For Thai boxers, there’s nothing like showbiz

DOING AN ONYOK: Somluck Kamsing and Wijan Ponlid, two boxers who’ve won an Olympic gold for Thailand, have traded their gloves for all the glitz and glamor of show business just like our very own Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco.

Somluck, 28, who won the 57 kg gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, is now part of a running drama series on TV and, according to Thai journalists here, was paid 3 million baht or roughly $66,000 for his newfound talent.

Ponlid, for his part, won the 51 kg gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is now busy shooting his own TV series. But he got just half of what Somluck, one of the most popular figures in Thailand, received as talent fee.

Velasco won the 48 kg silver in Atlanta while in his early 20s and was easily lured by show business upon his return, quitting the national team, then doing some movies, including one in a starring role, before finally settling down with a highly-rated weekly sitcom.

BROKEN ENGLISH: Busan is the third largest container port city in the world with a big population of close to 3.5 million. But what it’s got so little of are English-speaking residents – from students, volunteers, bus and taxi drivers, waiters, store clerks, telephone operators and even sports officials.

Therefore, the language barrier is making it very difficult for the thousands of foreigners here for the 14th Asian Games.

"Sorry, no English," is the common reply you’d get after asking for directions, prices of commodities or just a simple favor.

Getting a taxi, however, has been made easy the last couple of days. All you need is a taxi card found in information desks, have a volunteer write, in Korean of course, your destination, present this to the driver, and off you go.

FOR ART’S SAKE: The close to 11,000 athletes and officials from a record number of 44 countries have a lot of things to do during their free time inside the 350,000-square-meter athletes’ village.

There’s a lounge where they can watch TV or listen to music, a karaoke bar, a fitness center where they can lift weights or spend time on the treadmill, a Finnish sauna and a couple more sweat lodges, a billiards room and a heated pool at the basement of the sports center.

But what’s turning out to be a big hit, especially for the female athletes, are the facial paint and nail art services offered in a shaded area just near the main entrance.

Even male athletes are seen waiting in line to have their country’s colors or even cartoon characters and the logo of their respective sports painted on their faces and their multi-colored fingernails.

"Libre, sir," said boxer Harry Tanamor, who had a Philippine flag the size of a matchbox painted on his left cheek. "Pero titingnan ko pa, baka pag-ligo matanggal na."