Paintball Saturday

Yesterday after morning training some friends and I went to get our paintball on. Having an Indian in our group meant that we were going to get the best deal in town.

Once again I am reminded why I love Thailand so much - the cheap prices for everything and the quality time spent with new friends. Here are some before and after photos. :D

Peace from Phuket.

Parasailing @ Patong Beach

Sunday rest day activities - parasailing for the first time.

We went to a couple of beaches to check out the prices and finally settled on 1000bht or $30 Canadian to do parasailing at Patong beach. I was initially scared because I had never done it before and don't know how to swim. Luckily I had my friend with me so I asked him to go first, you know cause I am such a good friend and all. And I wanted to see if he would drown, in which case I would skip parasailing (lol).

Anyways it went off without any problems, the Thais are really efficient in getting you strapped up and secured in. And the safety instruction amounted to keep running until you are in the air. It was really fun and exhilarating. At the end, you plopped down into the water and had to be pulled up into the boat. But luckily the life jacket prevented me from drowning.

Peace from Patong Beach.

Eating insects

So today is Saturday which means tomorrow there is no training! With the extra time and upcoming rest, my friends and I headed to the night market tonight.

On the menu: insects, lots and lots of insects. I saw this vendor last time, but didn't have the balls to try them. Well this time I would not walk away without a bite. So my Denmark friend Phillip and I tried 3 types of fried insects: big grasshoppers, small crickets and a huge larvae of some sort, maybe it was butterfly cocoon. Anyways there were surprisingly good, so good in fact I almost forgot I was eating insects that were oozing with juices - especially the cocoon.

In addition to the insects, I also bought some gifts and souvenirs for back home. Unfortunately I couldn't find a specific gift my friend Adam requested (it was a bottle of liquor with something foreign in it - as in a scorpion or snake shell), But I will keep on looking!

Peace from Phuket.

The advantages of looking like a Thai

Last night one of my friends fought at Bangla stadium. His name is Floris and he is from Holland. He faced an opponent who was bigger than him but was shorter. I bet some money on him for moral support and actually won! It was really good and I felt really happy for him and my wallet.

But the cost of the ticket to get into the stadium was too expensive for me. So I decided to try to sneak in. Here in Phuket, the Thais get to go into the stadium for free whereas the foreigners have to pay around 1300bht which is about 15 meals or $30. I want to say I charmed my way through the door. But pretty much I just show up and looked like a Thai and proceeded to walk past the guard. In my defense, I did at least say hello. But it was probably really off, if I were to say it in English it probably would have been like "top of the morning to you-  sir and or madam".

In conclusion: looking like a Thai while in Thailand is great :D

Peace from Phuket.

Watching real Muay Thai fight at Bangla stadium

Yesterday I went with the rest of the Sinbi students to the biggest fight of the month at Bangla stadium. 3 of the fighters here at Sinbi were fighting for championship belts. The governing body of Muay Thai in Thailand is called WMC and is created by the Thai government. So 3 WMC titles were contended for by the Sinbi fighters. And they all won!

It was really cool to watch the people you train with everyday win something big like this. It made you feel like you were part of something bigger and with that comes pride.

At multiple points during the fight we were up on our feets going OEY, OEY, OEY as our fighters struck their opponents with knees, kicks and elbows. One of the fights was really entertaining but also brutal, with both opponents drawing blood from elbow and knee strikes.

At the start of each fight the fighters did this traditional Thai dance to seal the ring and show off to the audience their Muay Thai skills; this also helped the betters place bets accordingly. And there was a lot of betting going on. If you sat at the bottom of the stadium you can see men and women waving their arms wildly as they called out odds and enticed the audience to partake in the excitement.

