The first week was so damn hard. 3 days into training was our rest day and as a result we all went out drinking. The next 2 days heavily featured a hangover plus what I can only assume was sickness due to the water (probably melted ice in drinks). I was bed ridden for 2 days just being sick and sweating. Eventually when I made it back to training I was so low on energy I spent the entire morning session feeling nauseous.
This absolutely ruined my confidence. After the few days of hard training before the rest day I was hoping to find the sessions a little more manageable. It was really hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point.
Being ill wasn't helped by my roommates... the Ants nest and countless mosquitoes and flies.
Laying in bed ill was rough, to then notice Ants all over your keyboard and laptop screen was an annoying reminder that my bed and all my clothes were clearly full of ants. No wonder everything itches and you constantly find little bites everywhere.
But the bugs come with territory as do the snakes. Only seen 2 so far, first on a road run, just had to hop over a little snake, probably 50cm long, that was braving the grass at the side of the road. Freaked me out because I thought it was a stick as I approached then it moved. Second was a tad more dramatic. Riding my scooter up the little mountain roads toward a waterfall I came across a snake sunning itself on the track. As I approached and beeped it moved off into the grass. This beast must have been 2.5m long and thick, oh so thick. Curled up as it moved off the road it could cover the entire width of the track. I thought I was going to have to run over it. Fortunately it moved quick enough. No idea what type of snake it was, but it was muscular and large. Very different to the little fella I had met days before.
I guess it just comes with the territory. It's sometimes easy to forget when sat in Pai that we are surrounded on all sides by tropical jungle. The nay reminder being the storms, although infrequent, when it rains here it really really rains. The poncho and bush hat were wise investments.
Tips for anyone else considering a Thailand training camp:
We do so much skipping. It really screwed my calf muscles in the first week. Seemingly over stretching my Achilles tendon (very familiar to bare foot running shoes). Skip before you come, stretch a lot and if possible use deep heat or tiger balm on your tendons before exercising.
The altitude and heat sap your gas tank like you wouldn't believe, both physically and mentally. I was comfortable running 12km a day in England. 5km here is a real struggle. Its all hills and it so damn hot and the air just doesn't seem to be rich enough to recover. A deep breath doesn't feel worth as much as it used too (altitude?).
When I arrived at the camp I paid for 1 month and didn't make it clear I was thinking about being here a lot longer. I regret this. Although the trainers are lovely and attentive when you get their attention, there is clearly a divide between what they see as tourists passing through and the people worth investing in. The level of training is still excellent but any interest in injury recovery, treatment or specific personalised training is non existent. The fighters get it. But you have to make it clear thats your goal to benefit from that level of attention. I made the mistake of keeping my head down and now I struggle to get the help I need. The head trainer Bee has never said 2 words to me. Never enquired as to my level, my progress, what I want to achieve. Happy to take the money but has not done what every other coach I have worked with has done, had the short conversation when you first meet "How long have you done Muay Thai? Have you done any other martial arts? How comfortable with sparring are you? Any injuries or weak points I should know of?"
Makes you feel like a pay cheque when no one seems interested in your progress.
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