Slacking

Happy Amy?

I have been slacking on keeping my blog up to date. Its not for a lack of things to write about though. Last week was very eventful. Things with Anna moved beyond the honeymoon phase and fell apart. Communication is key, and while she spoke ok English, having any deep conversation was still impossible. It was a mutual realization at least.

Also last week was the BKK film fest. I ended up going to five movies on two different days. The first day I saw two movies, Bangkok Time and The Bet Collector. Bangkok Time was very artsy, with very little dialog, and a pretty thin storyline, but with really cool cinematography. It was the worst of the five movies I saw, but mostly because the other four were so cool. The Bet Collector was what I would call a documentary hybrid. It was filmed in the style of a normal film, following one character through the course of 48 hours, but the point of the movie seemed to document an illegal lottery type game played in The Philippines called Jueteng. It was a really cool movie, and I left the theater in a very introspective mood.

On Saturday, I went back for three more movies, Diary, Cashback, and Mystic Ball. Diary was a horror movie from Hong Kong, and like most Asian horror it relied much more on creepiness in the acting and dialog then the fancy special effects of the west. It reminded me alot of Miike's Audition. Cashback was next, and quite the opposite in just about every way. From the UK, it was a romantic comedy of sorts but more Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, than Music and Lyrics. It was absolutely hilarious and easily my favorite of the five. Mystic Ball is a documentary in the traditional sense, following a Canadian man's obsession with the little known Burmese sport of chitlone. I'm not sure if I was just having an emotional weekend, but I was nearly brought to tears more than once during this film. It was a very powerful film, and I once again found myself wondering out of CentralWorld cinemas into downtown BKK in an introspective daze.

Sunday I got a new roommate from L.A.. He is a Jiu-Jitsu guy and trains with one of my idols, Eddie Bravo. What has become our little clique at the camp made a trip to Chatuchuk weekend market, and we invited Brad along for the fun. Crazy does not do the place justice. It is an enormous open air market, and you can buy literally anything there, from chihuahuas to Thai crafts to goofy T-shirts. I was able to get some gifts for people back home before running completely out of money :p, and even with the chaos of such a huge place with so many people, it was a pretty relaxing Sunday afternoon. We even got a little bit of Jiu-Jitsu rolling in when we got back to the camp. I am stoked to have Brad around. I intend to learn as much as possible from him in these last few weeks.

Monday through Wednesday were three of my best days training yet. I managed to do my normal Thai boxing training, and also do about an hour of Jiu-Jitsu every day.

Today I am completely sore. It is ok though, because I am taking a bus to Ko Samui this afternoon, and staying for the weekend. Jose, Adolfo, and Ahmed are flying there tomorrow, and we are going to meet up for some beach side relaxation. I am really excited about it, and I will make sure to take plenty of pictures. After this little excursion, I will be truly broke, so my last couple weeks at the camp I will not be venturing further than the noodle stall across the street :p. Kevin left yesterday, and Jose and Adolfo leave Monday, so it shouldn't be too hard as our little group will be down to just me and Ahmed. So this weekend is kind of my last real crazy weekend, and Ko Samui seems like a great place for that.

Pictures

I haven't posted any pictures for a while, because the internet at camp is slow. So, this entry is just pictures.

Mai Sabai

I feel a bit ill today. Nothing major, just a bit exhausted, and my stomach is a bit upset. That isn't all that rare though.

It has been an interesting week. I have been a little distracted from training by Anna, the Thai girl I met last weekend, but I still managed to train pretty hard. My Thai is improving much faster with someone to correct me all the time. Tonight, we are driving to Pataya for the weekend, and it is likely to be very different than my last trip there.

