Massey Fight - Entrance
Massey Fight - Round 1
Massey Fight - Round 2
Massey Fight - Round 3
Koh Phi Phi was hit hard by the infamous tsunami a few years back, but you wouldn't know it today. When we got off the boat, Hao was on a mission to negotiate some super cheap accommodations for us and did it so aggressively that he was told by one guy to, "Walk away. I'm serious." and another guy a little way down the road asked him to come inside so they could fight. In the end, we did find a decent place to stay, although not for quite as cheap as Hao was trying for.
We went on an awesome snorkeling tour of the nearby islands and met some Israeli girls who we ended up bumping into later in our adventures as well. The tour included going to Maya Beach, which was the one featured the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, although in the movie, they make it look even more secluded by adding some CGI limestone cliffs. It's so shallow that at low tide, boats can't reach the beach directly. We arrived at low tide, so we had to enter from the other side of the island and walk across. The shore on the other side was shallow and filled with sharp and slippery rocks. It was a bit tricky, even with the ropes that had been strung up for people to hold on to. As we were leaving, a longtail boat arrive with a woman in a wedding dress in it. I guess she was planning on getting married on the famous beach, but why during the rainy season when the sky was full of clouds to mute the sunset? And why had she put the dress on before she got to the island? The boat got as close to the shore as possible and a guy who was riding with her did his best to help her get out, but in the end, she got her dress wet up past the waist. On our way back to Koh Phi Phi, the boat stopped at Monkey Beach, which was, unsurprisingly, filled with monkeys. One of them jumped into the boat and took a water bottle before retreating with its spoils.
Massey and Sam decided to get certified as advanced divers and I went along with them on a couple of their dives. Koh Phi Phi was supposed to have better diving than Koh Tao but a storm had churned up the ocean and visibility was very poor. We did see a few cool things, but I enjoyed my time in the depths at Koh Tao more.
I also took a day and hiked to one of the viewpoints on the island. Being the rainy season, the view was okay, but it overcast and drizzling at the time. The trail was so muddy that on the way down I was practically surfing.
One of the items on Massey's list of things he wanted to do in Thailand was to be in a muay thai fight. We had briefly investigated the possibility in other places we'd been, but it seemed like only training was available, not actually fights. Fortunately, Reggae Bar on Koh Phi Phi was just the ticket we were searching for. They had a boxing ring and would give a free bucket mixed drink to anyone who volunteered to fight. Mass volunteered, but we were worried that nobody would we willing to fight him because he's a big guy. Before we knew it, an opponent emerged without hesitation. He was an Israeli guy, about 6'2" and built like a gladiator. As Mass said, "That's a scary dude. Good times." Mass changed into the fighting shorts he was given and then pretended to not know how to punch or kick while he was warmed up by a Thai trainer. After his opponent entered the ring in the most serious manner possible, Mass entered in the least serious manner possible, playing to the crowd and enjoying every second of it. Hao, Sam, Sarah, and I were all in Massey's corner.
When the fight started, it quickly became clear that the hulking opponent wasn't a born fighter. He was aggressive, but without much skill, dropping his hands before starting his attacks and always throwing sloppy hooks, never straight punches and hardly any kicks. Mass decided to go southpaw and bounced the guy's head back with a jab. At that point, it was obvious the guy began to realize he might be on the losing end of the matchup. At the end of the round, Mass ran away from the guy and put his hands on his hips to pretend to be tired. In between rounds, Hao dumped an entire bottle of water down Massey's throat and over his head, causing Mass to gag and cough. After that, I took away the water bottle from Hao and chastised Mass for running and giving away the round. However, Mass had everything under control and was taking the fight way less seriously than I was. He wanted to have a good time and be friends with the guy at the end, not beat him silly. In round two, Mass further established his straight right and threw in a crowd-pleasing telegraphed backfist. The opponent's cornermen were giving him very stern advice in between rounds and they must have told to be more aggressive because in round three, the final one, he came out swinging like a mad man. Mass weathered the storm and stumbled the guy twice with hard right hooks. The fight was over and Massey was declared the winner. He treated his fans to a kip up and a one handed cartwheel before climbing down to enjoy his hard earned bucket cocktail.