Training in Thailand: Useful Information

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/12/2008 2:38pm

So I´ve decided to make a thread that may be useful for once. As opposed to what I normally post here. Useless junk that I get banned or flamed and called an idiot for posting. There are regulary threads in this forum made by people asking about information on training in Thailand so I thought it would be helpful if I crammed all the info needed into one thread. Having been to Thailand more than once and spent around 6 months there, traveling around the country and training at various gyms I do actually know what I am talking about here (that´ll be a first). It would also be cool if others with experience from training in Thailand could post their own input to this thread.

Anyway, here it goes....

Note: The currency of Thailand is called Baht. At the current rate 1 USD is 31.5 BHT.

How much would a trip like this cost?
This is probably the most common question from people planning a trip. But its pretty much impossible to answer as it depends on where you will be staying and what you will be doing. Will you stay in some shithole eating nothing but rice all day and do nothing but train or sleep? Or will you be spending your time at a nice hotel, eating out in fancy restaurants twice a day and spending your nights at the GoGo bars fucking bargirls? In general everything in Thailand is dirt cheap. You can get a nice meal at a restaurant for 100 Baht. A good room for 500 BHT a night. The most expensive places in Thailand are Bangkok and the tourist islands and beach towns in the south. In other areas things can be up to three times cheaper than in these places.

The flight ticket is of course quite expensive. You´d be very lucky if you get a flight for 1200 dollars or less if you are flying from the USA or Europe.

What are the best places to train?
Thats all subjective really. I am not going to bother writing a complete list here since that has already been done on another website. Here is the link. You can view information on all the camps listed there and read reviews that have been submitted by users. In general the standards of training in Thailand is INCREDIBLY high. These gyms are all very friendly to foreigners and you will be welcomed with smiles.

How does the training take place?
Usually you have the option of starting with a run then get into the gym. There you will usually do some shadow boxing, push ups and other warm up routines. Most of the training goes into pad work where the Thai trainer will hold pads and have you do several rounds of intense combos of kicks, knees, elbows and punches. After that its usually half an hour of sparring and it ends with clinch work. There is a difference with the training depending on the gym you are at. Some focus more on clinch, while others may focus more on something like kicking. But in almost all of them there are 2 group sessions each day, one in the morning and one in the night. And each lasts around 2 hours. You can also book private lessons if you speak to one of the trainers. For a measly fee of 500 Baht you can get an hour of training one on one with a Muay Thai world champion. Imagine that.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spxOpYYnvzM
Your typical tatted up tourist doing padwork in a gym in Thailand. There will be people there of all skill levels, sizes and ages. Everyone is welcome to train in these places.

In what city/town should I stay?
Depends on what you want. The most popular tourist places are in the south of Thailand. The beautiful tropical islands (Koh Samui, Phuket etc.) are places most people go to. These are the most expensive and perhaps least genuine places in Thailand. Just south of Bangkok is Pattaya. Extremely popular with sex tourists due to its notorious nightlife. Perhaps not the best place to go to if you are serious about just training, due to all the distractions. Bangkok itself is wonderful in its own way, though a bit too loud and polluted for a guy like me. Isaarn is the northeast part of Thailand and is the poorest and cheapest part of the country, there are cities there like Ubon that have good gyms. If you go all the way north you can also stay at the beautiful Chiang Mai, which is the second biggest city of Thailand. The climate here is a little cooler so this might be a better place for training (doing runs in 35 degrees c in south of Thailand is living hell). Personally, I recommend traveling a little and seeing different parts of the country. Its a lot more fun to get a little variety than just staying at the same place the whole time.

The nightlife.
Many places in Thailand are notorious for their extreme nightlife. In Pattaya for an example. There is around 100 huge GoGo bars, thousands of open beer bars and countless night clubs. If you are a white male, you will be beating the girls off you with a stick every time you enter one of these places. With the low price on alcohol, nice climate (its hot all night in Thailand) and gorgeous women its easy to get distracted in Thailand, which affects your training (I should know). Its easy to say that you are just going there for training before you head out, but once actually get there the temptations are endless. Go on, have some fun. You will only live once. Just remember to check for the Adams apple...

I only came here for training. Honest!

Isn´t it dangerous in Thailand? Will I get stabbed/get AIDS/get raped by a pack of ladyboys as soon as I step off the plane there?
No, Thailand really isn´t all that dangerous. Of course, there are crimes. But on average I would say you are in more danger in certain areas of big US cities than in Bangkok. It just all depends on the way you act. Thais take offense in things we would never understand. Its all about face there, if you disrespect someone or make them "lose face" in front of others you can expect trouble. Do not, under any circumstances, disrespect Buddha or the King of Thailand. These are the two most sacred things in Thailand. If there is trouble, you just smile. Thats the way Thais solve things, its the land of smiles. Smile, be polite and you will be fine. Its douche bags that come there thinking they can act however the **** they want that end up getting stabbed.

