Sitjaopho is even smaller than Diamond (which some days would get up to 20-25 people training). My first session, there was only myself and Svess, a girl from Norway, training! I like this, as it means you get closer attention from the trainers and are more likely to be able to spar and clinch with them rather than other students. It turned out that Svess was actually at Sinbi muay thai in Phuket at the same time I was (November 2013), small world!
The training here is pretty intense at times. Morning training tends to be more sabai sabai (relaxed), with a longer run, usually 5-7km, followed by a bit of pad work and technique. Some mornings we don't even do pad work, one morning Eff led us all in some guided shadow boxing that turned into about an hour and a half working on one technique!
Afternoon training is more intense, a shorter run (around 3km) followed by pad work, bag work, sparring and/or clinching. Most afternoons we clinch for around 40 minutes straight!
The rooms here are very nice, quite spacious with your own bathroom, fridge and TV, plus a double bed and air con. As much as I enjoyed the 'spit and sawdust' style accommodation at Diamond, after 6 weeks there it is nice to get a bit of luxury. You appreciate things like your own bathroom, fridge and air con after you've been without such conveniences for a while. Whilst food is not included in the price, Eff's girlfriend, Taki, offers a pretty good menu of delicious Thai food, available after each training session. My favourite meal so far was the deep-fried pork ribs, amazing!
Eff is extremely friendly and helpful. When I told him I needed to go to the immigration office to extend my visa, he had Taki guide myself and Phillip, who also needed to extend his, to the immigration office, taking the back routes to town to avoid the traffic police stops that are seeking to make money from tourists by fining them for driving without a helmet (I always wear mine) or an international driving license (which I don't have). She also gave me a lift when a few of us went to Market Village, a big shopping centre in the town.
Friday night, Svess was due to fight at the stadium in town, so a bunch of us piled into a taxi to support here. She won by TKO in the 4th round, which caused a bit of a storm with the gamblers who had apparently given odds of 5-1 in favour of her opponent after a difficult 3rd round.
On Sunday, I joined Svess, Phillip, Bjorn and Bjorn's mother (who had come to visit him for the last couple weeks of his trip) for a day out. First we went to see some caves (I forget the name) that were pretty cool, full of bats, and reminded me of the horror film The Descent. Next we went to see the Pala-U waterfall, in the Kaeng Krachan national park, which is near the border with Burma. The waterfall is beautiful, although we were unable to go as high up as we wanted as it was raining heavily, making the rocks dangerously slippery. It was a hell of a drive, 60km each way, which might not be a lot in a car but certainly is on a 125cc scooter! We finished the day with a nice meal at a local restaurant, with piles of barbequed chicken and sticky rice.
As I've said before, I really want to get one more fight in before I go home. However, I'm not sure if this is going to be possible. Whilst my shins are pretty much healed up, my elbow is still swollen and sore and I have a problem with my left forearm, whenever it gets hit in sparring it hurts and goes numb for a moment. After talking to Paul, an English bloke who is out here long-term, I think it may be a chipped bone in both, or possibly even a small stress fracture in my arm. The elbow I could get around in a fight, but the forearm would just take one solid kick to put me out of commission. I need to make a decision soon, though, if I am going to get matched up for a fight.
Even if I don't end up fighting, as disappointed as I will be, this trip will still be a success. I got my first win, I've improved a lot and I can still train and learn a lot here. I also have my sister and her partner coming to visit around the 17th, as they make their way to their dream move to Australia. It will be great to see her and I look forward to spending some time with her before she goes. I guess the upside if I'm not fighting is I can spend more time with her, rather than being in the daily grind of train, eat, sleep, repeat.
One thing I've come to realise is that, no matter what, things will never go as perfectly as you imagined. There will always be challenges, setbacks and problems. The key is not in getting everything perfect, but in overcoming challenges and making the most of any situation, getting something out of every day and not letting setbacks bring you down. Muay Thai is a very tough sport, probably one of the toughest in the world, and injuries are just an occupational hazard. As frustrating as these injuries are, I'm grateful that I'm still able to train, to learn and grow and make something of the rest of my time here. I've only got four and half weeks left in Thailand, it is up to me to ensure I get everything out of it that I can.
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