After checking out Khao Sok National Park in Thailand for two days Sean and I took an overnight bus back to Bangkok so we could arrive in time to register and participate in the Bangkok Ultimate Frisbee Hat Tournament. On Friday we spent the day just hanging out, sleeping and catching up on the internet. Later that night we met up with Ken and Daniel for dinner and drinks at the bar where the frisbee registration was happening.
Saturday morning we had to be at the fields really early to meet with our teams, grab our jerseys, and find our playing field. I have played my share of ultimate frisbee in high school and college but I have never been what you would call a fanatic. Sean, on the other hand, is obsessed with ultimate frisbee and plays it whenever he gets the chance. A hat tournament in ultimate frisbee is where you sign up to play with people you don't know in teams arranged so as to balance ability. It is supposed to be a fun and social way to play the game. The Bangkok hat tournament was a little too competitive for me but it was still a fun time. I was the only person on my team who wasn't really into ultimate frisbee and I constantly had to ask for help with some new plays and ultimate terminology. Ultimate frisbee has its own specific jargon like "chilly", "stack", "force" and "zone" among many others. The other thing that put a slight damper on competitive play was the fact that I was playing in my hiking boots whereas others were playing in cleats.
The tourney was very well-organized and was also very conscientious about being green. We were served breakfast, lunch and dinner with bowls made out of banana leaves and were instructed to use our frisbees as plates. One of the biggest parts of ultimate frisbee is the beer culture. Usually while players compete during the day there are constantly drinking beer and this tournament was no different. The Bangkok hat tourney hosted free kegs of cold beer right on the field and required you to use your own water bottle as a container.
The other neat thing about the tourney was that you could meet people from all over. I was the only person on my team of 15 who was from the U.S. The other players were from Germany, Thailand, China, Singapore, Canada, S. Korea and the Philippines. At night, the tournament hosted an impressive party in a bar in the city which included an open bar, an ice luge and free food. Needless to say, Sean was in his element and dominated playing time on his team while I kind of took a backseat and just played whenever a female player was needed on the field. Still, it was nice to be doing something different, meeting new people and exercising outside.
Hey thanks for the "good luck"!:) My pictures? I didn't edit them or anything, I just used my boyfriend's nice camera, so maybe the quality is better? haha Hope you have a great day/night :)