Snack Payback

Ah ok, no worries Yes, Sagat was talking about it when I met him last year. He wasn't happy with the judges decision, thought he clearly won the fight

No worries Kevin I'd actually come across a fairly recent picture of Vicharnnoi and Poot Lorlek in Siam Fight Mag just before Sylvie posted she was going to film with Vicharnnoi - and noticed he was a bit pum pui (I already knew Poot Lorlek had let himself go in his retirement). So it's understandable. Did you record the conversation?

Hi mate, Who are you flying from Perth with? If it's with Thai Airways you can just buy a ticket with them from Perth to Chiang Mai and then you just go straight to the gate once you arrive at Suvarnabhumi, then pick up your bags in Chiang Mai. It's only an hour flight and doesn't add much on to the cost of the ticket. Otherwise, there's plenty of other cheap flights available from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

My friend trains here: https://www.thecornerhk.com/

Just had a quick look, seems to be quite a few gyms there. These are the first two that come up on google maps: http://www.supermuaythaigym.com.hk/index.html https://www.rakmuaythai.com/ Look like they're worth checking out, both of them have Thai trainers. I've got a friend in Hong Kong who trains Muay Thai, I'll ask him what gym he goes to

If you have the opportunity then you should go for it. You only live once so try and make the most of it, you'll regret it otherwise. Try and save up more than 3k though, especially if you haven't paid for your flight yet. Could you not sort out somewhere cheaper to rent for 6 months or so, so you can get your head down, work and save up? Work's easier if you're got a goal to aim for.

Let us know how you get on

Just realised I'd made a couple of mistakes with my directions, I've edited my other posts now. For 13 coins take the MRT from Sukhumvit station to Phetchaburi station From there walk to Makkasan Airport Rail Link station and take a train to Hua Mak. Take a taxi from there.

No worries mate. Kasemlek calls himself 'Kasemlek Singmanee' but he's named 'Kasemlek Kiatsiri' on most of his fights on youtube. Golden age Raja and Lumpinee champion. Hippy's gym isn't the easiest place in the world to find, you definitely need a gps. It's in an area called 'Town in Town'. Sylvie has a map to the gym at the bottom of this article here, which is really handy: https://8limbsus.com/muay-thai-thailand/training-hippy-singmanee-relaxation-comes-power To get there from Asok, take the MRT from Sukhumvit station to Phetchaburi station From there walk to Makkasan Airport Rail Link station and take a train to Ramkhamhaeng Station Exit on to Ramkhamhaeng Road and hail a taxi on the north bound side Ask the driver to take you to 'Town in Town' He'll ask you what road, tell him 'Srivara Road' (or just show him on your phone's map) then keep an eye on your phone's map and gps, and get him to drop you off when you're close to the gym The gym has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/townintowngym88/?__tn__=%2Cd-k-R&eid=ARD2QC2WIksGETS2u3lO4GC3JsB02JlVdI-l_BkJ6g0taiLRkQCvh2kKj0eevxANbsTqtn5pdDoehbSC but you might not get a response if you message them. Might be best to get there before the morning session finishes (around 9) and arrange a private then. I don't think that'll matter, mate.

Have you got a link to the post on Reddit? I didn't notice it on there, I'd be interested to see the responses You might struggle to get a private lesson that early in the morning. A lot of gyms advertise privates lessons 'after 10am' once the morning session has finished. You might be able to arrange something earlier, though. A few people on here have trained at Attachai, so they'd know better. But looking at the map you'd get the BTS to On Nut, then get a taxi from On Nut Road to the gym. Or you might possibly be able to get a motorbike taxi to take you down the smaller alleys. Yokkao is pretty close to Asok. The gym gets mixed reviews, but I'm sure privates would be good as they've got some excellent trainers there. Sylvie has a session with Singdam in the library which is really good. Eminent Air gets very good reviews. You could take the BTS to Punnawithi station, it's not too far from there. As for me, I've had a few private lessons with Sagat when he was at TBM, which were really good. He's at 13 Coins now. I've trained with both Hippy and Kasemlek at Hippy's gym, which was excellent. It's worth going to Hippy's gym just to meet Hippy, he's a little character and the sweetest guy you could ever meet. Great trainer as well. He was away when I was in Bangkok again earlier this year, but he arranged for me to train with Kasemlek which was great. Brilliant trainer and a top bloke. Also had a couple of private lessons at Jaroenthong's branch on Phra Athit as it was right next to where I usually stay. I forget the trainers name now, but he was very good, I enjoyed working with him. Edit: Had a look on their website and found him, his name's Pongpat Also had one private at a place called JW Muay Thai, as google maps said it was open on a Sunday (most gyms are usually closed). I got there and it was closed, but a trainer came down and gave me a private lesson anyway, which was very nice of him. Just had a look and the gym's closed now.

Nice post, Kevin. It must have been very upsetting for you and Sylvie to suddenly lose all your work like that after putting so much into it over the years. I'm glad you were able to get most of it back. And not to worry, that gif I made the other month is still saved on my hard drive

I've never trained in or around Hua Hin, but I've been there a few times. The gym is a fair way out of town, but looking on google maps there's a still quite a few hotels/guest houses nearby, so if there's no accommodation at the gym you should easily be able to find a place nearby. There's always somewhere nearby to eat in Thailand, always! You won't have to venture far too from the gym to find street food or a small cafe. As for things to do in Hua Hin, it's good place to eat seafood. Pala-U waterfall is worth a visit on a motorbike. It's out by the Myanmar border, the scenery on the way is very nice and the waterfall is pretty impressive. If you're going to Hua Hin on a night out, see if you can find the Stonehead Band. They're a really good cover band (60's - 90's rock) fronted by a guy called Ratoon. They were playing at the Irish bar (I think it's called Murphy's), but that was a good few years ago, so they might have moved on from there now. If they're not there ask around for Ratoon and the Stonehead band, they're well known around the town.

