Day 3

24^th November

Yesterday’s training was good. We started with warm-up as usual followed by shadow boxing. Step kick step jab. Shin in. Block. More hip. Block.

Learning the right technique from Hlukhin is the best part. He looks so scary so you just have to learn. In the afternoon training he said my left kick was good which is always nice to hear.

Now I kind of know what’s happening and what to do, not like on the first day when I was completely clueless. My right shin hurts like hell though when I kick, it’s all bruised up. I put some ice on it after the afternoon training, as I just couldn’t kick with it anymore. It’s like my body is subconsciously backing up when I try to kick the pads hard.

I did the afternoon run too but only got to run it once; there was a big storm on it’s way so I decided not to risk it and go again. A good decision, the rain started after 5 minutes and it was pouring.

The day was complete with a swim and relaxation in the pool, omelette, a friendly game of poker and a good night sleep, finally. 

Day 2

23rd November

The gang returned from Phuket and unfortunately Chris had lost his fight. They all still ended up having a great night out drinking in the “city”.

Hanging around before the training in the afternoon Chris and me were playing cards. Like I mentioned before I don’t gamble for money we started with playing for who gets the water or gets up to change the TV channel. Then we invented a new game we named The Maverick based on the movie. The aim of the game is to find the ace of spades. Each person has three turns to pick a card from the deck, the one who finds the ace first gets 200 bahts. It felt very good winning that money after a long and nerve-racking game.

Some pictures of the place:

First training

22^nd November

Not feeling like my soul had gone to transformation for the better and cleaner, I woke up 7.30 in the morning to get ready for my first training. I was a bit nervous, as I didn’t have any idea what to expect. They did tell me I don’t need to do morning runs since it is more important for me to learn the right technique first. 

First we did some stretching and a short warm-up and it was time fro shadow boxing. I got to learn the technique with the help of the trainer. The most important thing I learned that day was that muay thai is all about the step. You always need to step forward before punching or kicking or whatever. Believe me it’s much harder as it seems like.

Shadow boxing felt weird and stupid since I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Felt stupid punching air in front of a mirror. And the mirror makes me look fat.

During the training I started to feel dizzy, my body was clearly not used to training in the heat. All the sweating made me feel very weak. But I made it to the end and the trainer was nice enough not to push me too much on my first go.

 In the afternoon almost everyone left to Phuket to watch Chris fight, it was his first fight in Thailand, six previous in Ireland. Everyone left to support him and for a night out. Not much drinking happening on this Muslim island and with all the training. I decided not to go: I had just arrived and didn’t want to spend so much money for the trip, also didn’t feel like drinking.

Me and a Spanish/Australian couple with their daughter stayed on the island, waiting for the news from Chris’s fight. Mike the Australian did a training circuit for us in the afternoon, which we repeated next morning. That was our training since everyone was gone to Phuket.

Before the afternoon training I went for a short run, just to test how my body can manage with the heat. At first it was hard to breath but it got easier towards the end.

Loy Krathong

21^st November

I paid for my training and accommodation, took my things to the room, and was invited to a friendly game of gambling. Unfortunately for some I don’t gamble for money so the game was changed to an open poker.

It was nice to be welcome as part of the “training community”. I even got a motorbike ride and a tour of the small town of the island of one of the guys here.  Not much on this island but few shops, a market, restaurants and a seven-eleven. I just love it so nice and quite, well except for the praying calls as the population of the island is 90% Muslim.

As mentioned before it was the day of Loy Krathong, a Buddhist festival. Part of the festival is getting a floating flower thingy with a candle and incense. We got our from the island’s festival area for 50 baht, all hand made by the local kids and the profit goes to the school. 

After slight problem transporting the floaters on the motorbike, they were pretty big and fragile; we made our way back to the hotel. Then it was time to cut some of our hair and nails, and add them to the flowers.

What made the biggest impression on me that night, was the feeling of being part of the family. The trainers, the students, everyone was taking part in lighting and floating the flowers into the sea. We even took many pictures as a group with the flowers.

The meaning of this float is that it is suppose to cleanse your soul as some sort of soul detox; a nice beginning for my one-month training.

The island

21^st November

After arriving to the Phuket airport I hurried up to the pier so I could still catch the boat. The flight was a bit late and I wasn’t quite sure how late the boats are going. Didn’t want to get stuck in Phuket for sure, hated the place last time I was there.

Entering the pier area ended up costing me 10 baht tourist fee, they sure do charge for everything in Phuket. Luckily I was just in time to catch the next boat and it left right after I got onboard. The trip went smoothly, I was enjoying the amazing view with a breeze in my hair. 

Finally I had arrived to the island. I made my way to the taxi/pickup car and told the driver my destination. The driver was a cute little old man who was telling about the island as we were heading to the muya thai gym. He had lived there all his life for 52 years and had a big family. He also told me about a festival that was happening later that night something called “Loy Krathong”.

Bangkok

19^th November

So I finally arrived in Bangkok with my backpack. Unfortunately my friend couldn’t make it to the airport to pick me up but I managed to get to their place by myself. It was so nice to see her again and of course to meet her son and boyfriend.

The place was very far away from the Bangkok I knew. It was outside the city centre where the “real” thai people live. Spend few wonderful days with my friend shopping for presents for my family and random things from me.

I also learned a couple of new thai believes such as changing your name so the death won’t find you and setting all the clocks at different time for the same reason.

Time in Bangkok flew by fast and before I knew it I was, yet again, heading to the airport. Luckily this time the trip was only 1 hour long.

Apology

I’m sorry it’s been a long time since the last update. I only have limited access to the Internet at the moment. I will be writing as much as I can and uploading posts at one go. I will add the date to each post to make it easier to follow my journey.