The Blog of E.M. FitzGerald

Now that I am back in the States, and away from Asia for a bit more than a week I have had some time to reflect about my experiences in Thailand. I have already spoken gads about Muay Thai, Phuket, the people, lifestyle, etc. There is however, one thing that during my time in Thailand began to define the country. Since I was in-country I thought it a bad idea to get into political observations as I didn’t want to be deported because of my views. I am of course talking about the Red Shirt protests that happened, and were broken up by the Thai military in Bangkok.

Better late than never. When I got to Thailand, the Red Shirt protests were in full swing, and the protesters had situated themselves in the shopping area of Bangkok. Since these troubles had been going on before I left, I didn’t bring any kind of red shirt with me on my trip, not wanting to get myself mixed up in that mess. When I arrived in Thailand, it wasn’t a topic on my mind at all. I planned to avoid Bangkok like the plague, and as such I wasn’t concerned should that topic arise.

And, it did arise. The people of Phuket (who come from all over Thailand) had very strong views on the issue. For the most part, they didn’t support the Red Shirts. The general feeling I got from the Thai people I encountered who talked about the protests said that it was a bunch of Thai people from the north who didn’t actually live in Bangkok doing the protesting. They were causing far more problems than they solved, and should have stopped a long time ago. The Thai economy was descending at a rapid rate because of the protests, and in the country that is dependent on tourism, that is a big deal. The general opinion was that there were better ways to achieve a victory for the people than closing down part of Bangkok with general insolence. When the military did come in and brake up the protesting, there was a clear sense of relief that swept through the country. It hadn’t been the first time the military had come in to put down a protest, but it was one of the best documented cases. As such, the backlash to the Thai people and their economy would clearly last for at least a year, something that everyone on Phuket knew was coming.

My own personal views on the subject are hard to define. Thailand is not my country, I don’t know the people or the politics so coming to any conclusion about the situation would be inexcusable on my part. Had I lived in Thailand, been a Thai citizen and understood the situation with greater clarity, then maybe I would weigh in on the frustrations of the people in that country. As such, I am not in that position, so I find it best to keep my mouth shut as it is quite clear that I do not understand the situation. If only this were a general rule that people in our followed, keep your nose out of business that’s not yours!!

It seems like yesterday that I arrived in Thailand, naive about the culture, society and country. I knew none of the language, and most certainly was unsure of myself in this new and strange environment. Originally I was to spend 3 months in Thailand, but on the third day here, my friend Nick and I decided that was going to be far too long. We changed our plans, and figured that 7 weeks in country would be more than enough time to get used to the people and Muay Thai. Now, with 1 day left in Thailand I can reflect upon the experiences that I’ve had.

Without a doubt, my Muay Thai prowess has improved more than I thought possible. My technique is not flawless, but it is very good. Every strike I undertake, I hit with power as opposed to weakness. My form, balance and general fitness level have improved despite not running due to poor conditions. During the first month I learned the basics, and was taught by the instructors how to fight Muay Thai. Every session they molded me into what they believed to be a Muay Thai fighter, as they all themselves had fought and knew pretty well what they were doing. During each session I improved visibly. The basic and advanced footwork became 2nd nature fast, and the position of the hands and the leaning forward of the body came second. After that, it was all about turning the hip over to expel as much power into the pads as possible during a leg strike. My blows became ferocious, and lacked in nothing except for perhaps a bit of speed. In the first month they built me up to handle whatever was thrown at me in the ring.

During the last two weeks, the finesse aspect of Muay Thai has come into play. There has been a greater focus on blocking, and protecting the body as well as landing quick, hard blows as opposed to taking time to kick and punch. Telegraphing strikes is not a good thing, and I discovered that when I did it in the ring with the trainers, they would let me know by coming after me with a shower of blows. I also learned how to toughen up my body. After training every day, one of the instructors and I would join up, and he would pummel my abs. I had to clench and flex my abdominal muscles with all that I had to protect my vital organs, and in the process my abs were strengthened and I knew what it felt like to take a blow in the mid-section.

Now, my body is finally starting to break down. I feel that I need a vacation. At the beginning of this blog I wrote down my desire to visit Hong Kong, and now I am going to. I will be going there for a week, a week of no Muay Thai and no physical fitness. It is to be a proper vacation, as opposed to a fitness holiday. And if you’ve been reading this blog you know, I need a break!!!