What do Thais think of foreigners?
Thailand is probably the most friendly country you could ever visit. But of course, many of them look at foreigners as walking ATMs. The average wage in the poorer regions of Thailand is around 2000 Baht, in Bangkok a person would be lucky to make 6000. So when the farangs show up with more than that in their wallet they will obviously want some of that. There will be many scammers awaiting you when you arrive in Bangkok. To avoid that you should take a Taxi with a working meter. You should also avoid getting led into stores that offer you "special deals". They are all without a doubt scamming you. The foreigners Thais like best are white westerners and the Japanese. They dislike black people. Thais generally have three names over black people. "Bum Monkeys", "Darklings" and "Niggo". Charming isn´t it? If you are a black guy going to Thailand you should not be surprised if you are not allowed entry to a bar because it is for "members only". Then a minute later see a group of white guys waltzing in there for the first time like nothing. Sad, but true.

Thats all for now, I might add some more info later. If you have any questions just ask...

**prezbuluskey** · Posted On: 4/12/2008 4:13pm

Any insight on the womenz over there? All of the stupid movies lead me to believe that they scuk you in with their boobies and then their brother kills you and takes your wallet. Is there any truth to that or is it relatively low risk. I ask because I hear this crap all the time and want to know if it has any truth to it.

Awesome thread, thanks.

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/12/2008 4:27pm

Originally Posted by prezbuluskey

Any insight on the womenz over there? All of the stupid movies lead me to believe that they scuk you in with their boobies and then their brother kills you and takes your wallet. Is there any truth to that or is it relatively low risk. I ask because I hear this crap all the time and want to know if it has any truth to it.

Awesome thread, thanks.

They are crafty, thats for sure. They arent "sex slaves" by any means. That bullshit comes from middle aged western skanks on their periods that have never even been to thailand. Most of them only do this for a short period of time to send some money to their poor families in Isaan or whatever. They can choose who they go with and some of them dont even go with men at all, only live on tips. Its the "customers" that are usually the victims. Be careful while taking a stroll through pattaya. You might just have some miserably old **** land on your head because its ridiculously common that guys that have been fucked over by their "innocent" ladies take a jump from a hotel balcony. Thailand can be either heaven and hell, depends on how smart you are.

Its simple really. Guy meets a girl and the girl treats him like a king during his holyday. Serving his every need which leads to him falling in love with her and wondering why the **** he even bothered with the constantly nagging bitches back home. Guy goes home and the girls starts with the lies, milking him and having him send her money. Cheats on him and doesnt think twice about it. The guy thinks she loves him but in reality she loves his bank account and looks at him like a walking ATM. Guy buys a house in Thailand and since its impossible for foreigners to own 100% of property in Thailand he buys it in her name. She then tells him to **** off and moves into the house with her Thai husband and kids that she never told him about. Guy loses everything and ends up taking a dive down from the 10th floor of a hotel in Pattaya.

**The_Tao** · Posted On: 4/12/2008 8:41pm

Speaking of women, any especially nasty parasites or diseases to be worried about while training, or in the night life

**danielson** · Posted On: 4/12/2008 8:51pm

Hey Draven,,I go to thailand annually, I was training in Phuket and Lanta last year for a couple of months. How often are you there?

**Rustiga** · Posted On: 4/12/2008 10:02pm

How would one go about setting up staying at a place like a hotel or said 'shithole', and booking a place to train and what not. I've been really curious and hopefully plan on heading there next summer.

**tharuz** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 1:26am

Is it true that you need to bring a mouthguard from home before going to thailand?

and what will they treat you like if you look hispanic/middle eastern?

**Draven** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 7:23am

Originally Posted by The_Tao

Speaking of women, any especially nasty parasites or diseases to be worried about while training, or in the night life

Use a condom.

Originally Posted by Rustiga

How would one go about setting up staying at a place like a hotel or said 'shithole', and booking a place to train and what not. I've been really curious and hopefully plan on heading there next summer.

You just show up there. You dont need to book anything in advance. Though perhaps it would be wise to book a hotel room online before heading out.

Originally Posted by tharuz

Is it true that you need to bring a mouthguard from home before going to thailand?

and what will they treat you like if you look hispanic/middle eastern?

I´m pretty sure there are sport stores there that sell mouth guards.
And you´ll be fine.

**danielson** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 3:03pm

Originally Posted by Rustiga

How would one go about setting up staying at a place like a hotel or said 'shithole', and booking a place to train and what not. I've been really curious and hopefully plan on heading there next summer.

Don't book hotel or training camp in advance,,you will get robbed on the price. Just go to Khaosarn rd in bangkok (pronounced cow-san) directly from the airport cabstand. The taxi will cost you about 350 baht. There are hundred of guest houses on Khaosarn,,its like a travellers mecca. Ask around when you get there. I reccomend Tigerpitt muah thai in Phuket. Its run by Sean Douglas from the states.

**Asriel** · Posted On: 4/13/2008 3:50pm

Sidtyotong is Pattaya is supposed to be one of the best gyms in Thailand.

The standards are very high and the training hard. I had black legs from kicking their bags and pads after a few days.

If you're serious about your training, my advice is to forget about the women altogether. A couple of guys we were with got into all that and started being late for training, turning up with a hangover etc.

If you want to get ****-faced and **** women, stay at home.