As I began my journey on this trip I had the goal of getting into the best shape of my life as well as fight in one of these Muay Thai bouts. But after watching these fights and hearing the stories, I changed my goal to just the fitness part. I am definitely getting better in my technique and power, but I am nowhere near the skill level of the fighters out here and don't think I will be in 3 month. So safety first is the motto :D

Fighters doing the traditional Thai dance prior to the bout

Blue is the Sinbi fighter Justine from America and Red is the Lion Muay Thai gym fighter from Germany who has the WMC title

Bangla Stadium

Blue corner is Sinbi

Blue corner is Sinbi

Really brutal fight. Both fighters were bleeding from cuts from elbows and knees

Peace from Bangla stadium in Phuket

Goodbye to friends and Full Moon Festival

Today one of my roommates Isabelle moved out of our room. So now I am living here with only my other roommate Jordan. This Friday my other friend George from Australia is also leaving. So many goodbyes in such a short amount of time. But from my time here I have learned it as a fact of life. A lot of people come and go. Most stay only a few weeks or few days. People who stay longer than 1 month are a rare sight. But, as in all things in life, its about the quality and not the quantity.

Today was also the full moon festival here in Thailand. The biggest party happens in another island call Koh Phangan. But here in Phuket we have our own version at Nai Harn beach. The mini man made island was transformed into a night market and people sailed lit flower boats down the river. And you can also buy hot air ballons to bring your wishes to the skies. I got both, one for someone special :D and the other for my parents back home.

Today I felt the most homesick since I have been out of Canada. But good friends bring comfort wherever I may travel.

Peace from Nai Harn Beach Phuket.

From Left to Right: Isabell, George, Jordan, Me

What we saw after opening our door

Got George back haha!

About to set off the hot air ballon to a special someone

My friend Geoff with his ballon

Group shot, too many to name

From left to right: Me, George and Phillip (new guy at camp, FNG: Fuckin New Guy haha)

PS. I almost forgot my friend George is a huge prankster. And he put some bricks in front of our door while we were away, but we got him back with a stack twice as high at his door haha. Below are some pictures. (We are really immature here, i am probably the most mature out of the group - which is saying a lot).

First clinching session

After 2 weeks at the camp, I have started to settle into a routine now. Wake up at around 7:15, roll up my hand wraps and start morning training. After that some light weights + situps to finish off the morning.

Today however there was something different added in. I had my first clinching session today. It was really fun but also really tiring. I had been taught how to clinch 2 times before, and today I faced another student. A Russian guy who had maybe 20lbs on me. But that is usually the case as almost everyone here at the camp is bigger than me - even the girls.

It got pretty heated at one point as Mr. Russia and I exchanged knees and pulls. My friend George told me he felt bad for the other guys cause all the trainers were cheering every time I kneed him but they didn't make any noise when he did it to me.

Anyways I felt he dominated me at every turn. But then again I had some good knees in there and it was my first time. All in all it was really fun and afterwards I felt my neck and biceps aching with fatigue. But I plan to continue to clinch whenever I have the chance.

Peace.

Nightmarket and Motorbikes

Yesterday, some of the guys staying at the campus decided to go to the night market. Since I had nothing better to do I decided to tag along.

At around 7pm we rolled out in a gang of 7 or 8 motorbikes. I felt like I was part of a motorcycle gang, albeit a really shitty one, because we were all on scooters.

Only after we got on the road did I realize what a horrible mistake I made. The night market is about 20km away from the camp and that my friends drive like maniacs. Between driving 80km/hr and diving through traffic akin to mario karts I somehow managed to survive and arrive at the night market in one piece.

Once inside I decided to explore and try out the various foods available. Wow, everything imaginable was there from grilled BBQ chicken, squid, pork beef, there was also fried cockroaches and assorted insects. Not feeling that adventurous yet, I decided to save the less than savory insects for a later date.

At one point, a huge storm rolled in and virtually halted all movement inside the market, because everything is under makeshift canopies, there was leaking water everywhere. And people sought shelter in various stores and stalls until the storm passed. Every few minutes the store owners would have to prod and poke the canopies to empty water into the already flooding store space.

At around 10pm the rain finally abated and I decided to head back towards camp at a safer pace since now I knew the road back.

All in all a great Sunday night in Phuket.
Peace.

Getting ready to roll out

various fried insects

flooding of biblical scales

sushi stand

Metal working shop

First Injury + New haircut

After morning session today I sprained my toe on my left leg. It was when we had pair work and I was learning how to throw away kicks using my hands. You have to step back first and then push it away with your hands. As I was doing this, my foot landed funny and I stubbed my fourth toe. So now I can't really put pressure on it.

