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You are here: Home / Memoir / Beginnings: The City – Buriram, Isaan

Beginnings: The City – Buriram, Isaan

April 13, 2011 By Laura Dal Farra 12 Comments

 
buriram
Lamplaimat, Buriram, Thailand

 

The Buriram I live, may not be the Buriram you know.

 

More often than not, when I tell Thai nationals who aren’t born of this region that I live in Buriram, my statement elicits a variety of mixed reactions – confusion, shock, and disdain generally being the top three.  Adding that I train muay thai doesn’t work in my favour.

 

The region of Isaan, situated in the North East, is Thailand’s poorest.

 

Buriram, in the southern hemisphere is one of the poorest provinces of the region – it’s also one of the major suppliers of sex trade workers to Pattaya and Bangkok. Among the lower classes, a proportionate number of females work the bars and brothels, males compete in muay thai. The trannies/ladyboys/katoey do either. It’s not an absolute, rather an option that generally goes without judgment amongst many, although rarely openly discussed. It’s a fact of life.

 

There are girls who train muay thai and gay/bi/straight men (MSM) who work the bars and brothels, but they are not among the majority who make up either occupation. Most locals don’t do either. On the surface, Buriram is like anywhere else.

 

buriram

 

I’ve been living in the city of Buriram for approximately one year. Until a few weeks ago, I thought I was the only non-Thai female living amongst approximately 28,000 plus people. In the past month I’ve heard there is a sixteen year old Western female exchange student in the city. I’ve yet to meet her (Hello.).

 

The ex-pat scene is an interesting mix of men. They reside here part or fulltime, most of them in relationships of varying kinds with locals they met outside of the region. The city also attracts some ESL teachers. My guess is the average age of the ex-pat population lies somewhere above fifty.

 

So what brought me here? Intuition, a twisted mix of luck and muay thai.  After having trained for over a year at Chuwattana gym in Bangkok and being exposed to a consistent stream of new fighters under their promotion, I came to realize that Buriram was consistently pumping out talented nak muays and some really humble and kind people.

 

Being a Foreigner/Farang in the muay thai game here gives me a number of advantages, the primary one being choice. I can decide where I want to train. Finances and whether or not they allow women come into play, but I’m neither locked in nor sold to a gym, and I don’t have my extended family relying on me for support. This allows me more leverage than your average Thai boxer/nak muay.

 

buriram
Lamplaimat, Buriram, Thailand, 2011

 

There are many gym options for Farang, some catering to us solely. At the high end, there are luxury resorts like Fairtex in Pattaya and at the low end, there’s a bag on a rice farm somewhere in the sticks. High tourist areas, as well as some gyms in Bangkok offer free training and accommodation if you meet their requirements, you’re in for the long run, and you agree to fight as often as they ask you to. This could mean every four to six weeks, sometimes more. Usually they take a negotiated percentage of your (known) winnings.

 

Given the above options, I decided to take my chances on Buriram.

 

The way I saw it, I could learn to fight in a shopping mall or I could learn to fight in the ghetto. I wanted to fight hungry farm girls that wanted to break my high Farang nose.

 

Something about it seemed pure to me.

 

A brother of a friend introduced me to a thirty one year old retired nak muay. He lived at a defunct gym and installed aluminum during the day. He had never had a conversation with a Farang before. He hadn’t thought of muay thai in years. Later, I found out he didn’t even want to train me; he had felt obligated to.

 

One year in…

 

Saturday, February 19, 2011

 

Read the previous post, The Country – Thailand, here.

 

Read the next post, Beginnings – The Kru, here.

 

 

 

Map of Thailand

 

 

Filed Under: Memoir, Muay Thai, Thailand Tagged With: Bangkok, Buriram, Chuwattana Gym, Lamplaimat, Pattaya, Sex and Dating

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About Laura Dal Farra

After a six month adventure training Muay Thai in Thailand in 2007, Laura Dal Farra returned to her native Canada, sold most of what she owned, and boarded a plane set for Bangkok alone. She spent the next 3.5 years training in traditional Muay Thai gyms, pushing her limits, and embracing the unknown. Realizing little was being written on the subject, she began to blog about it. Laura Dal Farra is the founder of Milk.Blitz.Street.Bomb.

Comments

  1. Alex says

    April 18, 2011 at 06:50

    “Usually they take a negotiated percentage of your (known) winnings.”

    So true.

    Reply
  2. Matthew says

    June 7, 2011 at 14:23

    Hi thank you very much for this post! i am moving out to Buriram shortly to train and it would be great if i could get your e-mail address and maybe have a little chat if you wouldnt mind 🙂 ?
    I was in thailand last year for only 3 weeks training and i found it so inspiring and fell in love with the sport, i didnt enjoy the tourist side of things so much and i have heard/ read a lot about Buriram and cant wait to explore. i have basically saved very hard over the last 2 years to come a train for the long hall and any experience about MT in that area shared would be greatly appreciated!
    i have decided on Buriram to start because i like the idea of leaving the tourist area, i think the sticks would be the best area to dedicate myself, it sounds more affordable, i hope to do as the thai do, plus like you say it has produced some good fighters. Im heading to Nong ki first i think just on a recommendation.
    at first my plan is to just go with the flow but im hoping to start fighting and a gym that allows me to stay for free as long as i fight is what im hoping for eventually.

    All the best!
    Matthew

    Reply
    • ldf says

      June 7, 2011 at 21:20

      hey matthew, buriram is a great area, with a lot of opportunity to fight and see some great fighters, especially in the sticks. send me an email via my comment page and i’ll get back to you.

      Reply
      • abhimanyu says

        August 28, 2011 at 04:28

        HI..I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO TRAIN IN BURIRAM…I AM OLREADY IN THAILAND…CAN I GET INTO TOUCH WITH YOU..HAVE LOT OF QUESTIONS TO ASK FROM YA…

        Reply
        • ldf says

          August 28, 2011 at 13:55

          sure, get in touch with me via the contact page. link in top navigation.

          Reply
  3. SAJ says

    July 23, 2011 at 05:34

    Liked the comments about all male farang being over 50… (and generally on their pensions). I am a teacher, and IDF is right if you can’t speak Thai, Laos and Cambodian in Buriram you are like a child in the jungle because they just switch languages on you…

    Reply
  4. CobraBoy says

    January 2, 2012 at 16:07

    Hello LDF , I will be coming to the Buriram region on 10th January from England to train in Muay Thai woud really appreciate a little bit of support however small, are you still living in the area ? By the way like your site, Many thanks.

    Reply
  5. ldf says

    January 2, 2012 at 20:07

    hey CobraBoy, thanks. i’m currently traveling but will be back in buriram to train by the time you arrive. feel free to contact me via the contact form at the top of the site.

    Reply
  6. Filuccio says

    February 20, 2012 at 16:23

    Salve, vorrei chiedervi l’indirizzo della palestra in Buriram grazie

    Reply
  7. Filuccio says

    February 20, 2012 at 16:27

    Hi, I would like to know the address of the camp in Buriram, thanks

    Reply
  8. ajarn_blake@yahoo.com says

    April 28, 2014 at 00:17

    HI!! I am trying to prepare an article about muay Thai in Isaan to include in my book!! This is a serious book and any information you can give me I would appreciate so much, for example, “where people can watch Muay Thai in Isaan??” Thanks. Bill

    Reply

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  1. moved here says:
    September 18, 2014 at 05:39

    moved here

    Muay Thai Beginnings: Buriram, Isaan | Milk.Blitz.Street.Bomb.

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