So after about 2 months of living and training at Tiger Muay Thai, I decided to switch things up and move on to a new camp. This is my second trip to Thailand and during my first trip, I trained at a few different camps – one of which stood out from the others and surprisingly, it was Patong Boxing Gym. Of course, during my first trip, I didn’t train at that many camps so I didn’t have much to compare it too.
What I liked about it was the fact that I could show up anytime during operating hours and that the instructor I was paired up with was really technical – which is what I needed at the time since I was a beginner. Before I had found Patong Boxing Gym, I was training at an all-Thai gym in the hills called “SingPatong”.
While SingPatong had a lot of awesome fighters and a real Muay Thai atmosphere, the instructors I was working with half the time didn’t really know how to relate the techniques to a beginner such as myself. Now that I’m a little more advanced, I’ll probably head back to SingPatong for a few sessions but in the meantime, I’m training at a new “Patong Boxing Gym” that just opened up in the hills – about 5 minutes from where SingPatong is.
The owner still has her original gym which is located near the beach surrounded by “happy ending” massage parlours which she is using for her beginner students. For the more advanced students, she’s sending them up to the new camp which just opened about a month ago.
It’s actually a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be. There’s about 15 rooms onsite – some of which have a sick view of the ocean. At the moment, there’s actually more trainers than students and it’s all one-on-one training. I’ll be doing padwork with one trainer and in between rounds, I’ll have another trainer pouring water into my mouth and giving me a massage.
It’s also in a nice, quiet location with a great running path. Check it out ..
I moved into a new apartment which I ended up getting a great deal on. When I first got here and went looking around for rooms, everybody would jack up the price since I’m white and I guess they think foreigners don’t know any better. Well, since I’m staying here for so long, I’m the guy you’d see arguing with the cleaners about getting the jacked up foreigner rate on my laundry. So, getting charged 17,000 baht for a basic room didn’t fly with me either.
I ended up randomly meeting a friend at an internet café that I had met the year before and she walked around with me for a bit and found me a nice big room for 5000 baht a month. See, there really is a “Thai price” on things – which really pisses me off actually. I can only imagine the drama that would ensue if minorities in western societies were being charged 2-3 times the regular cost of things.
Anyway, as it turns out, I’m pretty sure I’m the only foreigner living in this building. It’s all Thai people and from what I’ve seen, it’s all Thai girls – hot ones too, like 3-4 per room. So needless to say, I’m liking my new living quarters. It’s certainly a nice change of pace to living at a Muay Thai camp with about 100 other dudes.
The building – which is only a couple floors – is right near the boxing stadium and the location is perfect. There’s convenient stores, Thai food stands and fruit markets all over the place. When it’s time to go to training, I just run to the gym – which takes me about half an hour. It’s all uphill too so it’s just what I need since surprisingly, my cardio still sucks. You’d think that after training 6 days a week for 5 months straight, eating right and having only 1 beer in the last 3 months, my cardio would be amazing but apparently not. It’s pretty frustrating actually.
Anyway, on another note, Christmas just past and it was a little weird being away from home. I didn’t really do much. I just trained during the day and went for a walk at night to check out the scene. It was pretty wild actually. It was just a giant party with fireworks, plenty of alcohol and plenty of guys looking to get laid.
To be honest, Christmas for me has always been about family and church, not booze and prostitutes (lol), so I was on my best behaviour. For some reason, I figured it’d be bad karma or something if I was to give into temptation so I ended up just coming back to my room. I ended up taking a video of the scene though for you guys to see. The video quality sucks – I think it’s time for a new camera. As you can tell, I was feelin’ the girl by the dancing by the Bacardi sign, check it out..
Anyway guys, thanks for following along up to this point (still lots to go) and all the best in 2009.
Happy Holidays!
THINKING OF GOING TO THAILAND TO TRAIN?
I’ve developed a 70 page guide that profiles everything you need to know about training in Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. In the manual, I discuss the visa issues, the Muay Thai camps, the different areas, the transportation, the food, the culture and customs, the girls, the scams, the safety issues and most importantly, how to save a ton of cash along the way!
Another great post, thanks for all of the details and the personal touch.
Hey I don’t know if you’ve ever tried sprinting but for me it made a big difference in my cardio. Interval training during your distance run or some sprint drills after you train might help out your endurance quite a bit.
Please check out Chuwattana while in BKK for me.
Have you tried HIT(High Interval Training) training for your cardio?
I like to skip more then I do run and I this worked great for me when I first arrived in Thailand and started working on my cardiovascular endurance. Basically you skip at 75% speed for three minuets then on the fourth minuet you go 100% speed. I use a $20 pocket boxing timer to keep time.
That place in Patong looks familiar, are you underneath Hollywood Discoteq ?
Sandstorm!!!!
And thankjs for report.
Do you have internet in that place? How’s the internet in the area in general?
Another great post, thanks! A little off topic but I was wondering if you have been keeping track of your costs. I’d like to hear about how much it’s costing you per month as I’m considering a similar trip this year.
Thanks!
Tariq and Josh,
Thanks for the tips. I actually went to the doctor today to get a checkup and some blood done since with all the training I’ve been doing, I really shouldn’t be having these problems.
Anyway, he just gave me some electrolite packs and said that since it’s so hot, I lose them through sweat and that’s what’s making me fatigue so soon. I’ll give them a try tomorrow and see how it goes.
And Josh, the place where I filmed that clip on Christmas eve is “soi lion”. There’s a place like that under hollywood disco too but I’ve actually only gone in once. The girls were lookin pretty grimey .. lol
Tobias,
I actually hadn’t even heard about Chuwattana so I googled it and it looks pretty cool. Looks like the real deal for sure. Hopefully I can get there for at least a day and report on it. To be honest tho, I absolutely HATE bangkok. There’s so many gyms there that I want to train at but everytime I go there, I just want to get OUT!
Kirk,
Yeah, my room has an internet connection (a RELIABLE internet connection) and I’ve been spending a ton of time working online. Even if you didn’t have a laptop, there’s a bunch of internet cafe’s all over the place. Most of them are open 24 hours a day and they charge 40 baht an hour, which is a little over a dollar.
Shaun,
Do a search for “Pattaya Cribs”, in that post I profiled alot of the costs associated with living and training here in Thailand. I’ll most likely be doing another one later on breaking down the expenses according to which area you’re in (BKK, Pattaya, Phuket, Chaing Mai) as well as giving tips on how to get things for cheap 🙂
Brah….you left too soon 😉
Friday Jan. 16th is the Mike Swick Seminar.
Sat Jan. 17th is the Nevertap grappling tournament http://www.nevertap.asia
That night is the BBQ…we are doing Bernueng Sakhomsin Vs. Sinjok Legacy Gym in an MMA FIGHT!!! Both of these Thai’s are top 10 Lumpinee Ranked.
Stop by the gym Fri and Sat to hang out…
http://www.tigermuaythai.com
What is the monthly cost for training only at Patong boxing gym? it is not posted on their website.
Thanks for this Blog, I am considering going out to Thailand to train at the end of this year and this has been very interesting reading! I trained in Jeet Kune Do a few years ago but I have not trained in any martial arts for about 3 years now. I am just looking for somewhere to train Muay Thai where I live in Mallorca. In your opinion do you think it is vital to get in some training here before I leave to train in Thailand?
Quick question: Ever since I saw the Bourne Ultimatum movies I’ve been hooked on Krav Maga. I live in the middle of nowhere Kansas, and there isn’t a Krav Maga training center for miles. I’m looking to learn krav maga online: Are there any good krav maga training sites around?