First Day In Phuket

Coming into the soi that is home to Tiger Muay Thai, Phuket Dragon and soon Phuket Top Team, I swiftly realize how much has changed from my last visit three years ago. Saturated with more mini-resorts, swimming pools, tattoo shops, massage spots and even a few bars had snuck their way into here. The narrow channels of side roads had the same story. It was busy with energy. We turn down a street where Phuket Fight Store is located. I sat in the back of the taxi turning to look through the window. Another new resort, the tattoo shop, a new modest bar and then the famous MaMa’s restaurant and bungalow’s which had expanded considerably with the addition of bungalows, a pool and massage service.
At the end of the street we come to a stop in front of Phuket Fight Store.

I step out of the taxi. The driver pulls my luggage out from the boot as I tumble into Phuket Fight Store with my bags. ‘Hey, how are you going’ welcomes Boyd
‘It’s good to finally be here man’. It was true. As much as I had loved Bangkok and Sitmonchai gym, I had grown sick of the monotonous routine, having to travel between places lugging my valuables everywhere I go. I needed a change of pace and new faces to meet.
‘We’re happy to get you down here and help you out as much as we can’ he states. Boyd has an exuberant smile. Honest and happy. He is almost my height but of much bigger build. His bright and animated brown eyes fixed me with a steady confident gaze. An Australian, just like me. We had communicated with each other for months before finally arriving.
‘This is Aurore’ he introduces, ‘This is Mike, the guy who makes all those cool videos’
‘Really?’ Aurore asks looking up at me
‘Yeah that’s me’ I reply.
She has green radiant eyes. Aurore’s gaze was direct and self-assured.
Sitting behind a desk with a laptop set in front of her, plaiting away at a bracelet, she is slender, with black shoulder length hair and dark skin. Her body, a canvas for the tattoos she wore along her arms, leg and back.
‘How long are you out here for’ I ask, questioning her.
‘As long as I can’ she said smiling back. An ideal most Muay Thai tourists regard as perfect. Returning home after their inaugural visit, it’s the only thing that seems to satisfy their standards as an optimal situation. I’ve been here before. And so will many of you.

Boyd from Phuket Top Team

Aurore of Phuket Top Team

‘Let me show you around the store’ Insists Boyd, gesturing with his hand and turning his smile towards the store. It’s a modest store. Clothing and fight gear line the shop. There are shirts, rashies, Muay Thai shorts, MMA shorts, Muay Thai gloves, MMA gloves, Supplements and more for sale. Fight posters cover the walls, while a small couch and desk sit at the back.

Chuck supports Michael Galvin Media!

After a quick tour of the shop we walk next door to my accommodation for the next 3 months. ‘Mike, this is Silviu the head Sambo/MMA coach for the gym. He used to train with Fedor on the Red Devil Fight Team’ Boyd beams. I give Silviu a handshake then slap him on the back.
‘I’m going to make you famous!’ I announce.
Then I bump into Rafael and Bonsai. Rafael is from Brazil. He will be the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach at Phuket Top Team. His smile stretched his round face. White teeth, a smooth dark complexion and thick, dark hair. Bonsai’s American. Tattoos cover his well muscled body. We all greet each other for the first time. They are all wearing loose shirts, shorts and flip flops, surrendering to the heat of Phuket.

Bonsai

I enter my room. It’s an average sized room, with a king size bed covered with sheets, one window faces the hallway and the other window looks out to the lounge room. They have yellow curtains hanging on them. I have a small vanity desk and a wide closet that sits on the tiled floor. ‘It’s perfect’ I decided. It was just nice to know I had somewhere for me to base myself.
‘You have an aircon and wifi in here, plus cable, but you’ll have to buy a T.V. There’s only 3 foreign channels anyways’
‘I don’t watch T.V while in Thailand so I’ll survive’ I reply.
‘By the way you have a small population of Burmese living in your back yard’
I poke my head out and stare through the back window. Holy shit. There’s a refugee camp in my backyard.
Miserable metallic shelters rolled out across the back of the house like slums. Mostly patched together with Tin, they slumped together, attached one to another. Within the enormous sprawl of it all, none of the huts rose above the height if a man.

The Refugee Camp Out Back

Later in the day Boyd takes me to see the Phuket Top Team gym. We pull up to the building which is full of construction workers busy toiling away at every part of the gym. Boyd shows me the outdoor Muay Thai area. There’s up to 10 stands for bags and a large ring raised high up like a podium. There is a line of budget, on-site accommodation that will have all the necessities one needs to live comfortably. Shared toilets and showers. A laundry room. What we walked into next was the “tour de force”. The inside training area, office and Fairtex fight store.
‘Wow’ I exclaimed. ‘I fucking love this shit’
the roof was high above, the training area vast in the length and width.
‘It will have mats along the floor, mated walls 2 meters high and big industrial air conditioners to keep away the Phuket heat while rolling in BJJ in the Gi’ Boyd points out with his eyes wide with delight. He was proud to see his masterpiece slowly coming together before his eyes and I was glad to be apart of it.

Outdoor Area

Indoor Area

After the tour, there was a moment of relative quiet as we stood against the ring and let our imaginations run wild. Picturing the gym, the training and the people who were to be apart of it was simply inspiring.

Soon enough the sun began to set in Phuket and the long evening finally succumbed to a warm star filled night. My first day in Phuket was over.

Born in Australia, training in martial arts since the age of 9. My first trip to Thailand was back in 2007. Since then i have made numerous visits back to the "land of smiles" to feed my addiction of Muay Thai. During the month of November in 2010 i had to decide between working a 9 to 5 job back home for the rest of my life, or sell all my worldly possessions and move to Thailand to live and train for the next few years. Thankfully i chose the latter. I now spend my time training Muay Thai, meeting new and interesting circles of people, sipping coconuts under palm trees on the beach and measuring the cost of everything on how much Pad Thai i could buy with that money.

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