Subscribe To This Site's Feed
One Night in Bangkok, Part 1One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble.Well, it wasn’t night and it wasn’t exactly Bangkok … … but I was humbled.
The Inspiration for the Title“One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble” is actually a line from the song “One Night in Bangkok” by singer Murray Head.The original version was one of the main tracks in the 1984 concept album for the musical Chess, and its music was composed by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with lyrics written by Tim Rice. While the song peaked at #3 in the United States and only at #12 in the United Kingdom, it topped the charts in many countries, including West Germany, Switzerland and Australia. The song's lyrics contain a number of Bangkok-related references.
Bangkok ReferencesThe River of KingsIt mentions the “muddy old river,” which is the Chao Phraya River.
In the Thai language, the river is known as Mae Nam Chao Phraya. In the English language, it is often translated as River of Kings.
The Reclining Buddha The lyrics mention the “reclining Buddha.” This is a Wat Po statue. Wat Po is the one of the largest and oldest wat (temple) in Bangkok and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images – the Reclining Buddha.
The Reclining Buddha is more than 150 feet long and more than 49 feet high, decorated with gold plating on his body and mother of pearl on his eyes and the soles of his feet. The latter displays 108 auspicious scenes in Chinese and Indian styles.
King Mongkut The lyrics also mention Yul Brynner. Brynner is famously remembered for playing the King of Siam - King Mongkut - in the movie The King and I. In Thailand, King Mongkut is actually known as Rama IV. Rama IV was the fourth monarch of Siam (now Thailand) under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868. He was one of the most revered monarchs of the country. The pressure of Western expansionism was felt for the first time in Siam during Rama IV’s reign. Rama IV embraced Western innovations and initiated the modernization of Siam, both in technology and culture – earning him the epithet “The Father of Science and Technology” in Siam. The King and I movie was never well received in Thailand because Thai authorities and the Thai people believe it portrayed their 19th century king as foolish. The king of Thailand is highly revered by the Thai people. Consequently, great offense is taken when they view something as denigrating to the King. Okay, enough about One Night in Bangkok. Let’s get to the real story!
Separation AnxietyThe story begins on a sour note. As you may know, my wife Piyanan is from Thailand. As you may also know, we have a son – Bodhi Narathip Hebb. At the time of this trip, Piyanan was pregnant again. Her projected delivery date was September 9, 2009.Since her obstetrician told us that she could not travel during her third trimester and due to the fact that she wanted to spend some quality time with her family, she and Bodhi departed for Thailand on April 20, 2009. It was a teary goodbye at Dulles International Airport as I watched my wife and son pass through the gate and walk down the jetway. This was the first time that I was separated from my wife and son for any extended period of time. My career, limited annual leave and financial constraints prevented me from accompanying them at that time. I was going to learn all about Separation Anxiety.
Beyond Busy, But Still AnxiousMore than 30 days separated their departure and One Night in Bangkok. During my time without them, I worked at my career position during the day and spent countless hours dissecting martial arts video footage of Grandmaster Emeritus Leo Giron, Punong Guro Edgar Sulite, and Pendekar Herman Suwanda to name but a few.When I wasn’t working or dissecting video, I was training. My training included physical fitness and martial arts training. In fact, most days I was getting in two physical fitness training sessions. When I wasn’t training, I was working on getting everything in order for the formal, public launch of the Hebb Institute of Martial Arts. This involved meetings, writing, planning, marketing, and much, much more. As you can tell, I was trying to keep myself as busy as possible. Despite my purposefully hectic life, I was still experiencing Separation Anxiety as I was desperately missing my wife and son. One Night in Bangkok was constantly on my mind. I maintained constant communication through daily (sometimes more) telephone calls and occasional E-mails. When everything was right (which wasn’t often enough) in the Internet realm, I even got to see my wife and son on the webcam.
The Torturous JourneyAs my date of departure finally arrived, I was on the eve of One Night in Bangkok.My sister, Brenda, gave me a ride to Dulles. It was a pleasant ride that involved conversation and taking in the sights. It also involved tremendous excitement as the anticipation of my reunion with my wife and son grew by the minute. While my excitement remained, the nearly 15 hour flight from Dulles to Narita International Airport in Japan did dampen my spirits slightly. It is torture for me to be confined for this period of time. Whenever I sensed myself growing irritable or restless, I tried to focus on my wife and son. The thoughts of our pending reunion allowed me to keep my sanity. Once on the ground in Japan, I checked the departure board to find the gate for my connecting flight. I proceeded to walk to the gate. I sat down at a nearby gate because the departure gate’s seating area was empty. I spent an hour reading, “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.” As departure time approached, I walked to my gate only to discover that my departure flight had been changed to another gate. So, I proceeded to walk to the new gate. Time was not an issue since my layover was nearly three hours. Eventually, I boarded my flight from Japan to Thailand. While this flight was significantly shorter than my first, it was still too long at nearly seven hours. Seven hours is not too bad, but when seven hours follows a 15-hour flight and a 3-hour layover it is too long. After nearly 22 hours in the air and roughly another three on the ground, I arrived at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. One Night in Bangkok had arrived!
Return to Muay Thai Articles from One Night in Bangkok |
