Thailand Footprint: The People, Things, Literature, and Music of Thailand and the Region

Posts from the ‘Gop the frog in the coconut shell’ category

A Rematch with Champions … at Eminent Air Boxing Gym in Bangkok …

Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Last spring, shortly after starting Thailand Footprint I had a lot of good luck. A friend introduced me to professional photographer, Eric Nelson from Chicago. Eric became the second interview I did on this blog. You can see that interview and 12 of his photographs by clicking here.: A DOZEN PHOTOGRAPHS AND INTERVIEW WITH ERIC NELSON.

I liked Eric’s style as a photographer and a person. He is an explorer and Bangkok presents the perfect environment for exploration. My luck continued when after those 12 photographs and interview with Eric ran, a comment came in with an interesting avatar and words:

MelissaAvatar

Great interview with Eric! I am privileged to have been photographed by him on his wanders to the area of my Muay Thai gym. A talented photographer and a lovely guy too.

Five minutes of Google research told me the comment came from Melissa Ray, a Champion Muay Ying with a Ph.D from England. The  holder of four Championship belts until injuries forced her retirement. I now knew I had a female, expat, Muay Thai Champ leaving nice comments about my interview with Eric and Eric Nelson too. When luck presents itself as soul singer, Sista Monica says back in California: “Sometimes you gotta move.”  Arrangements were made to conduct an interview with Melissa Ray and watch her train at Eminent Air Boxing Gym. She had only recently recovered from her injuries enough to allow her to return to training at an elite level.

Melissa Ray, Ph.D and Four Time Muay Thai Champion

Melissa Ray, Ph.D and Four Time Muay Thai Champion (Photo by Eric Nelson)

The interview: A SENSE OF WHERE YOU ARE … A CONVERSATION WITH MUAY THAI CHAMPION MELISSA RAY ran last June. You can read the interview by clicking the picture or text above. That interview received over 240 unique visitors in one day. Pretty good for a two month old blog, at the time. The post has since been viewed close to 1,000 times. Two more times Melissa Ray came out on top.

Fast forward to 10 days ago. I asked Eric Nelson if he would like to go back to Eminent Air Boxing Gym, where he had photographed Melissa to see her again and take some more photographs. Some decisions are easier than others. We went.

Melissa Ray with Victor "Hotchilli" Ntg

Melissa Ray with  MAX Muay Thai Champion Victor “Hotchilli” Ntg (Photo courtesy)

The first thing I noticed about Melissa since I had last seen her was how much leaner, stronger and fitter she looked. As part of her training 10 days ago she ran laps around the neighborhood where Eminent Air Boxing Gym is located, with another Champion, Victor “Hotchilli” Ntg, seen in the above photograph with Melissa. Melissa continues to train and enjoy training. She is now back in England on vacation and visiting family. Whether she fights in the ring again or not, she has a passion for Muay Thai and is a great Ambassador and Champion for the sport.

Eminent Air Gym is a gym of Champions. It is like a scene out of a movie. It is where Apollo Creed would have taken Rocky Balboa to train seriously if Rocky had ever fought in Thailand. Victor was one of two Champions that Melissa introduced me to that day among the many elite Muay Thais training. The other was Chok shown below after winning his Championship belt:

Chok. A Champion and member of Eminent Air Boxing GymChok shown with Channel 7 Championship Belt

Before Chok and Victor got into the ring at Eminent Air Gym I had the opportunity to speak with Victor at length. Victor is an Aussie bloke and a very friendly one at that. The smile on Hotchilli seemed so permanent that I asked him if he smiles during a match, as I had witnessed when I watched a live Muay Thai fight at Channel 7 Arena two months ago. Victor shared that he has two personalities. That he often felt like a completely different person inside the ring during a match. And when the stakes were higher, when the competition was greater, Victor became even more serious inside the ring. We talked about the referees in Thailand and how they tend to judge foreigners vs Thais. Victor will fight again on December 10th, in Khon Kaen Stadium at 10:35 p.m. with big prize money and a MAX Championship belt on the line. You can watch him fight live on Thai TV Channel 7 that day.

