About two years ago, I took up kickboxing. Muay Thai to be exact. The national sport of Thailand, Muay Thai is like cardio kickboxing on crack. It combines traditional punch combinations with several kinds of kicks, and—if you want to get really fancy—flying elbows and knees.
Practicing Muay Thai has taught me a lot of valuable lessons. For example, I now know how to land powerful, Chuck Norris-style roundhouse kicks to the thighs, ribs, and (if I stretch really far) head. I’ve also learned that I’m a lot stronger, physically and mentally, than I ever thought possible. Muay Thai has also opened my eyes to Thai culture.
Along with working out, my fellow gym members and I go out of our way to experience all things Thai, including gorging ourselves on Thai food, guzzling Singha beer, and watching Thai movies (mostly boxing flicks with typo-riddled subtitles). Some of us have even traveled to Thailand.
Luckily, for those of us unable to travel to the land of golden flowers and boxing gloves (myself included), there’s a place called Thai Town. Located in Hollywood just off Highway 101, Thai Town is a West Coast mecca of Thai culture.
Earlier this month, I traveled with my gym’s fight team to Thai Town for the sixth annual Songkran Festival to celebrate Thai New Year. For a full day, several blocks of Hollywood Boulevard transformed into a Bangkok street fair. Local shop owners and restaurateurs beckoned to local passersby, their booths brimming with Thai treasures.
In the festival’s food section, women expertly sliced ripe mangos and spooned mounds of authentic Thai sticky rice into plastic containers. They topped the delectable dessert with dollops of condensed milk—a popular condiment. The overall combination of juicy fruit flavors and sweetened rice does quite a number on your taste buds without putting a dent in your wallet (sticky rice and mango sells for about $5 in Thai Town).
At other booths, Thai chefs grilled up heartier dishes, such as flame-licked chicken kabobs, pad thai, and spicy kow soy (a soup containing grilled pork, thick rice noodles, and lots and lots of garlic).
As heavenly aromas wafted out of the food section, festivalgoers wandered through racks of glittering jewelry, colorfully dyed sarongs, and authentic Thai art. Other people stopped to admire displays of intricately carved fruit and elaborate flower arrangements.
At the heart of the festival, near Thailand Plaza, stood the Singha Beer Garden. Amid a sea of yellow and white umbrellas, sunburned Thai enthusiasts swigged cups of golden ale. They paused between gulps to cheer or jeer at the dozen or so fighters battling it out in the Muay Thai ring across the street. Wearing gaudily colored satin shorts, 14 oz. gloves, and shin guards, the amateur fighters swapped blows for about three rounds each. Screams from the crowd swelled to an ear-splitting shriek every time a lightning-fast kick or punch landed.
As the sun set over Thai Town, the crowd started to dwindle. People emerged from the festival carrying with them a small taste of Thailand: a container of sticky rice and mango, a flower bracelet, a pair of Muay Thai shorts. They got into their cars, merged into Los Angeles traffic, and headed back to their daily routines, leaving behind them an exotic Thai paradise.
Staff Writer Amy Asman can take you down. Contact her at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 23-30, 2009.