I was just recently contacted by a young nak muay Marc Alpin, who’s currently living his dream by living in training in Thailand.
I get lot of emails… I’d say about 70% of them are related to training in Thailand. Where should I train? How much does it cost to live in Thailand? You get the point, my apologies if I haven’t returned your emails. Anyway this post if for you….
I’ve done a quick post in the past, but marc has delved much deeper and has put together a resource for nak muay’s who are tired of talking about it and are ready to do it.
On a side not if you’re on the fence, about going to train for a couple of months let me position it this way.
1.) You’ll save money. Serious… consider you can eat on a decent meal at the stalls for about a $1.50, your rent depending on where you’re at can be as cheap as $120 -$500 (nice place) being in Thailand for a month would be cheaper then hanging out at your house for 2 weeks.
2.) You’re not getting any younger… time is slippery, it gets away from you. Don’t put things off… if they matter to you do them now!
3.) Now isn’t the right time… I’ll go when… When is the right time? If that is your mentality you’ll never be ready to go, they’ll always be something that will take priority over you going. Cut the life boats just go.
4.) Fear, yeah that’s a legit concern, going to a foreign country/culture not knowing anyone, I’d be concerned… Like I said in 3, sometimes you have to cut the life boats. It sure as hell intimidating but if you lay things out, and plan and begin seeing things in small digestible steps, it becomes less intimidating.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Gio // May 16, 2008 at 4:09 am
yeah, i need to go soon. Fantastic resource, really cleared a lot of things up for me. Where did you train?
2 mmcmx // May 16, 2008 at 6:56 am
What about language? do thais speak english?
3 LorKoteKote // May 16, 2008 at 7:45 am
Of course Thais speak english. How do you think so many foreigners can goto Thailand and train? Money is a Universal Understanding.
4 koolkick // May 16, 2008 at 8:17 am
Is that 500$ per month or per day.
5 koolkick // May 16, 2008 at 8:24 am
How will be the climate in thailand in june. I hve a plan to go there nxt month for training muay thai. Planning to stay there 4 a couple of months.
6 tobias1 // May 16, 2008 at 10:17 am
I believe Nopstar trains at Ingram gym in BKK. To Koolkick, $500 is per month. If you are spending $500 a day in Thailand, you are doing WAY too much and not training at all! Thailand is a country tropical so I hope you like humidity
Like LorKoteKote said, money is the universal language and English is a close second. You will learn some Thai phrases too when you arrive.
7 tobias1 // May 16, 2008 at 10:30 am
Going to Thailand alone is a great thing. You may be on the plane alone but you will not be alone when you get to your destination. You will meet some great people and have one of the best times of your life! Nop is so right when he says cut the life boats. You will be glad you did. It sounds hard but it really isn’t. For some reason, every time I’ve been to Thailand alone I meet people who came alone and none of them are American. Mainly Aussies, Brits, and Swedish folks. All are very kind. Just get your passport, get an a plane and GO DAMN IT!!!
8 kes3009 // May 16, 2008 at 12:28 pm
This is true……I feel this for the past couple of months and I have saved up money and my Girlfriend and I are going away for about 4-6 months To Thailand, India, China, and Japan…Look into Round-The-World-Flights !!!
Just go for it, concor as much ground as you still can
9 khannie // May 16, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Looks like a great resource.
For what it’s worth; I went alone. Left my wife and kids for 3 weeks training. I met up with lads I knew over there for a day here and a day there, but for the most part I was on my own.
My advice: Learn some Thai phrases before you go. Any attempt by a farang to speak Thai beyond saying hello and thank you is really appreciated. Being a Nak Muay is good too. You’re definitely one rung above farang on the ladder of respectability.
Really good post by Nop. Just do it. Book the flight! If you have cash or credit, DO IT NOW!!! The rest will fall into place once you have your ticket booked.
I paid around €3 a day for accommodation, and around €5 a day for food. Training in Bangkok or Chiang Mai will cost you more (for both food and accommodation) overall though, Thailand is really really cheap compared to any western country.
10 SE // May 16, 2008 at 1:00 pm
ok ive heard about the thailand but how do the people in the thai gyms treat you?
11 SE // May 16, 2008 at 1:00 pm
im not implying anything bad just wondering.
12 tobias1 // May 16, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Treat others as you want to be treated. It’s that simple. Just remember to smile. I’m pretty sure you will get treated better at a camp in Thailand than at your own gym when you first arrived there
13 mmcmx // May 17, 2008 at 5:46 am
I just started Muay Thai so I’ll wait for at least a coule years but I’ll definetly go. The thing is I’ll be the camp joke cause I’m not sure my gym actually teaches muay thay but cant find any contrasted place in my area…:C
14 LorKoteKote // May 17, 2008 at 7:23 am
Hey is the moderator of the site khun thai?
15 koolkick // May 18, 2008 at 12:51 am
Thanks tobias1 for the info and thanx again to nopstar for posting this article. There is no point in waiting if we have a desire to train and fight. U knw i spent a lot of time planning this and nearly wasted 6 months without doing nothing. Or else i would have been at thailand on dec 2007. For me Muay thai has become like a drug and i have been training for a while now. Now i am training 2 times a day and just waana be there.
For guyz who have a plan to go, my advice like nop said is don’t wait.
16 tobias1 // May 18, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Training in Thailand will be there for those with other priorities but your youth will not be. Set aside some time and just go.
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