Three weeks on Koh Phangan are up. It didn’t play out as planned, as injury forced an early end to my Muay Thai training plans and while I enjoyed other aspects of island life … i am happy to move on now and look forward to seeing more of Thailand. Next stop is Krabi.
I do, however, leave many new friends behind. People that I spent some serious quality in time with in the camp, at Pae Pae’s (here some live action), crazy psy trance parties or exploring the islands (in all its colours ;o). I have come to realise that this time is rare … I mean how often do you get to spend a day with a good old friend (now that all have family etc) … not to mention a week or two or three. Its fantastic.
Diversity rocks! The people i met come in all shapes and sizes. Some are craftsmen on a break, some are junkies (not true, but just to make sure Ricky doesn’t feel left out), some grow marijuana (second farmer i met in 3 month), some sell sunglasses on a ferry and love to dance (& talk), many believe in conspiracy and educated me on climate engineering, some grow their own food & hide gold in their garden … you just cant make it up.
Diamond Muay Thai – review: It’s not easy to give a full review with partial training. Loved the people and atmosphere in the camp. Good trainers too. Didn’t like the dogs everywhere (and dirty ones at that), noisy bungalows (hard to sleep even after 4h workout) that are aslo a fetile breeding ground for all sort of funghi (my black belt turned into a moudly blue after 3w!) and think they should really reconsider if sparring for beginners is wise – I estimate some 10-20% of folks got injured and missed training. It’s also too crowded. You literally have space limitations. Would probably pick another gym next time though it will remain a great experience.
Less training, more time to go out: I tried to train a little, but after a few sessions had to true up. Just doesn’t feel right with a broken toe. Instead i spent time watching quite a few documentaries (from climate engineering to detective Poirot), many late nights in camp with/without movies & xxx, another fight night this time at our gym (again, most fights don’t go the full distance … see here for a great summary video), some good time out with Elisa (thanks for excellent visit at your friends), Ricky (we laughed a lot that night & dance like 18!) Kevin (good luck for ya fight dude … immer wieder Oesterreich) & co, a long night with Frits (see you in holland, get well soon … and take it easy!) and some excellent island exploring with Jason helped by some excellent special juice we picked up in another boxing gym (of all places) – best last day ever. Switch on the colours and go out to meet the world man! Its worth every moment.
Time to move on, but time unforgotten. Hope to see you guys all very soon. If not in this life, then in a 7eleven over beer & BBQ chips ;o)