Victor Koen Kaen

Victor “Hotchilli” Ntg on far left will fight in the 67 kilo division with baht 1,000,000 in prize money at stake on December 10th, 2013 for the overall MAX Muay Thai Championship

As Chok and Victor got into the ring for their training, Eric Nelson captured the atmosphere at Eminent Air Gym:

Victor tapes up for training at Eminent Air Boxing Gym in Bangkok, Thailand

Victor tapes up for training at Eminent Air Boxing Gym in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo by Eric Nelson)

In Thailand most Thais enjoy Muay Thai as a spectator sport, including monks on their way back to a nearby temple. It is a tough, grueling sport to participate in. Victor Ntg is a gifted athlete. He also trains most everyday and he works hard at his progress. In his past he has participated in Aussie Rules Footy at a high level, been a top sprinter in track and field and a point guard  on the basketball court.

Chok and Victor begin their training as monks from a nearby temple look on at Eminent Air Gym

Chok and Victor begin their training as monks from a nearby temple look on at Eminent Air Gym

It may have been training and not an actual bout but Chok and Victor seemed to be going all out at Eminent Air Gym.

Eminent Air Gym

It was another fun afternoon spent at Eminent Air Boxing gym. It was great to see Melissa again, to meet Chok and to talk with Victor. They were also cool enough to wear the Gop Tshirts I gave them.

Victor Hotchilli Ntg

A smiling MAX Champion Victor Hotchilli Ntg with Gop the frog in the coconut shell

Eminent Air Boxing Gym has an intoxicating, addictive environment. Monks like it. Athletes from all over the world train there. Photographers are drawn there for the array of images to choose from. It is a unique place. As an old basketball gym rat I know how important  gym camaraderie is. It was in full display on a Saturday afternoon in Bangkok.

ChampionEminent Air is where Champions train and are honored on the walls. It’s a serious place and a fun place. It’s a gym I have now been too twice. I know I will be back. Next time I hope to meet and speak with the owner, Mr. Somboon Niruttimetee the founder of Eminent Air Boxing Gym and promoter of ‘Suek Eminent Air’ events at Lumpini Boxing Stadium. Mr. Somboon is a former corporate lawyer and current multiple business owner in Bangkok.

The Boss

Mr. Somboon Niruttimetee founder of Eminent Air Gym. (Known in the Press as, Tanay Toi – Tanay means lawyer. )

Many thanks to Eric Nelson, Melissa Ray, Chok and Victor. Melissa will be reading this in England.  Eric Nelson will continue to explore Bangkok taking exceptional photographs along the way.  And Victor “Hotchilli” Ntg will be fighting for the MAX World Championship on December 10th, 2013 in a four man tournament. I wish Victor good luck on that day. He’ll need two wins to wear the Champion’s belt. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. But nobody ever said, you can’t be both.

Victor

Eric Nelson’s contact details can be found below for anyone in Thailand in need of a first class, professional photographer:

Eric Nelson Photography
086 343 1612
Powerpoint Portfolio Download: http://share.cx.com/zHf94N
PDF Portfolio Download: http://share.cx.com/B9CyY6
Email: emanphoto@ameritech.net

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Fashion Trends in the Kingdom … Top 5 Best Selling Tshirts in Thailand …

Soon, and not because there has been any particular demand, Gop the frog in the coconut shell will be availaIble in Tshirt form. A fashion statement about literature and coconut shells will soon be able to be made. As much as Henry tells me to forget myself, I keep thinking that puts me in the mass market of Tshirt sellers. There must be almost as many Tshirt sellers as there are authors these days. A lot of competition. I notice on Twitter all the authors seem to be “Best Selling” authors. No medium selling authors or poor selling authors only, best selling authors. It makes you wonder, if everyone is, the best, who is average? No one, apparently.

