Gym recommendation at Chiang Mai

[Huskyal02]

Hi all,

I am looking for some gym advice on which gym is visitor friendly in Chiang Mai. I am planning on visiting Chiang Mai from Bangkok to break up my trip. Also, any food and sight seeing recommendations?

Thanks!

Alan

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Hi all,

I am looking for some gym advice on which gym is visitor friendly in Chiang Mai. I am planning on visiting Chiang Mai from Bangkok to break up my trip. Also, any food and sight seeing recommendations?

Thanks!

Alan

 

Sylvie and I put together this map of Things in Chiang Mai that may be of some help. If you are an animal lover the Elephant Farm is pretty incredible though a little pricey (run very humanely, you learn elephant care, etc). Sitting with Tigers is also very memorable.

Lanna Muay Thai is very visitor friendly, and located in a very nice part of town up by CMU, its where we lived for 2+ years.

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

Hi all,

I am looking for some gym advice on which gym is visitor friendly in Chiang Mai. I am planning on visiting Chiang Mai from Bangkok to break up my trip. Also, any food and sight seeing recommendations?

Thanks!

Alan

Lanna Muay Thai is at the foothills of the Doi Suthep mountain and has been an established landmark gym of Northern Muay Thai for over two decades. I was there for 2.5 years and still visit and fight out of that gym when in the area. I can't speak from experience on any other gym there as I've never trained at any of the others, but I know people who greatly enjoyed HongThong and Santai (which is 30 minutes away from the city in San Khampaeng).

Food-wise I highly recommend eating Khao Soi, which is a signature Northern Curry dish with noodles. The best versions of it I've had are from Lemongrass restaurant down by the Kalare Night Bazaar and Cafe De'Nimman, which replaces the usual chicken option with a pork rib.

[Huskyal02]

Thanks for the info! My friend's gym is at the Fairtex in Pattaya, he made a suggestion for me to go. I'm not sure how far that really is from Bangkok. Any idea?

[Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu]

Thanks for the info! My friend's gym is at the Fairtex in Pattaya, he made a suggestion for me to go. I'm not sure how far that really is from Bangkok. Any idea?

 

It's about 2 hours from Bangkok, that is where we live. Fairtex is kind of a "resort" gym. Pretty expensive, and has probably seen better days. But if your friend is there and enjoying him or herself you might too!

[Huskyal02]

OH, do you have any recommendation for training there? I might able to spend a day or two there! :)

When you say 2 hrs, is it by bus?

AL

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

OH, do you have any recommendation for training there? I might able to spend a day or two there! :)

When you say 2 hrs, is it by bus?

AL

Hi, it's 2 hours by car or bus, there are lots of shuttles from areas of BKK down to Pattaya. They can be pretty inexpensive (120 Baht) but you migh tnot have control over where they drop you off. Once you're in Pattaya though it's easy to grab a motorbike taxi and get anywhere you want to go. Pattaya is pretty small and everyone knows where Fairtex is.

I just visited HongThong Gym in Chiang Mai today and can say I highly recommend it. Really great trainers; I worked with Joe, who is a former Lumpinee champion and speaks very good English, but is just a very keen teacher.

[Jean Sandro]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in Chiang Mai and looking out for a gym to go. I have muay thai experience, although I've never actually fought. I'd like to. I'm around 80kg.

I've made my researches and I'm now hesitating between HongThong and Lanna. I want to improve my game overall, especially the boxing and clinching. Which one would be a good fit ?

Thanks

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in Chiang Mai and looking out for a gym to go. I have muay thai experience, although I've never actually fought. I'd like to. I'm around 80kg.

I've made my researches and I'm now hesitating between HongThong and Lanna. I want to improve my game overall, especially the boxing and clinching. Which one would be a good fit ?

Thanks

The two gyms aren't too far apart from each other, maybe 25 minutes on a motorbike. I recommend you try a full day at each gym and decide from your own experience which one you like. Gyms aren't only about the trainers but also who is at the gym at the same time as you are, so your boxing and clinching experience will depend on that as well :)

[Huskyal02]

Hi, it's 2 hours by car or bus, there are lots of shuttles from areas of BKK down to Pattaya. They can be pretty inexpensive (120 Baht) but you migh tnot have control over where they drop you off. Once you're in Pattaya though it's easy to grab a motorbike taxi and get anywhere you want to go. Pattaya is pretty small and everyone knows where Fairtex is.

I just visited HongThong Gym in Chiang Mai today and can say I highly recommend it. Really great trainers; I worked with Joe, who is a former Lumpinee champion and speaks very good English, but is just a very keen teacher.

 

Sylvie,

How does it work if I want to train at a gym in Thailand for a day? Do I ask for a day fee and then ask for how much for one of the trainer for an hour or two of private? In Pattaya, which gym would you recommend? Is there places that I can rent for a room for a night in both Chiang Mai and Pattaya?

Thanks again!

AL

[Jean Sandro]

The two gyms aren't too far apart from each other, maybe 25 minutes on a motorbike. I recommend you try a full day at each gym and decide from your own experience which one you like. Gyms aren't only about the trainers but also who is at the gym at the same time as you are, so your boxing and clinching experience will depend on that as well :)

 

Okay. Will start by Lanna. Thanks !

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

Sylvie,

How does it work if I want to train at a gym in Thailand for a day? Do I ask for a day fee and then ask for how much for one of the trainer for an hour or two of private? In Pattaya, which gym would you recommend? Is there places that I can rent for a room for a night in both Chiang Mai and Pattaya?

