Unexpected Footie Match

We stayed in the Chiang Mai area for around 3 weeks and it was great to catch up with Martin's dad and brother. The week between Christmas and New Year were particularly busy as we stayed in Chiang Mai city for a few days and we had several friends come to visit. We had a few trips out of town; exploring Doi Inthanon national park and then an 'adventure' day, trekking to a waterfall and white water rafting (which was very tame!).

However one of the most memorable experiences for me and one that encapsulates my experience of Thailand occurred as we were walking home from a night out. As we past Tapei gate along the moat we saw 5 or 6 people having a game of football in an open space alongside the moat. In the space was a huge coil shaped sculpture made from C.D's and an arch that was partly constucted for the New Year celebration.

The current players included 2 young boys (who looked like they live on the streets), 3 middle aged Thai men and a middle aged European man. Jason and Martin immediately approached this ensemble and asked them if they could take part. With much smiling and pats on the back from the Thai members they were welcomed in to the game and it was announced the 2 teams would be Thai and 'Falang' (meaning foreigner). So the 3 Europeans joined one team with the assistance of 1 of the young boys.

There were several unusual things about this game. The first was the boundaries of the pitch. These were: a busy road, one of the gates of the old city, the city moat (which one of the goals backed on to) and the Christmas Arch. Throughout the game the pitch would occasionally be crossed by a refuse collector or a passer-by on a bicycle. Several players were only wearing 1 shoe as they were using the other as a goal post, 2 of the Thai players were playing bare footed on the paving slabs.

Throughout the evening various passerbys joined the game from all sorts of walks of life. There was a lot of spirit and jovial banter going on. When one of the young boy stubbed his toe his middle-aged, pot bellied, Thai team-mate pulled him up and shoved his cigarette in the boys mouth. The scrawny 8 year old boy took a drag and off he went again!

As we had approached the match initially, a goal had been scored and the ball had flown in to the moat. Without hesitation, and to our suprise, one of the players dove head-first, fully-clothed in to the cloudy, dirty water to retrieve the ball. Within seconds he was being dragged out of the moat, ball held high and he continued the game dripping wet. Of course throughout the game this happened a few times and the same player happily jumped in again and again. I suppose it was refreshing!

Watching this game made me realise how fond I am of Thailand and how many wonderful people we have met. In general people are very friendly and hospitable. It was great to watch people with such different lives playing and cooperating together despite not speaking much Thai or English and within the game they all understood each other perfectly.