So I thought I’d set my sights on becoming a best selling Tshirt seller for a Thailand blogger. In order to do that one must know their competition. So I developed an advanced algorithm, mainly by walking around and paying attention and came up with this definitive, Top Five Best Selling Tshirts in Thailand:

    SinghaT

#1. Singha Beer Tshirt, also available in singlet for those hotter days.

RedBull

#2. The Red Bull Tshirt. Also available in singlet for those hotter days. The grandson of the Red Bull heir finds himself in a bit of a legal mess at the moment. With most of betting money being that he won’t be seeing the inside of a jail cell anytime soon. Google the subject if you are not familiar with the case. A classic example of justice inequity in Thailand.

che_guevara_tshirt

#3. The Che Guevara Tshirt. Everybody loves a rebel and the Thai people love Che Guevara. I’ve even seen my share of farangs wearing this Tshirt over the years, which was factored into the algorithm.

PattayaT

#4. Good Guy Goes to Heaven … Bad Guy Goes to Pattaya. There seems to be some doubt about heaven within some circles. But there can be no doubt about Pattaya. Some may blame the recent fire near Walking Street in Pattaya on those in heaven but that is a post for another day. Without question, perhaps the defining Best Selling non-product endorsing Tshirt ever produced in Thailand. And probably not from the Pattaya City Chamber of Commerce.

i-m-with-stupid

#5. I’m with Stupid. Hand pointing in various directions. I actually haven’t seen that many of the above Tshirt in either Bangkok or Pattaya, I just think more guys should consider buying one. It’s always good to remind oneself of the company one keeps from time to time. What is the harm in that, after all?

So there you have it. The Top Five Best Selling Tshirts in Thailand. If you don’t own at least one, consider yourself out of fashion.

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Tweet me … Like me … Make me write bad checks …

The results are in after 48 hours re the frog on the blog balloting. An independent accounting firm was not necessary. I’ve got ample fingers to do the job:

9 votes were cast in favor of Gop being a frog of color:

GopColor

5 voters, including 1 by my wife, pulled the lever for black and white Gop.

Gop

Gop

2 voters had other stuff to do and didn’t care. One of those was me.

I gotta tell you, I am pretty pleased with the turnout. Because, have you noticed, it all comes down to the numbers nowadays.

Did you know you can buy Twitter Followers for $12.00 per 1,000 followers and $64.00 per 10,000 Followers? I didn’t, until I Googled the subject yesterday.

Did you know you can buy Facebook LIKES? They say on their site it makes you look more professional. $47.00 per thousand or $217.00 for 5,000. Amazing social media.

Facebook

Here’s some text from a Buy TWITTER FOLLOWERS SITE: Buying Twitter Followers is a shortcut. It’s a way to increase your Twitter Account’s social credibility and can give your business, career a great kick-start, or even an ego boost. While it’s not really socially acceptable, it’s well known that millions of people around the world have bought them.

Wow. I knew people bought Book Reviews. That was in the news awhile back when the New York Times wrote a good piece called, THE BEST BOOK REVIEWS MONEY CAN BUY  in August 2012.

So, I suppose I could have found a site that would have voted on my blog and charged me? But where is the fun in that?

The Gop Makeover post got five WordPress LIKES. Two of the people I actually know. Another is called Fiction Fan. Imagine the money FICTION FAN could make as an independent, freelance LIKER with a name like that? Fiction Fan, if you are ever in Bangkok stop in at the CheckInn99 on a Sunday and I’ll buy you a drink. Not because you left a LIKE. Just because, I like your name.

It seems to me that buying Facebook Likes and buying Twitter Followers doesn’t make you look professional; it makes you look like someone who buys Twitter Followers and Facebook LIKES.

