Enter Sinbi Muay Thai

I've been falling behind on my blog so I'm going to go through what has happened the last few weeks really fast.

I had the longest bus ride from Surat Thani to Phuket.  Honestly, I should have taken a plane.  My bus arrived 3 hours late at 9:30pm.  I almost lost my luggage too as there was some confusion when I was switching buses.  I had to get a taxi to catch up with the bus and get my bag.  At the bus terminal in Phuket town I took a cab to Sinbi.  Unfortunately no one was there so I walked around to look for a phone.  I went to the restaurant closeby and they recommended I talk to the massage place next door.  The woman knew the manager, Gob so she contacted her for me.  After two tries she got through and I got my room.

My roommate was a Russian named Sergei.  He was from Russia and didn't speak much english.  Very talkative, I'm sure I'll figure out how to get along.  Apparently he trains morning, evening, and has private sessions everyday.  He's here for 2 weeks I think so it makes sense.  I've been eating lunch/dinner with him and Zaur, another fellow Russian speaker who lives in Latvia.

Training

Training at Sinbi is definitely different than Chorenrit.  You start off with 10 minutes of skipping, 5 minutes running around the ring, and then stretching.  Afterwards you wrap your hands then it's shadowboxing.  Beginners are given a lot of attention.  I apparently knew some stuff so my technique looked good, but they corrected me a little bit and refined my knees.  After that it's padwork/heavy bags.  5 rounds of padwork, very light so I don't die all 5 rounds.  Then we worked on the heavy bag by ourselves.  Some bags are really hard so you have to watch out if you decide to kick one with your shins.  After that was clinching practice, which I skipped this time.  There are so many people that you can pretty much skip the later half of the practice and no one stops you, so you don't have to complete the entire 2 hours which is a welcome relief.

Nai harn

The area where my camp is located is called Nai Harn and it's a chilled laid back area where people just live and relax.  There is a nice beach nearby.  Lots of different food around so you will never get homesick and never want to leave haha.  Lots of massage parlours and bargirl bars around if you want thai girls.

Infamous Bangla Stadium

On Friday night, I took a bus to Bangla stadium with some of my teammates to watch a girl from my gym fight.  Her name was Stephanie, but I added sexy in front of it because it was very appropriate.  The guys I hung out with were two couples from Ireland and a Canadian.  Surprisingly the fights started on time.  The thai's fought first, with kids going first followed by age.  The last of the lot were foreigners fighting thai's or really good fighters who fought for belts.  It was Stephanie's first fight so she was nervous and it was back and forth, nothing impressive, don't think she was accumulating a lot of points.  In the 4th round after a barrage of knees in the clinch, as you can see in the video below, she barely scrapes her opponents face then they stop the fight due to doctors orders.  Dunno what happened, but it's not the first time a Bangla Stadium fight ended in controversy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwNbXvN_Ldc&feature=share&list=UUtn88MoJEG_uMZ3GrSMgWFg

Patong

The entertainment capital of Phuket, Patong is a crowded party city with an ok beach.  One of the things that stands out is Jungceylon, a giant shopping mall right in the middle.  The motorcycle parking is very narrow, but doable.  It's an oasis in a sea of chaos.  I go here to watch my movies.  Phuket town looks pretty shitty.  I like the place, it's clean and organized with good expensive food.  I'm definitely going to spend a night here to party to see the nightlife.

Training with Fhad

Booking private training sessions with trainers is really popular here.  There is a buy 5 get 1 session free deal for 2,500 baht.  I was given Fhad.  So far the sessions are good, my technique is corrected and I've been learning some new tricks.

Food Poisoning

Getting food poisoning is a rite of passage in Thailand.  I stopped by Tesco to get some things and grabbed a thai omelette with rice.  I felt fine that night, but I didn't feel right that morning.  I ended up throwing up and getting diarrhea.  I felt like death the entire day, just sleeping in and out.  I felt slightly better at night, but I still couldn't eat solid food.  I regret using the Imodium to stop the diarrhea since it's backed me up the entire week.  Got some laxatives, hopefully I get better soon.

Well that's it for updates, Sinbi has been good to me so far besides the food poisoning.  I've learned a bit more and have been able to survive more sessions.  I think I just need more practice.  My private sessions end Wednesday so I will be free to set my own schedule.  I plan to go to Koh Phi Phi and spend 1 night in Patong.  2 more weeks then it's off to Chiang Mai to explore and play tourist again.  In my next post I will post my friends muay thai fights and discuss my training again.

Haad Rin Full Moon Party Mayhem

I know it's been a while since I made a blog post, this entry will explain everything.

