I found out a few days ago that Daew (one of the boys Evan and I trained with at Lanna Muay Thai Gym) has died.

Young Daew was what I can only call a 'Cool Fighter'. His kick was pure poetry in motion it whipped out like the strike of a beautiful snake. He was a nice looking kid of 17 with wide eyes and an open friendly face. I remember him getting me to change my fighting stance from that which the instructors had taught me. He pulled my hands fore and aft and kicked my feet back a bit, outwards, I asked him why. He looked at me, smiled and said, "You want to look Good."

Daew was a lovely kid and I will not forget him.

On Friday Evan and I visited the Amulet Markets at Wat Ratchanada. There was piles and piles of religiousity. We had a fascinating time amongst the dust and sweat. Evan dug through the piles of holy knick-knacks whilst I watched the crowds of religous bargain hunters. It seemed to be mainly blokes and many of them peering through magnifying glasses at the little buddha action figures. There was an element of the Warhammer shops back home and the Stamp collectors of my Pa's era. All with added holiness. A mix made in heaven if ever there was one.

I provided a holy donut stall with my custom and sat and watched the clerical catfish in the Chao Phraya River. Meditation never was so good.

Sometimes, after the sun has gone down and the rain is filtering down lightly, walking the streets aimlessly can be intensely rewarding. 

Yesterday Evan and I spent a day exploring the Bangkok shopping culture. I think Evan loved it. I must admit I quite enjoyed exploring, 'The Loft' at the Siam Paragon. It is a sort of kitsch-japanese-geek shop, no online presence that I can find, which is a shame.

After 'The Loft' it all got pretty inane, the height of which was the fashion floor, just look at the 'Golden Jacket' what goes on in the mind of the designer, let alone the purchaser? I hate shopping malls. I could list the reasons here but I am afraid my ranting might overload the internet quota for this friendly little cafe I'm sitting in. Suffice to say malls all seem to share a disdain for the environment it exists in and the community it utilises. This particular collection of malls had sparse customers, I often found myself to be one of a crowd of three or four other potential customers in a vast air-conditioned expanse of polished concrete, steel and glass. Hopefully they'll go bankrupt and the citizens of Bangkok will convert the buildings into fabulous multi-level gardens. It could be a new hanging gardens of Babylon. Hundertwasser would approve.

After watching a truly crap movie (Inglorious Bastards) by a self indulged moron called Quentin. I finally escaped from the cubes of evil and found my way onto the rainy  streets. Deafened by the traffic and nostrils flaring at the mixed stench of cooking, durian and sewerage we began to walk. It was dark, overwhelmingly hot and raining. I picked random streets based entirely on ease of walking. Strolling the chaotic streets calmed me down and tired Evan but he did not complain, he is a good lad.

After an hour or so of making like Baudelaires' flâneur serendipity took a hand. As we passed a dark alley I was impressed by a brightly lit twinkling stage. Two actors were busy singing and gesturing to a small crowd of onlookers and parked cars. Mid-stride I turned and walked down the alley. It was lovely, like an english pantomime, music-hall and opera all rolled up with a big slice of China. A sweet family of mothers, fathers, children and grannies passed us some plastic chairs and so we sat and watched the show amongst them. Of course neither Evan nor I understood a word of what was going on. We all had to move at one time so that a car could get through, all so casual and lovely.

I just love/hate crappy old bits of machinery that refuse to die. If you have seen my motorbike you may know that already. Here are some snaps of a fairly typical longtail engine, just for my own satisfaction. Also Ev got a picture of a lovely old BMW bike with side car. It had been modded to have  two wheel shaft drive. The owner had also replaced the famous R-Series dodgy carby with a chinese made one that apparently did not flood. Can't see why you'd do that. What's the fun if you don't regularly christen your boots in petrol.

Yesterday Ev and I borrowed a little Hobie Cat Wave and sailed around Koh Tao. We came home with sunburnt knees and broadened horizons. I am looking forward to returning to sailing with the Coffs Junior Dinghy Sailing Club maybe also the Twilight series. I'd point you to their website [http://www.coffsyachtie.com.au/] but it has been down for the past month. Maybe I should offer to fix/rebuild it for them. Then at least I'd know what they are up to.

With the diving finished we are done. So now I am having my holiday to get over my holiday.

Today we navigated some incredibly steep tracks on our gutless moped. Some walking, pushing and sliding was needed, fun. We ended up at Mango Bay. One of the dive sites we explored earlier in the week. We took in turns with snorkelling the reefs. Saw lots of juicy fish and crazy corals. The denizens of the resort located at Mango Bay seemed to be of the 'get-a-tan' variety. Friendly bunch - a bit bored, I reckon. Very cute Brazilian mum and her daughter...

Well if you been following any of my identi.ca or microblogs you'll see that Evan has completed his PADI Open Water Certificate. So he is now a qualified diver.

Here are some snaps from our journey from Chiang Mai to Chumphong...

Am off on a wreck dive now...

Cheers
Ruben xx

Sometimes after training we buy these delicious little banana leaf wraps with salty glutinous rice and sweet fresh coconut inside. Mmmm. See the picture for a clue how to make a dozen for me.

We'll be finishing training this weekend as we have just booked a train to Chumphong. It is leaving on Monday night and arriving Tuesday night. We'll have a morning in Bangkok, wonder if we can get a shower at the station?

Here is a really embarrasing video Evan made. He is trying to show how silly I look when doing my special crazy exercises:

Tomorrow we have a Muay Thai Tournament near the gym, Toyota is paying for it. I imagine I will get to see how incredibly crap I really am after one month of training. A Thai bloke will be defending his title against a Japanese bloke. Funny old world.

Here are a few pics we have been snapping lately. Ev got punched by a ten year old kid called, Oyp. He was very pleased with the impression created. We visited a fine Wat yesterday and admired golden horses and dragons sphincters.

Our twice daily ride home from Lanna Muay Thai.