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Hello everyone, first post here, just joined. Just want to start a thread on my upcoming Training. This is going to be a life changing experience and im super excited/nervous. My name is Gary and I am 35 and from Chicago. On October 30th I leave for Fa Group. I will be there for 2 weeks by myself and staying at the SL residence that they set me up with. I would of stayed at the gym but they didn't have private bathrooms as an option. My wife will be coming out at the end of the 2 weeks and we will stay another 2 weeks but not in bangkok. we will be traveling to phuket, krabi, and koh samui where i will be training morning sessions only at the nearest gyms to our hotel. I have been doing only muay thai for 3 years now but have done mma since my early 20's, on and off. I always enjoyed the muay thai portion of the mma training the best as im 6'1" and skinny lol. never fought, just do it to stay in shape and because i never enjoyed lifting weights lol. I must admit i am very nervous. I have been running every day but i run about a 10min mile and haven't been able to push myself past 40min yet. I run right before my class starts at the gym. since the running i have absolutely felt gains in my training sessions at my gym. I will be running every morning and afternoon with the guys from fa group, but being 4.5 weeks out and only at 4miles, I imagine i will be left behind during the run and will have to just keep at my pace and end it when i need to. My biggest fear is pushing myself too much for the run to where I will be too exhausted for clinching and the rest of the session. Im only there 2 weeks so i want to soak in as much knowledge I possibly can. I have a couple quick questions. 1. what is the best means of transportation from the airport to the gym? taxi or their version of uber? i will be arriving very late (11pm) 2. is it best to convert my usd to baht once I am there or here in the states? i have never been anywhere near that side of the earth lol 3. tips on food in that area? things to stay away from or things that i must have? 4. tips on training in general? i do not have an ego so i will absolutely not be trying to prove anything. 5. maybe a silly question for some but i am very very white, almost ghostly lol. i must wear sunscreen when exposed and im a bit worried that it will be disrespectful to train with sunscreen on? is there rinsing stations? my main concern is being rag dolled and exhausted to the point where learning things will be too hard and i will just be in survival mode. thanks so much guys, looking forward to feedback and i am excited to share my experiences with you.

Hi Gary! I've trained very briefly with FA group and joined the morning run and they do not run together. Basically walk from the gym to chatuchak park together and then run at own pace. But not everybody running. I'm now at a different gym but I live in the area so I run regularly in chatuchak park in the mornings and I see their fighters running and so far never seen a group run together but instead at their own pace. I don't think you need to be nervous about that. Re sunscreen oh I don't think that's an issue at all. I'm super white too and I wear sunscreen too but I never felt it was an issue at all. Yes they have a rinsing station (like a shower thingy) and it's considered polite to rinse off before or after clinch (although at my gym almost none of the thais do this just maybe 1 of 10). Best option for you is to get baht at one of the atms at the airport where you pick your bags. Follow the signs and instructions for taxi (no grab service for pick up allowed). You can also get sim cards there. Have a print out of address to hotel in thai with you for the driver. It should be around 500 baht to chatuchak area. Re food no idea about street food but if you google restaurants+saphan kwai you will find some good options. I can recommend Cat on the roof-bar in saphan kwai for great thai food and beer. Have a great time.