Well, it wasnt until reading this blog some 9 months after I left Thailand and Rawai Muay Thai that i realised I never finished my blog!
Let me just say to first timers who are thinking about travelling alone and even to people who are a little worried that they are not that social and make friends. YOU ARE ALL IN THE SAME SITUATION, it is IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE THERE!
I will try and answer some questions that are not in the FAQ:
The Gym:
Firstly, it comes down to the face of the gym, the guy who gets the people through the doors. Danny Avison.. Danny lives at the gym and is almost nearly always on hand to help you out with even the smallest problems. We had a few good chats and he is a very down to earth guy. It was just after 8pm when I arrived at the gym and he was very welcoming and very relaxed, I think the easy going lifestyle of Thailand suits his style down to the ground. I look up to Danny, he seems to be living the dream and how rarely can you meet people who do what they love like he does? NOT MANY!
Gym space:
One of my concerns before arriving at the gym was will I get enough attention and dedicated training time with the trainers. I was worried that the gym may of been a victim of its own success. I did consider going to a less busy gym like Sinbi but Danny always put my mind at ease via his Forum.
When I arrived at the Gym, Danny had almost finished the renovations that expanded the gym and added two more rings. The Gym was busy BUT I was not affected by over crowding EVER! Danny seems to have his finger on the pulse int his department and gauges when more renovations are needed. Bear in mind, the gym is on a HUGE property and Danny can expand 1000 more times if needed. Now the "The COntender" Muay Thai is airing around the world I feel he will need to increase the space in coming years a few more times.
Trainers:
Just like with any person in life, we are all different and we all come in different personality types, this is definatly no exception at Rawai with their trainers. The main thing is that they are always smiling or having a laugh. After a week or two at the gym students have already found their favourite trainer who they get along with better than others. My favourite trainer was tiger (who is now at Sinbi). I also got on well with Chok and Joy.
Goongs Bungalows:
After a slight accomodation hitch I was moved into Goongs Bungalows 5 days into my trip. It was awesome to stay there. It is co-owned with Goong and Danny. Goong and her family live in a house on the premises. They have a young kid (19 or 20)who is the gardener who maintains the grounds. He works hard with no complaints so i decided to sit down with him once every couple of days and have a gatorade with him. Goongs Family is very nice, they also moonlight as the cleaners and always smile and greet you every time. There are two dogs who live at Goongs Bungalows, they just come and chill on your balcony and fall asleep. Remember, you are staying at their house!! lol
There is a little family run convenience store about 20 feet from the Bungalows, they sell everything includign fuel for your bike and its great to support this family. There is also an Internet Cafe across the rd from the family run convenience store for people who dont have a laptop (Goongs has WIFI and it reaches all bungalows). Next door to the Internet Cafe is a Lady who does your laundry, its cheap and you can have it back in about 24 hours, folded and pressed all for $3/$4AUD. One other place to mention near Goongs is a cafe run by this sweet Thai lady, she goods awesome food that sells Thai Cusine as well as Western Foods and is also welcoming for Falangs to come and cook their own thai food orders under her supervision, she also invites you to sign the counter with a texta.. Look for "azzbot 2007" . The location from Goongs to the gym is 5 minutes by Moped, 10 mins by bike and 15-20mins to jog (at my pace).
Things to do whilst not training:
Be Careful, its VERY EASY to become side tracked and miss training sessions. You will need to be strong minded. At the beginning of the month I was going hard, after two weeks i could see results from eating right and training well, then best intentions started taking a back seat. I missed a lot of morning training, I love a sleep in and became good friends with the Snooze button on my mobile. Living 5mins from the gym you do have that luxury of missing morning training without any resprocusions from not hearing people working out and the training giving you a hard time. WHen you live at the gym its hard not to get up and train cause danny has music playing through out the gym and you do hear people hitting pads. You dont hear any of that when you live off campus, for weaker minded people, i suggest you try and live at the gym.
As you do when you are in a foreign place you want to explore and when you are armed with a MOPED or a sports bike it is even a greater incentive, this was also a great hinderence to my training, as i was so caught up in checking out Phuket, I would also miss a lot of after noon training as I was sometimes more inclined to stay at the place I was visiting. This issue was all to regular to the end of my trip.
For anyone considering on getting some ink when in thailand, i learned the hard way. I went up to Karon and got my GAY superman tattoo covered, they only did a half ass job. The place to go is the Tattoo place which is affiliated with the gym, they are called Siamese Tattoo. They are only minutes from the gym and I have to tell you the cleanliness in this place as well as their finishes and attention to detail in their studio would rival some of the top tattoo places in the world. Steve, is the owner of the place. He is married to a Thai lady named TU who is what you would call a true artist!! Steve and TU met whilst Steve was in Thailand and first met her out int he water as TU is a surfer also. They have an excellent set up and import their goods direct from the USA. What I found is alot of Thai tattoo parlours import their ink and Dilute it to get longer use which in turn fades and looks crap on your skin. TU doesnt mix or DILUTE and you can sure tell the difference! TU did my tattoo free hand and she is awesome.
LIFE CHANGING
It took me a good 6 months to get over my trip to Rawai. With the simplicity of the people and the lifestyle, I think the western world could learn alot from these people. Since coming home I have converted my beliefs to Therevada Buddhism which acts on the principles are being respectful and doing the right thing by yourself and others, it isnt about believing in a god which is what I find hard to do. I really needed this trip to reevaluate everything in my life, I am married with two young kids and the time away from them really made me closer and more appreciative of the things I have as well as made me a more patient and less angry person.
I am now returing on SEP 10 for two weeks. I am bringing my wife and two kids along for the journey. I do expect the time to be very different from when I travelled alone but I am excited for my family to experience a more simple life. Seeing though Goongs can not accomodate us I am staying down the road from them, the place im staying has a pool for the kids as well as WIFI and all the other mod cons that Goongs had.
I hope everyone enjoyed reading my blog and if you ever want to ask me something, im always on the Rawai forum or email me direct at muaythaifalang "AT" gmail.com
Chok Dee.
Aaron
