I needed to find a hotel with a swimming pool in Korat (Khorat) city. This took my search results down from a hundred to just a handful. I was also working on a pretty tight budget as well which directed me to the Sripattana Hotel. Every ninety days I am required to make my way down to Thai immigration to ‘check-in’. Although married to a Thai national, this is still a process. I must complete whether I'm here on a marriage visa or with a work permit. As a family we try to make the most of these trips and will usually spend the night in Korat. Korat is the closest immigration check point to us, and is about a two hour drive from home. The … [Read more...]
Sit Phanom + Wor Watthana’s First Muay Thai Fight As A Gym
“Mali, where are you?” “I’m at work.” As I am every day, Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm. “Do you have any fighters yet?” “Yes! They are really new the gym just opened last…” “Yeah, I know, I know. Come see me at the temple. Write their names on a list with their weights. I’ll meet you at the fight ring.” Names? Our gym had only been open for two weeks, we didn’t even have a training mat, let alone fight names! I quickly wrote down a few localized names with some weights attached and jumped on a bike to head over to the temple. The temple tradesman who had made the call had already left, … [Read more...]
Starting From Nothing, Training On The Ground And Building A Muay Thai Gym
A Muay Thai gym in rural Thailand can change a child's life. This is particularly true in Thailand's North East region of Isaan which is home to some of the country's poorest families. In such communities, Muay Thai offers an option for the children who have few. A Muay Thai gym in a small, rural community can make the difference between a child securing a future and a child choosing gang membership and/or substance abuse. Almost a month ago, we released that MBSB contributor Frances Watthanaya, in conjunction with her husband Boom, and longtime family friend and Muay Thai trainer Dam were opening a gym in Boom's hometown in the Muang Yang of Nakhon … [Read more...]
A Brand New Muay Thai Gym Is Being Built In Isaan
MBSB contributor Frances Watthanaya has been busy lately. She and her husband Boom have left Buriram to open a Muay Thai gym in neighbouring Nakhon Ratchasima Province (Khorat). The new Muay Thai gym is located in Boom's hometown (village) in the Muang Yang district. The village is extremely isolated and lacking the infrastructure common to larger villages (for example, paved roads). Additionally, plagued by a lack of governance, there isn't a local police presence in the area. Like many other villages in Isaan, adults from this village migrate to Bangkok to take up menial labour while those left behind tend to be the elderly, children, and those with addictions who … [Read more...]
A Typical Day in Issan
I woke up this morning very excited; one because I didn’t have to go to work, and two because Mr. Dit was taking me to interview Rotduan Sit. Seeanbreeak who is a professional Muay Thai fighter that identifies as a ladyboy. I first saw them fight in March of this year, Rotduan Sit. Seeanbreeak was scheduled to fight one of our fighters Taepbundit but Taepbundit had to pull out simply because he was fighting too often and was replaced by our golden boy Senrak who is currently fighting in the Thai Insurance Tournament at Lumpini. Immediately the ring announcer began to take jabs at Rotduan but their corner, simply put, told him to shut up. I was very impressed by this because the … [Read more...]