Team "Really Ugly Green (RUG)" went 3-1 on the 1st day ending 5th seed out of 15 teams. In the tournament on Sunday we won the 1st game then lost in the quarter finals on a universal point.
We had a really fun team, even if the skills were not all there. Two 6'4"+ older dudes were the main handlers with a passionate Venazualen captain, a badass Thai woman named Nut, a couple of young expats, and a smattering of South East Asian players. I was honored (and suprised) to win the spirit award for the team, most likely due to the amount of blood I left on the field after a series of endzone layouts.
After we lost, the drinking started in earnest with 10 kegs on the field and some pick up games. The atmosphere gathered around the final game was terrific, a very social scene and great cheer. At halftime a massive boat race drinking contest was great fun. Only now, a day later I am able to walk again after a traditional Thai massage.
In other news, Bangkok is a wild city, one that we do not dare to drive in (again). It was quite the scene driving a single Minsk up the 10 lane superhighway from Pattaya on the shoulder of road. Two passengers and tons of baggage made us quite slow, but the spectacle got lots of toots and waves from truckers. We arrived in Bangkok during rush hour and started driving across town to the backpacker district for a cheap room. The cross town trip took over an hour and almost caused Eline to disown me as I navigated the insane traffic. We got a terrific room with a view over the river and a nice balcony for 280 Bhat a night (30 Bhat = 1 USD). The plan is to spend a couple more days here seeing the sights and nursing our sore legs before heading north into the mountains.
