spending a dime buckets of booze. (A “bucket” is Thai whiskey, Purple Bull, and Coke in a toddler’s seaside pail. It will get you very smashed.)

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

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

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

“Go straightforward on me,” I stated. “I’ve by no means been in a combat.”

“No drawback. That is only for enjoyable anyway,” he replied in a slurred, accented voice.

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

Within the second, he fought again, not desirous to lose to an American who was half his dimension. His blows damage, even in my drunken state.

That spherical was referred to as for him.

Within the closing spherical, we each bought a little 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.

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

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

The following morning, once I wakened, I used to be stiff as a board and had a horrible hangover. Although simply flippantly bruised, I may barely transfer. Each a part of my physique ached.

“Why is every little thing sore? What did we do final night time?”

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

“Ohhh, yeah, I boxed somebody final night time!”

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

My associates and I laughed and joked about how silly it was to field somebody double my dimension for some alcohol. I lay there aching as my associates bought 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 received’t ever do it once more, it’s a type of “fuck sure” moments that introduced me nearer to my associates and made for reminiscence.