Thanks again!

AL

Every gym I've ever been to has a daily or "drop-in" rate. Just ask when you get there. Sometimes you pay per session and sometimes you get the whole day for one price. When you train the regular session you'll get rounds on the pads with a trainer, which is 1-1. If you want a full hour private session it's going to be considerably more expensive (300-500 for standard, 1000- + for big names and expensive gyms).

In Pattaya I recommend Sor. Klinmee Gym as a kind of in-between gym that is family style (lots of little kids and also bigger fighters) but also Western friendly. If you want something bigger and state-of-the-art, the brand new Venum gym is pretty cool. Huge space, really nice equipment, experienced trainers and some big-name fighters mixing in with beginners, intermediate and some fitness folks.

Where you end up training in Pattaya will determine where you should stay. On the same street as Sor. Klinmee is fairly nice, standard rental with air-con. It's pretty far off the main highway so you'd need a motorbike taxi or to rent one to get to the main areas of Pattaya, but there are markets for food and convenience stores within walking distance. If you're at Venum or want to be closer to the rest of Pattaya the Royal Thai Residence is a mid-range rental with air-con, an outdoor pool, indoor gym, on-site massage. It's off the main road so it's nice and quiet but it's within walking distance to a few attractions and a short motorbike ride to the beach, night markets, Max Muay Thai Stadium, etc. If you choose a different gym you'll be able to find something near to anywhere you go.

In Chiang Mai you can ask at whatever gym you go to where the best place to stay is. If you go to Hongthong it's about 18 minutes by motorbike to the main highway down to the Old City, if you're near to Lanna it's 10 minutes from the camp to the Old City, right next to the mountain. Tons of places to stay, nowhere in particular I recommend as I don't have a lot of experience in the hotels. I stayed in one apartment building the whole time and now when we go we stay at a place across from Lanna called Flora House. It's beautiful, nice rooms, quiet, but I hate the showers, haha. It's a bathtub with a shower head on a cord that doesn't get tall enough to stand like a regular shower and I hate sitting in a tub that isn't filled with water. But if that doesn't bother you, it's a pretty perfect place to stay.

[Huskyal02]

Awesome, and thank you so so much for your hard work! Hopefully I get to see you when I'm there!

AL

[Huskyal02]

Hi Sylvie,

Looks like I am only going to stay in BKK most of the time and Pattaya for a few days. I am going to take up your recommendation on the hotel recommendation and also planning on going to Sor. Klinmee Gym and Venum. I am also thinking of visiting Sityotong, do you have any opinion on the gym?

Thanks so much!

Kap Kun Krap!

Alan

[NewThai]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone can add their experiences in Chiang Mai. Pretty sure it's where I'm headed, though the beautiful photos from Namsaknoi's island gym also sort of tempt me even though I'm sure it'll cost a lot more to stay there.

[radarjam]

Bumping this thread to see if anyone can add their experiences in Chiang Mai. Pretty sure it's where I'm headed, though the beautiful photos from Namsaknoi's island gym also sort of tempt me even though I'm sure it'll cost a lot more to stay there.

 

Loveeeeeeee Chiang Mai! I trained at Hongthong Muay Thai and had such a phenomenal experience there. I've only ever been to Bangkok and Chiang Mai but guaranteed, CM is where my heart is at. So much that I plan of heading back there next year. Accommodation, lifestyle (cheap/convenient/fun) and its not as "busy" as Bangkok. And I also happen to love the mountains/trees all around me :P I feel like at home (just like Vancouver, Canada haha) 

 

As for Namsaknoi, I was about to check that place out because of legend NSM himself, and the new facilities he has. My budget was of course limited for 1 month so I had to make a better decision for myself. I've had friends that trained there however, and they had a blast :) 

[NewThai]

I think CM will be my pick because I can stay longer, and Hongthong is one of the gyms I have earmarked. I think I'll go and train a session at my top picks and then commit the rest of the trip to the one that I like the best. I live in NYC so while I'm sure there are great things in Bangkok I'm not really wanting to spend more time in a large, dirty city.

 

I did ask Namsaknoi gym for their pricing and accomodation info, which was actually on par with the CM gyms I looked into. They have both onsite dorms (fan rooms with bunkbeds + 2 meals) and an affiliate bungalo with aircon rooms (no meals). Angie also reccomended a few beach-front resorts if you wanted to splurge. It's definitely tempting me, but the ferry/extra travel will eat two days of the trip so booooooo.

[Digitalis G.]

I went to NSN for six weeks and i can only recommend it.

First i lived somewhere else (Ban Tai), but i moved to the gym for the last weeks.

The rooms at the gym are nice, but they only have fan nd no aircon. Some people can't handle that :)

The Food which is included is very nice!

The gym itself is super clean and has a nice bathroom with showers.

I loved the training and the atmosphere and can only recommend it to everyone.

There is a lot of focus on clinching and technique.

[Haddow]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently in Chiang Mai and looking out for a gym to go. I have muay thai experience, although I've never actually fought. I'd like to. I'm around 80kg.

I've made my researches and I'm now hesitating between HongThong and Lanna. I want to improve my game overall, especially the boxing and clinching. Which one would be a good fit ?

Thanks

I trained at both Lanna & Hongthong (Jan/Feb 2017) and they are both a great fit for what you're looking for!! Plenty of clinching and sparring with Daeng @ Lanna and Gen @ Hongthong. Different bodies, different styles, different techniques. It's all good work  :smile: