Posted by Stephen Rhodes on February 10th, 2009 under Octagon Buzz Exclusive

Brian Spencer from Empty The Bench sent this in:

Two personal firsts from a recent Friday night at Bangkok’s Lumpini Stadium for muay thai boxing : one, as you might imagine, was watching two wiry fighters with nary an ounce of body fat stretched across their 102-kilogram frames pound away at each other’s midsections, calves, and faces in carefully delivered flurries of kicks, punches, and knees just a few feet away from where I sat. The second was slightly less violent but no less jarring–sipping lukewarm Chang beer not from a cool, frosty mug, or even a thin plastic cup, but rather through a straw from a plastic bag with handles.

Hey, with the humidity rising with each successive bout and bloodthirsty mosquitos nipping at my ankles as we watched from our seats about 20 yards or so from the ring, that beer-in-a-bag couldn’t have been any more refreshing. Chang Draught is, actually, served at Lumpini in standard plastic cups, but we instead took turns ducking back out into the street and buying our brews from a vendor at more than half the price. That’s where the bags came into play–you aren’t allowed to bring cans (or bottles for that matter) into the stadium, but in a little bag? Mai pen rai (”no problem”).

For the rest of this article, click here.

Photo: Brian Spencer, Empty the Bench