Training in Thailand: Useful Information

**Whosthemaster** · Posted On: 5/12/2008 9:04am

Originally Posted by Bahuyuddha

I have never had malaria, and as Draven said, it is not a significant risk in Thailand, especially in the areas where most tourists are likely to go. I have had dengue fever though, which is more commmon and it is a real pain. It isn't likely that you will get it on a holiday, unless for some reason you spend a lot of time out in the countryside. It is not usually fatal in healthy adults, but it is occasionally in infants and the elderly.

Dengue fever has returned to the spotlight here in Brazil. You are right, young adults are generally safe, but the 'normal' fever can escalate to a very dangerous hemorrhage. Some fifty people died this year, half of them children.

**Draven** · Posted On: 5/12/2008 6:34pm

If you spend your holiday worrying about getting sick its not going to be much of a holiday. I recommend just getting the vaccinations your doctor recommends (takes 5 minutes, no big deal) and enjoy your time there. Malaria tablets are bitch to take. No reason to put yourself through that unless you are going to be traveling through the darkest of Cambodia.

**qwerty00** · Posted On: 5/17/2008 12:32am

I am planning a training trip to Thailand this December and need some advice on where is the best place to go. I have narrow it down to Phuket since it was tourist town with people who can speak English but it did not have as much distraction (ie bar girls) as Bangkok and Pattaya. I have narrowed down to two gyms in Phuket; Tiger Muay Thai (http://www.tigermuaythai.com/) or Rawai (http://www.rawaimuaythai.com/). Both have trainers that are fighters with lots of fighting experience.

I have some experience with Muay Thai and would like this trip to get me into fighting shape. i prefer places that would push me to my limits and beyond.

Thanks,
Qwerty

**Tenchu** · Posted On: 5/17/2008 5:35am

Originally Posted by qwerty00

I am planning a training trip to Thailand this December and need some advice on where is the best place to go. I have narrow it down to Phuket since it was tourist town with people who can speak English but it did not have as much distraction (ie bar girls) as Bangkok and Pattaya. I have narrowed down to two gyms in Phuket; Tiger Muay Thai (http://www.tigermuaythai.com/) or Rawai (http://www.rawaimuaythai.com/). Both have trainers that are fighters with lots of fighting experience.

I have some experience with Muay Thai and would like this trip to get me into fighting shape. i prefer places that would push me to my limits and beyond.

Thanks,
Qwerty

Hey man.

I am at Tiger Muay Thai now. It is great. It is 90% white guys train there, and a few Thai women I seen. But the teachers, for Muay Thai, are all Thai, and they all fight, so they train there too. There must be about 15 or so Thai fighters teaching the white guys there and beating them up and stuff. It is great. It WILL turn out pro skills if you stay the time and give the effort.

Yeah, all the teachers are Thai for Muay Thai, all pro, but there is MMA there as well taught by a couple of white guys, they also are pro fighters. This is a top gym, for sure.

It is run and owned by an American, so it is easy to organize stuff if you talk through email with him. He is resonable man. His name is Will, he dont do Muay Thai, lets just say he is Super Super Heavy Weight... ...

This is the place to go if you wanne find info on Muay Thai in Thailand and talk with real fighters who train there or will train there, not just people who like to fight on the net, like some places... www.muaythailand.com

If you want to avoid 'distractions' then I suggest you dont go to the other side of the island from where the gym is located... GeezssssssazZZZZZZZZZZZ, so many sexy ladyboys, it makes me scared I dont know what to do. My senses tell me run from the man that is cuter than 90% of the girls back home, but my eyes are like... never mind. Yeah, I have a wife so have not converted to ladyboysexuality just yet...

Yeah man, the accomodation and facilities at TMT are GREAT. But book ahead or you might end up having to stay at a nearby hotel because they are often busy given it is such a good gym.

Let me know if you got any more questions. I will be at TMT for the next month or so before I cruise back to Bangkok to train at Eminent Air and do some fights.

**Draven** · Posted On: 5/17/2008 7:03am

Yeah Tiger is good. Avoid Rawai though, it sucks, the teachers there dont really care about training farangs. They´ll likely just put you on a bag and tell you to kick it like you want, then ignore you most of the session.

How long will you be there?

**Tenchu** · Posted On: 5/17/2008 7:14am

Originally Posted by Draven

Yeah Tiger is good. Avoid Rawai though, it sucks, the teachers there dont really care about training farangs. They´ll likely just put you on a bag and tell you to kick it like you want, then ignore you most of the session.

How long will you be there?

Where is Rawaii? I remember the name but dont think I have seen it round Phuket yet. But I only been on the island for 2 weeks and not been out much, so...

On the way to the beach I saw Sinbi Muay Thai gym: http://www.sinbi-muaythai.com/

This gym clearly invests time in training white people, unlike some, like Draven said. It is good location given it is a good deal closer to the beach than TMT is, but the downer side is it is further from the big shopping centers, which are only 5 mins on a motorbike (which are rentable here) from TMT. But if you have a bit of extra cash than me and can afford to eat at fulung (white foreigner) targeted restaurants then go for it. But I prefer the card food at Big C and Central Festival which is way cheaper. Like, $1US (35 THB) for a plate of food, I eat 2 plates coz I am bigger than Thai people, so $2US per meal...

Well, I recomend Tiger.