After Chorenrit, I took a taxi to Haad Rin.  After being dropped off at Arena muay thai, I had to take a good look at my map to figure out where I was.  My hostel (Dancing Elephant) was right around the corner.  The owners were there, but the managers weren't.  I took a seat and waited 30 minutes for them to show up (they were late).  At least they had free wifi.  Apparently Eddie and Andrew were hungover from the night before (a good sign since I hadn't partied in a long time).  I go to my room, put away my gear and explore the town.

Haad Rin is apparently very tourist friendly.  It is created around the full moon party.  Lots of British/Canadian tourists around.  Heck that was what the entire city was full of as well as other Europeans.  Pretty much mostly young people.  I walked across the city and saw the nice beach as well as the pier.  I even stopped by the gym Arena Muay Thai and told them I would stop by the next day.  That night I checked out the restaurant next door, Nic's which is known for it's amazing pizza.  They used good ingredients so I didn't get an allergic reaction like I usually do to pizza hut pizza.  Apparently Nic's is very popular and after I was done I was asked to move.  It was then I decided to talk to some cute Irish girls from my hostel.  They were on vacation for 6 weeks and had just come from Chiang Mai.  They recommended that I go trekking when I'm in Chiang Mai.

Later that night, everyone gathered outside the hostel at 9pm and started drinking.  We had our own bar right outside our hostel.  Everyone seemed pretty cool.  I remember having 2 drinks and 2 buckets of alcohol.  I remember walking out with some Canadian guys and some German girls.  Somewhere along the lines I had to take a piss in the ocean and lost them.  I end up stumbling around really drunk and making it back to the hostel at 12am and being the first to pass out.

Day 2

Turns out my friends went to the Reggae bar and got some mushroom shakes (magic mushrooms) and their night went downhill from there.  People who drink shakes from there act weird.  This night I vow to stay up till 2am.

During the day I finally check out Arena Muay Thai.  It's definitely a smaller gym.  It was just me and a girl from Finland.  The trainer knows Mot Dang from the other side of the island.  The session is 1 and 1/2 hours long.  He does some padwork with me and shows me different kicks to add to my arsenal.  3 different ways to teep along with a deadly elbow attack.  Not too shabby.  Haad Rin is full of people who get drunk so this session was perfect for me since I was hungover.

Later that night I go out with a group of people and split up again.  I meet two Japanese girls and although their English was bad, we run around the beach and have fun.  They had a foam machine at the fire whip station that was hooked up to the seawater.  I ran in a lot of people from my hostel that night and they were having a good time.  Very good night with alcohol and fun people.

Day 3

I went back to Arena and the trainer wasn't there.  He was out promoting the fights for that night.  That night I went to the muay thai fights.  My trainer was cool and got me in for free and got me a beer too.  The younger kids usually start the fight followed by older kids to adults.  My trainer had the microphone and frequently gave it to people in the crowd to narrate.  It was kinda chaotic yet organized.  The fights were ok, but towards the end you could tell there were some mismatches.  He asked me if I wanted to place a bet but didn't tell me that you could only bet on the red corner so I lost 600 baht:(

After the fight I went back to the hostel and got a drink.  Everyone was going to the Jungle Party so I got back in time for that and had fun on the taxi there.  Unfortunately when I got to he Party I felt like I didn't have enough alcohol so I had to wait in line for 30 minutes before getting a bucket.  Unfortunately alcohol + energy drink didn't make me feel well and I ended up bailing the party early.  I took a motorbike taxi back to Haad Rin since it was cheaper and I didn't want to wait.  It was quite the experience going up and down the hills at a high speed.

Day 4

I have a hangover.  I decide that on the day of the Full Moon, I'm going to go all out and have fun.  I rest most of the day and come out at 9.  I get drinks without energy drinks in them.  I talk to everyone that I find appealing.  Night goes well.  There is a huge party outside our hostel.  I pose for a lot of pictures.  I meet a crew of people I get along with and head out to the beach with them.  We dance and run around the beach.  It was a great night.

Day 5

I feel like shit and all 4 days of partying have caught up with me.  I have to buy diarrhea medicine and cough drops.  I sleep early and feel better the next day.  Everyone says their goodbyes and head in different directions.  Some to Ko Tao to scuba dive and some to Cambodia where it's super cheap.  I was the only one headed to Phuket.  Hopefully I get better soon.

I have some pictures below, but here is a complete link to the entire night of debauchery.

http://phanganist.com/content/dancing-elephant-fullmoon-warm-june-23