Blogs and social media have their up-side and their down-side. What I think we have lost is, authenticity. On this blog I try and be authentic. I know I fail often but I’ll always strive to be authentic. Henry Miller, the American author whom inspired this blog, like him or not, was authentic. Malcolm Gault-Williams, the first author I ever interviewed at Thailand Footprint, whom has a lifelong project of penning the Legendary Surfer series, is authentic.

Malcolm with his three sons

Melissa Ray, the three time Muay Ying Champion, whom (not coincidentally) also holds the single day record of 240 views at Thailand Footprint and the all time views record of 500+ for her post A SENSE OF WHERE YOU ARE  is authentic. I’d bet the farm she doesn’t buy Followers. She has followers. She doesn’t buy LIKES, Champions are LIKED.

Professional Muay Ying, Melissa Ray in a 5 Round Match

Professional Muay Ying, Melissa Ray in a 5 Round Match

And Colin Cotterill the creative author of the Dr. Siri series and Jimm Juree Crime Reporter series and the cartoonist that drew, Gop the frog in the coconut shell, is authentic. Colin doesn’t even have a Facebook or Twitter account. He may not even have a phone. Well, he has a phone. He’s just smart enough not to give out his number to me.

450px-ColinCotterill

Colin Cotterill, the author of AGING DISGRACEFULLY, among many others, must figure out alternative creative ways of looking professional and getting his ego boosts down in Maprao.

Aging Discracefully

But back to Gop and the polls. For the fourteen people (besides my wife and me) whom took the time to cast a vote. Thank-you. Especially my old artist friend, Doug, whom I may have asked to vote. He did. Hey, I’m not perfect. To the five people that left a WordPress LIKE on the blog, thanks also.

We’re going to put the colored Gop on the right sidebar and leave the black & white one in upper left corner. Everybody wins.

I’ll end this post with a quote by another authentic individual, before the days of blogging and social media. He was one of my favorite comedians when I was a kid and also a pretty good artist:

Live by this credo: have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. – Red Skelton

RedSkelton

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The Frog on the Blog gets a makeover … Votes are in … Polls are closed …

CCC1Head Recently I had a most unusual experience. It involved a virtual trip to to the south of Thailand and going inside the head of award winning crime author, Colin Cotterill. Colin had in the early days of Thailand Footprint (and to this day) been very accommodating in providing me with the Gop the frog image that makes this site fun for me and hopefully for you the reader, too. And the best part is, if you want a Colin Cotterill original cartoon drawing for your very own, to tack next to your bookshelf with your Dr. Siri and Jimm Juree series books, it is now within your reach. CCCcbayad But with the rapid success of Thailand Footprint in order to keep the massive audience glued here, as opposed to the other thousands of blogs out there or at time wasting sites like CNN.com, the management felt an upgrade was necessary. Of course nothing is ever simple in this connect me – connect-me-not, dot com, social media, big data blogosphere.  A second trip was made above to CBAY, also known as, Colin Cotterill Original Art (you can click it and go there after you read this post, of course); it is an on-line mega store with an eastern philosophy. Naturally,  that meant I had to get my lawyer involved:

NYCLAWYERChrisColes

My lawyer by Bangkok artist, Chris Coles (Click to go to Chris Coles Noir Blog)

And once my lawyer contacted CBAY again, he went down to the south to begin negotiations with Colin’s “people”. My lawyer took longer than expected to close the deal down in Pak Nam. Details on the expense account are sketchy but he seems to like pina coladas. Eventually, though, an agreement was reached and Gop, the literature loving frog in the huge coconut shell is now in living color. Or at least in as living a color as you will get from a cartoonist known for writing novels about an old coroner in Laos. Drum roll, please …

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GopColorAnd now, you, the valued reader, get a say. You get to vote. Do we keep the black and white version of Gop in the upper left hand corner logo or do we replace him with the living color one from the coroner writing cartoonist? It’s up to you, massive audience. We’ll give this poll 48 hours. The numerical results will be released upon conclusion. In the interim you can view percentage results by clicking, View Results. Let the corruption begin:

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