As I sit here in the internet cafe down the street from the Muay Thai gym, looking out the window I see torrential rain cascading down from the heavens outside the window. The awning over the entryway is flapping something fierce, and looks that in one large gust it may blow off entirely. A few minutes prior I saw that the weather was about to take a turn for the worst. The sky darkened overhead, and the wind picked up to the point of nearly blowing people over. Then, without warning down came the rain to wash away all the muck, dirt and garbage that accumulates all over Phuket. Where this trash goes, who knows? Out to sea perhaps, or maybe elsewhere. All I know is that the puddles after rain like this, which usually are huge as the rain lasts non-stop for hours, can go several feet deep on roads that should be only one way but are two. Traffic congestion happens, and it isn’t safe to walk anywhere on the roads. Lovely.

Normally I do not mind the rain, it cools down the temperature which makes life easier for the students at the gym. As less heat = less sweat, even though the humidity is at 100%. What happens after the training is the issue however. During the rainy season (which is now), Phuket never really gets dry. There is water everywhere, which mean a lot more bugs and creepy crawlies. The biggest problem for the students however, is that nothing dries out. Muay Thai shorts that are sweaty and smelly never get a chance to dry, which leaves them wet and smelly the next time one puts them on. This goes for any clothing that gets wet as well. Since the heat of Thailand serves as the best dryer I’ve ever seen, when that heat is gone everything remains wet. These wet clothes cause the students to be wet, which in turn causes illness. Not so lovely.

The rain also prevents the going of anywhere substantial on the island of Phuket, as no one wants to be caught out in it. Therefore we students tend to stick to our domiciles in this weather, trying our best to enjoy Phuket despite the nasty weather. There is a small library (which I have added to in my time here) for the students. All one has to do to borrow a book is to go up and take it, no questions asked. I have already read 3 books, and I am starting on a 4th.

A nice diversion from reading and watching the rain drops falling on my head has been the world cup, as well as the satellite TV that the gym gets. Though I am not a fan of television, there are occasionally movies on the tube, which my friend Nick and I occasionally watch. Otherwise, all there is to do is shoot the shit with the other students. Since it is raining the mosquitoes tend to go away, so all one has to contend with is the wet weather. I would rather have the mosquitoes, at least when they are around I can go outdoors without fear of getting drenched!!!

Thai women are everywhere in Phuket, though it seems that a certain variety tend to congregate in bars where they will call and rush out to meet any foreigner, pulling him into their depraved clutches. The women themselves are not depraved in the normal sense of the word, but when a farang walks by a bar it seems as though nothing else in the world matters to these women except to get the foreigner to come to the bar and buy them drinks. This consumption of alcohol inevitably leads to other, more unsavory acts that the booze addled brain finds acceptable.

I am of course bringing up the topic of the Ladies of the Night who make Phuket their homes. Due to the large influx of foreigners to this island, there is an incredible supply as well as demand for cheap thrills and spills. In every bar these “bar girls” make their living, plying their trade to the foreign men visiting the island. In fact, some people come to Thailand just to have relations with these women, an interesting phenomenon. As prostitution is illegal in most parts of the U.S., it seems that the sexual depraved and somewhat adventurous among us have decided that in Phuket they will get all the thrills they could ever desire.

These “bar girls” are everywhere. Besides in bars, they are often seen on the backs of motor scooters, with farangs doing the driving. For many of these women, it is a way to make a living. For a short while (or a long while depending on how much they are paid), they live in luxurious surroundings that have air conditioning, often a large bed and cable TV. Some of the bar girls in Phuket will even sleep with a farang just to obtain these pleasures for a short while, all the cost of selling their bodies.

A strange business, this bar girl idea. Many of them are quite pretty, (except the lady boys) and tend to be more than willing to engage in explicit acts if one buys them a drink or two. Avoiding these women is all but impossible, though there are ways to make yourself invisible to them. If walking with a woman, in this particular case I was escorting her to her accommodations as I try my best to be a gentleman, the bar girls will only give you a look and seeing that you are with a woman will disregard you. On the return trip from being an escort (as it was dark outside and the pervading sense of lawlessness in Phuket has become quite clear to me), I was accosted by around 10 different women, all trying to pull me into their places of work so that I could drink and commit myself to engaging in dirty and potentially ecstasy-inducing acts. In this case, as in all other cases I have tried my best to avoid these women like the plague. While I am a man, and certainly there is a calling there to release certain tensions, there is no way that I would think to get into some risky business with a Phuket prostitute. The risk of aids is high, as well as other stds, which, quite frankly I do not need. My standards are far to high to allow such trifling things like prostitution to enter into my mind-space which I inhabit. I don’t want it, or need it.