**Rustiga** · Posted On: 5/17/2008 9:43pm

Just to repeat my earlier post!
How much would one be expecting to pay for a 3 months stay at one of these gyms, + food and what not?

**Tenchu** · Posted On: 5/17/2008 11:58pm

Originally Posted by Rustiga

Just to repeat my earlier post!
How much would one be expecting to pay for a 3 months stay at one of these gyms, + food and what not?

Approx for if you stayed at Tiger Muay Thai, which is a GOOD priced gym for foreigners, both for training and accomodation:

Per month for training and accomodation:

20,000 - 24,000 THB per month depending on what level of accomodation you stay in.

Food:

At Big C and Central Festival 5 min drive up the road is your best option. The food there is 'card food' where you buy a card at a counter then go to a bar and order what you want, every bar has different foods, and it is all good. 1 plate = about 30 - 40 THB. If you are over 75 kilo you will prob want to eat 2 plates per meal, given Thai people are small so the meals aint huge. I am 86 kilo and have to eat 2 plates of food to fill me.

Other expenses:

Motorbike, you will want to rent one if at Tiger Muay Thai, few places are close to everything you need, and paying for taxi will often cost the same as if you rented a bike and drove their yourself. Per month, automatic, 4,500 THB, manual is 3,000 THB per month.

Petrol is about 35 THB per litre, I dont see you useing more than 2 litres a day to drive. Prob only 1 if you train full time.

Ladyboy rental; prices vary, 2,000 THB will get you a good one for a few hours! LOL. (Semi JK).

Yeah man, I tell you, I do things cheap, like is said above. 15,000 THB for food and petrol, that is 500 THB per day, for a month. 20,000 THB for accom and training. 4,500 THB for bike. That is about 40,000 THB per month. A sensible person should spend little more than this unless they go over the top with the ladyboys. Use currency calculator found on google to convert into your currency.

Go to www.muaythailand.com to speak with people who really train, unlike this place, and train in Thailand.

Hope that helps.

**danielson** · Posted On: 5/18/2008 1:33am

Originally Posted by Tenchu

Hey man.

I am at Tiger Muay Thai now. It is great. It is 90% white guys train there, and a few Thai women I seen. But the teachers, for Muay Thai, are all Thai, and they all fight, so they train there too. There must be about 15 or so Thai fighters teaching the white guys there and beating them up and stuff. It is great. It WILL turn out pro skills if you stay the time and give the effort.

Yeah, all the teachers are Thai for Muay Thai, all pro, but there is MMA there as well taught by a couple of white guys, they also are pro fighters. This is a top gym, for sure.

It is run and owned by an American, so it is easy to organize stuff if you talk through email with him. He is resonable man. His name is Will, he dont do Muay Thai, lets just say he is Super Super Heavy Weight... ...

This is the place to go if you wanne find info on Muay Thai in Thailand and talk with real fighters who train there or will train there, not just people who like to fight on the net, like some places... www.muaythailand.com

If you want to avoid 'distractions' then I suggest you dont go to the other side of the island from where the gym is located... GeezssssssazZZZZZZZZZZZ, so many sexy ladyboys, it makes me scared I dont know what to do. My senses tell me run from the man that is cuter than 90% of the girls back home, but my eyes are like... never mind. Yeah, I have a wife so have not converted to ladyboysexuality just yet...

Yeah man, the accomodation and facilities at TMT are GREAT. But book ahead or you might end up having to stay at a nearby hotel because they are often busy given it is such a good gym.

Let me know if you got any more questions. I will be at TMT for the next month or so before I cruise back to Bangkok to train at Eminent Air and do some fights.

Tiger MT has a good rep but the owner has a bad rep for gouging on room rates so look around before you book a place. Rawaii has a bad rep from most of the crackers I have spoken to. I think Ray Elbe still teaches MMA, BJJ at TMT, They have an octagon and mat space for rolling.

**Draven** · Posted On: 5/18/2008 2:11pm

If you have a little more money to spend on having a good time and you aint a cheapskate like Tenchu, then this is an example of how lived in Koh Samui for 3 months while I trained at Pinyo Boxing.

Motorbike rental: 150 BHT per day

Accomodation: I didnt stay at the gym. Instead I rented a good bungalow with air conditioning, satellite TV and all that ****. A really good room and I paid MONTHLY. That made the rent twice as cheap so I was paying 500BHT per day for this. Plus electric bill which was maybe 2000 BHT a month.

Food: I like Thai food but I also have to get a little variety in it, I usually went to restaurants 2-3 times a day. Thai food in a cheap restaurant is like 60BHT, Farang food at a more expensive place is a bit more. A steak imported from NZ would cost something like 300-400. I would say on average I spent around 400-500 BHT on food

Fun: I did a lot of that. If we´re talking just nightlife then at the beer bars a Heineken is around 70BHT, the Thai beer a little cheaper. I dont know how much I spent the nights I went out (which was in actually around 5 nights a week). Sometimes I was only buying drinks for myself, sometimes for a lady friend as well... 1000 Baht should be enough for a wild night out. But that depends on what you do. I´ve ran into older guys that have been spending as much as 30.000 a night...

Also, I highly recommend using the countless massage parleurs all over the place. Great after training. An hour of Thai massage is 150BH, thats nothing. Go to one of the more shady massage places and you can throw in an extra 500 for a happy ending :laughing5