Because of this I decided to take the afternoon off and hopefully it will get better tomorrow.

Oh and I also got a new haircut, its shaved really short now. I figure I have 3 month to grow it back haha. I look like a monk now.

Peace.

Sunday Rest Day

my roommate isabelle with her coconut

Today is Sunday. That means rest day! Monday-Saturday are normal training. I am trying to keep up my sleep schedule so I went to bed early last night and woke up at 6:30 again (without an alarm clock!). It's such a great feeling to wake up without an alarm clock simply because you are looking forward to your day. This is what it is like for me all week, even during training days.

 First I went to grab some breakfast at the local joint - Lion Muay Thai cafe. Even though it is part of another gym, everyone from Sinbi eats there for their delicious morning Roti and eggs. All in all, you can get full for under $2 Canadian or 2000W Korean.

After breakfast, I zipped around the island to the Chalong Thai temple and the Big Buddha. The Thai temples are really unique in their design and very different from other Asian temples I have seen in China or Korea. They are way more colorful and has a lot of figurines all over the structures. The big Buddha is a monument to Buddha that is currently being built ontop of one of the tallest mountains in Phuket. While I was there I saw workers working on it from Bamboo support structures, it looked really dangerous. And its really big 45m tall!

In the afternoon I will go check out some other places in Phuket and try out the new swimming shorts I bought today.

Roti with egg. Delicious stuff

Peace.

Second training and new roomate!

Went for morning training today again. For some reason the rope skipping in the beginning was really tiring. I had a new trainer today who did pads with me. It seems to me that he has a different style to Pot. Some of the stuff I was taught yesterday he corrected. Or it might just be my imagination.

My new roommate came in yesterday. Her name is Isabelle and she's from the UK. Today I showed her around the island and helped her get some essential stuff like water.

 I am waiting for afternoon session to roll around. My shins are starting to hurt a bit, and I can see red swelling on the right shin. But the rest of my body feels fine. So in the afternoon I will probably just go in for the pad work with the trainers and get some more work done on my technique.

Here is a video I took yesterday of the afternoon training session and a look at my room at the end: Peace.

First Training Session

I woke up about 1 hour ago. Went to sleep last night at 11pm, and woke up at about 6am. I am super excited for training. I bought a bunch of gear yesterday like hand wraps, gloves. And because I am staying here for 3 month I get pair of shorts and singlets for free every month. The training schedules are 7:30am-9:30am in the morning and 4:00-6:30pm in the afternoon. Middays are free time and if you want you can pay for individual lessons with the instructors but they are quite expensive. Since I am only a beginner I don't think I will need that for the time being. I think I will do a single session per day for this week just because I want to ease into things and don't want to over exert myself. Based on what other people have said this seems to be the best option. But I will update after my first training session. Here is some pictures I snapped at the training session yesterday in the afternoon. The morning session is way less people.

Update:
 I had my first training session. And I learned the basic moves of how to move strike, kicks, knees and blocks. It is really fun hitting the pads with the trainers. I had Pot who is the head trainer teach me today. And he's a really nice guy and really good at correcting me.  I had a really hard time getting the kick down and he showed me many times until I got it.

The training was pretty intense. Basically you start at 7:30 with skipping weighted ropes for like 10 minutes. Then we move to running. Next is stretching. After that people move onto different stations like pad work with instructors, hitting the bags, or shadow boxing. The instructors will time it and rotate the stations every few minutes.

We do this until 9:15 then its warm down with ab workout and stretching again.

Since today was my first day, most of my training was with the instructor and just one on one time with him teaching me the basics. So overall I am pretty good in terms of my body. I didn't really experience the full force of the rotations. But it was still tiring nonetheless.

I also went zipping around the island again. This time to the top of a mountain, the view is simply amazing. Along the way there were elephant camps where you can pay to ride elephants, I am pretty sure I will try this before I leave. 

The Morning scooters from people who live off campus but come to Sinbi to train. Also a lot of them belong to students who live on campus but rent them from Sinbi. It costs like about $100 Canadian for one month.

My friend Nathan on his private lesson with the trainer.

elephants!

Peace