Yet, despite my constant uninterest, I see them everywhere. Women call from massage parlors, bars, the backs of scooters, stores, just about every conceivable place. Men, in Phuket are in far more danger than women it seems. Unnerving as it is, one somehow gets used to the constant exposure of flesh. For example, just last night I was eating at a reputable establishment, and enjoying my meal. Outside, I heard the noise of a scooter pulling up to the spot. From around the corner came a farang in the lead, a prostitute who looked to be about 14 (was probably more like 23 in reality) on his arm, and another prostitute who had come to dinner in lingerie trailing behind them. Her fake breasts pushed up to her chin, she looked quite ridiculous but it seemed as though like she was trying to maintain some dignity and was quite embarrassed at having come to eat a meal in nothing but thin unformalwear. Uninterested in the wanton display of flesh, I continued eating my meal as though nothing were wrong, as I had seen it several times before at this point. Had this occurred in the States, I am 100% certain that my eyes would not have left her until she had put something on or had left the restaurant. Not entirely because of the alluring sight of bare flesh, but more at the audacity wearing such scintillating attire to dinner!

As of late I have had a substantial lack of energy during the day time. When I get into the ring with the instructors, all semblance of “raring to go” deserts me and leaves me quite beat. After two rounds I have been out of breath and close to collapse, this is not good and I have done my best to try to figure out the answer.

At first I thought my issue was that I wasn’t able to acclimate to the heat of Thailand, and that the insane power of the sun was sapping my energy during the day. As such, I decided that I needed to spend more time in a cooler environment and out of the sun, as this would most certainly cure my lack of energy. Taking a few days off from the beach I stayed inside an air-conditioned room and slept for a good portion of the day in the hopes of getting my usual exuberant energy back. Yet, it was to no avail as I still had no energy during the training sessions. I was sucking breath in the ring, and had to go at less than half my usual intensity. I had done this lack of activity/cool down day on Sunday, which is the day off from training and on Monday my condition was no better. Determined to figure out the problem, I pressed on.

The next thing that I tested was my cardiovascular fitness. I have not been running much in Thailand due to my incredible distaste of the running conditions. Running on the road next to crazy drivers, all the while inhaling nasty fumes, smoke from burning crap that seems to be everywhere and the general humidity of the area do not appeal to me at all. Usually I run far more, so I thought that maybe I wasn’t able to cut it due to my lack of running. On the morning of Tuesday I headed out to do a 2k run, which I ended up running very well and at a very fast time despite being half-asleep during most of the time my legs were churning. I got back to the gym not feeling any worse or better, and during the pad work I was still beat.

Then I thought it was maybe my sleep, but I sleep a good 8-9 hours a night in Phuket so I quickly dismissed that potential problem. The only thing that I could think of next was my diet. In the U.S. I eat 3 good meals a day to keep me happy and healthy, whereas in Thailand I eat two meals a day with some snacking in between. Perhaps, just perhaps this was the source of my problem?! As such, I examined my diet and discovered a serious lack of fruit and vegetables. I had been eating mostly proteins and some carbs, which is most certainly not a healthy way to live. That night, on Tuesday I decided to load up on the food and check the results during the next training session. I had a protein shake, chicken sawtee, fried chicken with vegetables, brown rice and mixed fruit. It came to 325 baht, but for the first time in over a month I actually felt full and was loaded with calories to burn. The next morning I awoke to the sounds of students getting ready for training, and joined them. Getting into the ring I had a ton of energy! I was able to go all 5 rounds with the instructor, as well as all 5 rounds on the heavy bag with ease, and even after that I had more energy to spare. I spent some of that jumping rope for another 5 minutes before finishing my workout.

Diet is incredibly important for an individual training in Thailand, as it will be very easy to not eat enough. The main reason why I was skimping on meals is due to the fact that I didn’t want to spend any money on them. I learned through this process that one cannot disregard the impact that food has on the potential to workout hard. Since I discovered the problem, I have been eating a good meal for both breakfast and dinner as well as snacking during the midday, giving me tons of energy with which to train!!!