Last night I had a little adventure with the Mexican boys, Kevin, and Ahmed. It started with us bored at the camp after dinner, and I suggested just taking a trip to the mall to walk around just to get out of the camp. After buying some new badminton birdies for the kids at the camp, and eating a bit, the mall was closing up. While eating, there was discussion of the weight cutting substance clambuetorol (sp?), that is prescription only in both the UK and the states. Ahmed knew of a place to get it in Bangkok over the counter though, and Kevin was quite interested, as he is trying to make weight for a fight he has lined up back home. With nothing better to do, the five of us were soon in two taxis en route to the sky train stop On Nut, and then on to the very seedy area of Nana.

The first stop in Nana was a pharmacy. Here, with a little prodding Ahmed got the cashier to show us "the list". Clambuetorol was on the first page, as well as many types of growth hormones and steroids. Kevin then got a lecture from some hugely obese American guy in the pharmacy on how to take clambuetorol, and it took all my restraint to not point out that he might not be the best testimonial as to the drugs effectiveness. With Kevin's performance enhancing drugs purchased it was on to a designer replica shop.

In just about any big city anywhere you can find replica watches and handbags that stop working or fall apart after about 2 weeks. The place Ahmed took us was different. First of all, you had to know it was there. The front of the shop was just pretty normal looking jewelry, but at the back was a long twisting hallway that eventually led to a cramped space with 1000's of designer watches of every make imaginable. Not as cheap as the trenchcoat born watches of NYC, but guaranteed to work for 18 months. Kevin and Jose both bought watches, and while I was very tempted by a super blingy "diamond" covered Rolex, 2000B (60USD) was still a bit much for something I could only see myself wearing as a joke.

At this point, it was clear that our evening mall walk had turned into a late night out. None of us tried to fight it, and so it was soon after the claustorphobic tension of the seedy watch shop that we were relaxing in a hookah bar, snacking on falafel and babaganoush, and of course smoking apple and strawberry flavored nargile tobacco from a hookah. I think the coolest thing about this trip for me has been the unexpected friendships. All five of us come from very different backgrounds, but it would be hard for an outsider of our little group to not think we had grown up together.

Now it was truly late, and none of us wanted to miss morning training, so we decided to call it a night. We couldn't make a trip to Nana with out at least a walk through of Nana Plaza though. So, before a taxi ride with an ex-boxer that spoke decent English, we did a quick tour of the three stories of go-go bars that is Nana plaza. This was all pretty similar to patpong or pataya, with one exception. The girls here had a move that I had not experienced yet, the "pounce". Quite literally, just as they were out of your peripheral vision they would pounce on you, and try to get you to come into their bar. I was the first victim, and I nearly had a heart attack, but by the time we had walked all three floors all of us had been pounced. Kevin seemed to get more than his fair share, and at one point we needed to pull him away from three girls who were a bit too enthusiastic.

A very interesting night, for one that started out bored at the camp. I did end up sleeping through morning training, but it was worth it. I will train hard this afternoon, and then have a relaxing beach weekend with Anna. Next week, I plan on taking one afternoon off to go check out the Bangkok Film Festival which has movies from everywhere, but with a heavy asian focus. Surprisingly, every movie is either in English, or has English subtitles. "Bangkok Time" sounds really cool, and there is a Luis Buñuel retrospective that I'm interested in checking out too. Other than that though, I am going to try to not go out at all next week, since I was all over the place this week.

Halfway

I cant believe I have been here for four weeks. It seems like so much less. I dont think I will be able to stay much longer after my training is finished here, because I have spent way more money than expected going out all the time. Its ok though, because I really just want to get home and get settled in at a new gym while my cardio is still in order. After two months here, I should be able to just tune up my jiu-jistsu and wrestling for a week or two in order to be ready for an MMA fight.

I'm feeling much better after my long weekend. My hand is still a little bit sore, but my legs are back to 100%. I have been just shadow-boxing with weights, to take it easy on my hand and let it heal up. My cardio is getting alot better. In the mornings, I am running 6km, doing 3-4 6 minute rounds with my trainer, and 3-4 6 minute rounds on my own.

