THAILAND – Bangkok, Rajadamnern Stadion // The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The Rajadamnern Stadion is home to the fiercest Muay Thai fighters of Thailand – and to a Bond location. But to enjoy an evening, you’ve got to be prepared.

Why Bond was here
James Bond (Roger Moore) hunts down the famous assassin Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) in his hideout in Thailand. Though he first encounters the villain in Hong Kong, their first meeting eye to eye happens in Bangkok at a Thai Boxing Night. It is hosted in the famous Rajadamnern Stadion – a boxing arena that till today is home of some of Thailand’s most famous Muay Thai fights.

How you gonna get there
The Rajadamnern Stadion, or Ratchadamnoen, is known throughout Bangkok – so every taxi or tuk-tuk driver will bring you there. If you want to find the way on your own, head north of the city center towards Ratchadamnoen Nok Road. A walk from the Democracy Monument (another James Bond location!) is about 20 minutes. You can also go by bus, a ticket is around 10 Baht only. Bus line 70, 157 and 503 all connect the Rajadamnern Stadion with the city center and the Victory Monument. Check out Bangkok Transit for bus details.

Good to know The Rajadamnern in Bangkok was the hot pot for Muay Thai since decades. But nowadays its glorious times are slightly gone – real Muay Thai is now often fought in back alleys. Still, for a fight night the soaring crowd fills the ranks. The best fighting schools of the town bring their fighters together, a match lasts five rounds. Every match is started with a ceremony, the fighters dance through the ring, give their prayers and respects. A Thai band plays traditional music.

Then the bell rings. Sharp seriousness takes over.

We booked our fight night well in advance – and recommend that too. Check out the booking homepage of the Rajadamnern here. You never know, if a really famous fighter gets listed and then all seats are taken. But if you bring some time you almost always can get lucky with some last seats, too. The Muay Thai fighters are capable to send kicks to their opponents heads in a split second. It doesn’t need much time till the first ones bleed. The looks of the Thai boxers are fierce, almost vicious. The intense silence inside the ring is met with cheers from the crowd. Gamblers are lining up at the blue corner, hoping for a bargain. With each critical hit, they form small hand signs for the book-maker in the second row – depending on how much Baht they want to place on their favorite fighter: The fighter in red made a roundhouse kick? Gimme four on him!

See our impressions from the Fight Night at the Rajadamnern Stadion:

But the event comes at a high price: Many schools send underaged fighters. The later the evening, the younger the Muay Thai boxers. Some boys look as young as 12 or 13. 
At our fight night the one called “The Champ” from Phet Rung Rueang Boxing – set for the final match – weights just a mere 97 pounds. “The Champ” looks like he belongs in a school. But you can feel, that he wants to be in that ring. And that he didn’t get his name out of nothing. Families spend all their fortune in the training of their youngest in hope for prestige and prize money. For many, their career is over when they just start to be old enough for fighting.

After a long night of clashes, some gamblers and families go home a little richer. Some others lost a lot and some will lose it all. Exactly seven minutes after the last one left Rajadamnern Stadium the keeper turned off its huge neon lights at the entry. It was a fast night to remember.

Curious, how wild it gets? Depends on how close you come to the ring. We saw the fight night with our six months old baby child – and didn’t had to worry at all. She slept sound and silent throughout the buzz, while we could enjoy drinks and great fights.

© 2019 Huntingbond (1,3,gallery), © 1974 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Danjaq, LLC. The Spy Who Loved Me (2)