Ha, I'm sure you're a very sensible person mate, but shit does happen. Your taxi could crash on the freeway, or seeing as you're planning on fighting, you got a pretty serious injury in the ring. Better to have the insurance and not need it, wouldn't you say? Others on here who've fought in Thailand should be able to advise on policies, I'm sure it would have to be more comprehensive than a standard travel insurance policy. Or maybe you could take out private health cover once you're in Thailand.

You should definitely take out insurance before you get there. A lad I knew in Chiang Mai when I was staying there a while back was telling me about a friend of his. He went back to his hotel room drunk and realised he'd left his key in the room. He tried to climb onto his balcony from the neighbouring room, fell and broke both his hips. He didn't have insurance and was given a $50,000 US bill. So yeah, insurance might be something you want to look into

Just send SL residence an e mail and let them know what time you're likely to arrive. Hotels/guesthouses in Thailand almost always have someone there for night shift who can let you into your room. In the highly unlikely event you can't access SL residence, you could just get an affordable room at another hotel. Bangkok is full of hotels and it's pretty much a 24 hour city, easy to grab a taxi, a meal or a beer at any time of night. Don't stress, sabai sabai as the Thai's say.

The sim card will come with minutes but you can purchase extra credit when you buy it, or at a 7 eleven. No, a taxi driver definitely won't accept USD. Make sure you always have smaller notes for taxi journeys. They don't carry huge amounts of change, so if you try to pay for an 80 baht taxi fare with a 1000 baht note they won't have enough change. 7 elevens always have plenty of change, so just buy a drink or something cheap there to get some smaller notes from a 1000. You get charged every time you use an atm there - by the Thai ATM (they charge 200 baht per transaction) and by your bank back home who will charge you a fee. So you might as well take a larger amount out, seeing as you get charged anyway. I think the most you can withdraw from an ATM in one hit is 20,000 baht. Otherwise it's a 24 hour airport so there'll be somewhere open to change USD.

Thai food is sensational and a reason in itself to visit. Just get stuck in: street food, cafes, restaurants, it's all good. Half the population of Thailand cooks for the other half, so you never have to venture far to find something to eat. If you can have a Thai accompany you when you're out eating they'll be able to order dishes for you that you'd never know about otherwise.

Sylvie is filming with Vicharnnoi today

What make of pads is your gym using and what sort of condition are they in? My old gym had pads that were way past their best and left me with a sore wrist for a couple of weeks. So I just bought my own set of pads (Twins). Definitely a worth while investment

I do it because I really enjoy it. I really regret not starting when I was younger, but nothing I can do about that. It keeps me fit, my flexibility is getting better, but mostly I think its learning new skills and seeing myself slowly improve. It also provides me with a connection to Thailand (I love it there, see). I’ve also really enjoyed learning about the history of it - reading up about all the golden age legends, then looking up their fights on youtube, studying them in Sylvie’s library. I’ve been able to get over to Thailand a couple of times this past year and train with some of them, which was amazing. I think another thing that fascinates me about Muay Thai is how the sweetest, most softly spoken people you could ever meet have developed such an explosive and brutally effective martial art. It’s all about causing the maximum amount of damage in the most efficient way possible. No fancy unifroms, no grading system, they just put on a pair of shorts, train real hard and fight!

You might be able to get a bus/minivan straight from Suvarnabhumi, although probably not as cheap as from Ekkamai, like Tyler suggested. What sort of food were you planning to cook? Unless you're planning to live off instant noodles the whole time, it's probably not worth your while with street food being so affordable (and delicious).

No worries Chiang Mai's very nice. There'd be plenty for you and your wife to do while your daughters were training.

It always amuses me when people ask 'Can you recommend a Muay Thai camp in Thailand?'. It is a big country, did you want to narrow your options down a bit? Being the capital and home of the main stadia, Bangkok has the highest number of gyms. It's a bit chaotic and traffic is terrible, so it's not everyone's cup of tea (personally I love the place), but you can get excellent training there and there's plenty to do. Or, do your daughters (and yourself and your wife of course) like the idea of going to the beach after training? Then look into training on one of the islands. Or, do you like the idea of being in a pretty big city, but a lot more laid back and less traffic than Bangkok plus some great nearby scenery? Then look into Chiang Mai Or, do you like the idea of training at a gym in an area of the country that few tourists visit? Then look into training at a gym in Isaan Or how about up in the mountains? Then look into a place like Pai. Most gyms that are open to foreigners will be used to training beginners, so that shouldn't be a worry. You'll see this posted elsewhere on this forum, but when you do decide on your location let your daughters try out a few different gyms first before committing to one.

Hello mate, Be careful if you're purchasing a one way ticket. It never used to be an issue, but in recent years they now ask you to show proof of onward travel when you check in for your flight. You could get around that by buying a refundable ticket and then cancelling it once you're there. As for visas, you get 30 days on arrival at an airport, or you can get a 60 day tourist visa in advance and then that can be extended by another 30 days at an immigration office. Once that runs out you'll have to leave. You're best getting up to date information on this next bit because they're always changing the rules. I think now you only get a 15 day stamp if you re-enter Thailand via a land crossing, or 30 days if you come in by air. So if you're planning on staying longer you'd be better off getting another 60 day tourist visa at a Thai embassy or consulate in a neighbouring country. Were you after recommendations for touristy stuff or do you want Muay Thai related info?

Great video! What a lovely guy. It never ceases to amaze me how humble all these legends are.