This weekend was pretty fun. We went to this night club near the camp called Hollywood. I have come to realize that Thais don't like to talk to eachother, because every night club I have been to has been exceptionally loud. Still it was fun, though totally different then the states. I was getting bought drinks by Thai girls, and me and one of the Mexican boys, Adolfo, left the club when it closed with two. They brought us to this after party club that was much more like a club in the states. There was an awesome hip hop DJ, so we stayed and had a couple more drinks. After this, me and Adolfo caught a cab back to camp.

Sunday was quiet. Me and Kevin didnt end up going to the Ancient City, as we both were a bit too tired. We all just hung around the camp, and went to bed early.

Tonight, I have a dinner date with the girl from the night club. It should be interesting, because she speaks english but just barely. Que cosas. Que Locura.

Die Hard Monkey

Die Hard Monkey, originally uploaded by Ape Lad.

Completemente Destruido

This has been a tough week. I decided to take a long weekend, and not train today, because everything hurts. My punching power must be getting better, because the middle knuckle on my right hand is bruised to the point of not being able to punch with it. Even when training just boxing multiple times a week back home, I have never bruised it that bad. A couple days off and it should be fine though. My legs are pretty shot too. So many kicks, combined with running every morning has just worn my legs out. I feel really good about the progress I'm making though, and I'm sure I will be fine on Monday.

Other than training, alot has changed this week. Mike went back to San Diego, which sucked abit since he was a good sparring partner, and fun to hang out with. Two Mexican kids arrived that are freakin awesome though. They are from the Yucatan, and are both just super nice. They are very pacient with my Spanish, but speak quite good English themselves. The only problem is when speaking Thai I slip into Spanish by accident, answering questions "si" instead of "chai" and the like. Also, I met a French girl, Olivia, at Mellow. She is working somewhere near Fairtex as an engineer. Very random.

Last night was nuts. So, about a week ago, I met this Thai kid, Pahk, at Mellow. He had just got back from studying in the UK, and it was very strange to hear a Thai speaking with a British accent. He invited me to his birthday party, so I gave him my number, and didn't really expect to get a call from him. Then yesterday, he texts me with a time and place to meet him. So I catch a taxi to Central Bang Na, hop in a car with him and his friend, and the cruise has begun. We then proceed to drive to some extremely nice area of Bangkok, where all the houses have huge fences with private security, and pick up another one of his friends. I find out all of them went to international school, and so they all speak perfect english. We then inch our way along with the Friday night Bangkok traffic to the nightclub where the party is.

Unfortunately, I didnt know we were going to a nightclub, so I didnt bring my passport. I tried playing dumb, but the three phrases the bouncer knew in English were enough to keep me out: "ID?", "Passport?", "Sorry". With the traffic, there was no way I could catch a taxi back to fairtex and get back before 1am. No worries though, Pahk flags down a motorcycle taxi, and gives him directions in Thai as well as pays the fare. 45 minutes of weaving in and out of traffic later I'm darting to my room and grabbing my passport, and 45 minutes after that I'm drinking Johnny Walker Black Label singing "Happy Birthday". It was a really awesome night. All of Pahk's friends were quite young 18-20, but they all spoke English, and were all super nice.

It was also very interesting seeing a different segment of Thai society. These kids lived an entirely different life than the ones at the camp. It is almost as if they lived in a different country all together. Similar class disparities exist in the states, but the difference here is much more drastic.

Tonight, me and the Mexican boys are going out with Kevin, Tien, and a couple of the trainers to a night club near the camp. I have invited Olivia as well, so it should be an interesting night. Then, tomorrow me and Kevin plan on getting rid of our inevitable hangovers by riding around this park called the Ancient City. Its a 3 sq. mi. park in the rough shape of Thailand with replicas of famous temple buildings from all over Thailand. For 300baht (9 USD), you get entry, and a rental bike to ride around and take pictures etc. Then, a quiet restful Sunday night to prepare for next week.

