I slept in yesterday until about 930am then went to an out door restaurant for breakfast. Was surprised to see that the prostitutes were already out and dressed up and ready to go; along with the Johns. I took a seat with a view of the street. There was a little boy managing a street vendor cart that sold yummy delicacies like deep fried beetles, worms, spiders. grass hoppers, and frogs. The beetles are huge- about four or five inches in length. I watched as people ate them like potato chips.

Packed up and hopped in a cab with my parents around 1130. First stop was my camp; Fairtex Muay Thai Training camp in Bangplee (about 20 min from Bangkok). My parents looked worried dropping me off. I guess I’ll always be their baby girl. They went around and asked the staff to ‘pls take care of their baby.’

The camp looks awesome! There are only about 10-15 guests here right now. The first person I met was Don, a thirty-five year old from Sidney Australia. He has a tough exterior… Buff, covered in tattoos and a shaved head. I asked him if he’d been to Bangkok and he said no because he can’t stand seeing the exploitation of young girls. I respected him right when he said that; especially after seeing all the old, bald, fat white men with beautiful 14 year old Thai girls on their arm. He explained that he is currently studying to be a minister. Can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

After I unpacked Don gave my a tour of the camp. The owner of all the Fairtex gyms is one of the richest most powerful men in Thailand. He has a mansion at the camp with a private zoo. That was the first thing Don showed me. This was not like an American zoo where you view the animals from a distance. The rare, exotic birds are not in cages, they roam free with just clipped wings. There are huge Asian fish in a private pond and a white 7 foot python in a cage with lots of rabbits for him to snack on. There are 2 tigers. They are in a large chain link enclosure but you can go right up and stick your hand in (if you dare). Don said that you could even go in and pet them. Not sure about that. The monkeys are hysterical. They are like funny little people and each one has their own personality. There is one that is a show-off and a flirt. When you go near his cage he starts doing all these tricks and flips and reaching his hands through he fence to hug you.

My first training was at 3pm. At about 215 I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. I ordered a bid bowl of chicken pad Thai and polished it off. Big mistake.

At 3 my trainer (huh! that sounds so strange to be the trainee and not the trainer!) took me in the ring for training. The trainers are fantastic! They are all retired muay thai champions. We focused on technique and making my movements fluid and automatic. I am a complete novice. I was getting really frustrated with myself when he had to constantly correct my form. I had to say to myself ‘be patient Tania. You are just starting out. Your not going to do everything right the first time. Never give you. You came here to see how hard you could push yourself and how much pain you could take. You came to learn something new and push your boundaries. Tough it out. Never give up.’

Ok, I knew it was going to be hard and that there would be times when I wanted to die, I just didn’t know it would be within the first 20 min of training! It was about 100 degrees and SUPER humid. Remember the pad thai lunch? BIG mistake. I started feeling nauseous and heaving. Had to run to the bathroom. After a date with the toilet, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was soaked to the point that I looked like I’d jumped into a pool fully clothed and my face was tomato red and my eyes were bloodshot. I said ‘lesson learned. Don’t be a pussy Tania. Tough it out.’ I went back out and finished the workout.

I have 2 trainers. One focuses more on power, endurance and making the movements automatic. He is sooo funny. Their English is very limited so they communicate with funny little gestures and by modeling the movements visually. When I would punch, kick and knee him well he’d throw himself on the floor to pretend like I’d knocked him out. So cute. My other trainer focuses more on technique, which I desperately need!

My second trainer asked my if I wanted to go to a professional fight after the workout. I agreed. We grabbed a cab around 6 pm and headed to Bangkok. Tourists are prohibited from sitting in the bleachers and are only allowed to purchase ringside seats (which are far more expensive- about $80 American dollars). So I sat in about the second row. It was crazy! The fights start at 6 and go til about 1030. The fighters were between the ages of 14 and 20.

This sport in BRUTAL! I can see why the American gov would never allow it. Unlike boxing, in muay thai you can kick anywhere, elbow, and knee. An elbow to the face cuts like a knife and some of the fighters faces were dripping with blood. The fighters are so lean… like 100-130 lbs. All muscle. Crazy fast. Muay thai is the most popular sport here and the crowd goes crazy over it. I couldn’t help but worry about the boys and their health. Some of the trainers here have disfigurements from their fighting days. Scars all over, crooked noses, and toes that grow in all different directions from having been broken so many times.

My trainer brought me back stage after each fight and I took pictures with all the winners. They let me go into the locker room and watch the fighters get ready before and after the fight. I have to say that everyone was staring and yelling things at me. All the Thai women have black hair and dark complexions. Since I got my extension (which I LOVE) my hair is blond and down to my belly button, so I guess I stood out. I kinda felt like a celebrity. I met a group of 3 guys from Oakland. They were cool and funny so I sat with them for most of the fight.

We got back to the camp around 1030. I was wide awake since I had slept late so I did an hour light cardio.

Barely slept at all last night. Guess I was all worked up from the fights. Training this morn started at 645. Today I felt GREAT! Nothing like yesterday. I guess it was just the heat and the food. I was surprised that after just one workout that I have massive bruises an both knees from kneeing the pads. It looks like an elephant gave my hickeys on my knees (and on my right elbow). My wrists are trembling like a Parkinson’s patient from the impact of punching. Today I was practicing kicks with my trainer and I missed the pad and hit the front of my foot to his elbow. It hurt and now the front of my foot is bruised. I’ll survive. The bruises don’t hurt much though (but the one on the foot does when I kick). I kind of like them bc they make me feel like a real fighter.

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