German Breweries and Accidental Church Outings

My trainer Boon Ma on the back of a share taxi.

TWD German Brewery Bangkok

I am exhausted today. I'm going to take the afternoon off and go watch Die Hard 4.0.

I neglected to mention going to a "German" brewery with Tien, and a couple other guys from camp last weekend, because there was so much else to write about. It was not all that impressive as a brewery, but the food was very good, and there was a proper stage. There was everything from traditional Thai theater, to would-be Thai pop-stars doing covers of American music. It was interesting. Chud, this guy from Whales, participated in some crazy game show type thing, that ended in chugging a beer. He was losing by a good margin before the beer chugging, but in his words, he "would not get beat at a drinking game by Thais." He lived up to the promise.

Saturday was another late night at mellow, and I had hoped to sleep in as we dont train on Sundays. Unfortunately, the kids still do. I will not miss the sound of kicking pads at 6am every morning. I could not sleep through the noise, so I got up and walked around abit. I was still abit hazy from the night before, when my trainer comes up to me and asks me something I dont understand even slightly. Eventually, I understand that he wants me to go somewhere with him, and I ask Tien about the place he wants to go. Tien says its a really good place for shopping, and asks me to get him something cool. Sounds like the start of a cruise to me, so I toss on a shirt and a hat, and am ready to roll.

Boon Ma does not take taxis. Instead we take what is called a share taxi. It is essentially a pickup truck with some seats installed in the back, as well as a large covering. For most of the ride me and Boon Ma were hanging precariously to the poles on the back, standing on a tiny platform. The bumps in the notoriously bad Thai roads were quite fun, knowing if you lose your grip you are tumbling into traffic. The price is right though...when we depart after what would normally be about a 150baht taxi ride, we each pay 7baht.

We are not there yet though. From where we get off the share taxi, we walk a few blocks to catch air con bus #23, a sure sign that this was a legit cruise. This bus takes us all the way into Bangkok, for 20 baht each. So a trip that would normally cost 300baht by taxi has instead set us back a total of 54baht. I need to get Boon Ma to teach me the ways of the share taxi. After the bus ride, we stop at a food stall that Boon Ma says he frequents every Sunday. I started to think it was a bit wierd that a trainer that makes probably 3000baht per month makes this trip every Sunday to go shopping, but I was still too groggy to think to hard on it. He orders for us, and we are brought two bowls of a Pho like soup. It was really good. It had a couple things in it, that I couldn't recognize, either some sort of squid, or stomach, but it tasted great. Aloi Mahk Mahk.

After eating we proceed down the street, until we get to a little building with a courtyard, and Boon Ma informs me he needs to use the toilet. I say I will wait outside, thinking that was the only reason for stopping here. However, when he comes out he leads me into the building, which I soon realize is a Christian church. A bit unexpected! There is no way I can get out of this now, so as Rickson Gracie would do, "I flow with the go".

I am given a headset that roughly translates the Thai preacher's words, and the sermon is about how we should all love eachother, because we are all connected. Pretty hard to disagree with really. After the sermon, all the "guests" had to stand up and introduce themselves. I was the first to be called on, and did not understand the protocol and tried to make my way to the front. I soon realized from the laughter and the looks on the faces of my trainer and the woman next to me, I was just supposed to stand up. Good Times. After the service, I was introduced to various people, and had the same conversation with all of them. It consited of the usual, "Where are you from?", "You train boxing?", etc. At this point it was nearly noon, I hadnt slept much the night before, and was just ready to go back to camp. I tried to get my trainer to stay, as I didnt want to mess up his Sunday routine, but he insisted on coming back with me. After returning to the camp, I just lazed about for the rest of the day.

I set up an account on twitter.com. This allows me to send in short on the spot updates via SMS on my phone. I pretty excited to use this, because sometimes I just dont really feel like sitting at a computer and typing out a long blog entry, but I am doing things worth writing a quick note about every day.