Phuket Itinery...Advice Needed

[stapesmk1]

Hi guys,

Need your advice and feedback regards arrangements etc. I’ve decided where I want to train, but any gym reviews or recommendations are welcome by PM. My itinery is below and Id like advice on the things at the bottom if poss.

Nov 5th - Dec 3rd or Nov 19th – Dec 17th 2011 (just into the high season I believe).

1 Month Training and Accommodation @ Patong Boxing Gym (Karon Cliff, close to Patong)

Mon- Sat: 7.15am- run followed by 8-10am lesson at PBG
Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat: 4pm- Group lesson at Sinbi
Tues/Thurs: 4pm- Group MMA lesson at Tiger Muay Thai

Is this a realistic schedule to keep?
I know the routes and distances from PBG to Tiger and PBG to Sinbi, how long would the travel take by moped?
How much am I looking at for a moped plus fuel for the month?
Best mode of transport for a night out in Patong at weekends?
Are there any budget hotels close to PBG I could stay at if PBG are full (I am awaiting their response by email).
Can anyone recommend a good website for budget flights?

Thanks in advance guys. I am doing my research fully but it’s my first time and I’m crap at all this. You guys are the pros!!!

Stapes

[Soreshins]

Your schedule is definitely possible but i'm not sure that i'd be wanting to do that personally. Is there a reason why you want to stay/train in Patong? Patong is a bit of a nightmare. Great for a night out but not somewhere i'd like to stay for a month. Staying down Rawai way or even Kata might be a better bet?

Travel to Sinbi from Patong would take about 20-25mins on the moped but the road is not the safest. Definitely wear your helmet if you're driving this road.

Moped would probably be about 5000 baht for a month and fuel is dead cheap so wouldn't worry about that.

Transport to Patong for a night out would be Tuk Tuk. Was 600 baht the last time i was there and is pretty cheap if you split that between a couple of you.

I'll be staying in Rawai and training at Sinbi in November for 3 weeks so if you're around then I'll give you a shout.

[Shaun.R.]

Hi guys,

Need your advice and feedback regards arrangements etc. I’ve decided where I want to train, but any gym reviews or recommendations are welcome by PM. My itinery is below and Id like advice on the things at the bottom if poss.

Nov 5th - Dec 3rd or Nov 19th – Dec 17th 2011 (just into the high season I believe).

1 Month Training and Accommodation @ Patong Boxing Gym (Karon Cliff, close to Patong)

Mon- Sat: 7.15am- run followed by 8-10am lesson at PBG
Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat: 4pm- Group lesson at Sinbi
Tues/Thurs: 4pm- Group MMA lesson at Tiger Muay Thai

Is this a realistic schedule to keep? nope lol
I know the routes and distances from PBG to Tiger and PBG to Sinbi, how long would the travel take by moped? alot longer than you think, you know the routes by looking at maps? because them routes are the longest, the best routes arent on maps so you will need someone to show you the proper way, 99% of people i meet dont know the way. ask a thai to show you
How much am I looking at for a moped plus fuel for the month? 3-4000, can fill the bike up for 80baht
Best mode of transport for a night out in Patong at weekends? just grab a lift of a trainer if your at PBG or taxi down with others. its 2 mins from central patong
Are there any budget hotels close to PBG I could stay at if PBG are full (I am awaiting their response by email). if you book now you will be fine, if not anita will prob find you somewhere else for cheap, easy to find cheap places
Can anyone recommend a good website for budget flights? i just use ebookers, the dates/days will make a difference on flight price.

Thanks in advance guys. I am doing my research fully but it’s my first time and I’m crap at all this. You guys are the pros!!!


Stapes

dont worry about nothing, just book a flight and a room at a gym and go. the whole joy is finding out everything when you get here, prepare for serious jetlag and seriously bad shits!

i dont think jumping back and forth to dif gyms everday will happen, most people struggle to do 2 a day as it is, it takes a while to get used to specially with the heat. morning sessions can be nice and cool but afternoon is hot hot hot!

pick a gym and train there, i would say train down tiger/dragon way. alot of people down there who are newbies aswell and always someone to go out with on the weekends. i find living at PBG just made me go out all the time, i cant live in patong. ive tryd twice and i end up drunk everyday lol also they are building a 3rd gym down the road tiger and dragon is on. thats a mma gym, should be open in the coming months.

ill be there mid november aswell

[stapesmk1]

Cheers guys. I do the bulk of my Muay Thai as privates over here and found its brought me on loads. Read really good reviews of PBG. Also accomodation there looks nice and is cheap... £410 for room and training for a month. Also its close to the party district for weekends, but I didnt realise it was still so close as to be a problem during the week. Didnt realise Patong would be so bad. Videos Ive seen reminded me of my time in Cancun. I know its the islands party capital but not heard any horror stories like the ones in Pattaya or BKK.

Regards afternoon training. I want to get as much in as poss, but I realise it might not happen for whatever reason, which is why I was budgeting for the pay-as-you-train options at Sinbi and Tiger. Dont fancy paying Sinbis accomodation prices.

Cheers for the honesty Shaun. Being my first time and a irregular drinker at the best of times, Im sure Ill find it hard not to get pissed and go mad so best to stay out of temptation and stick to my goals as best as poss!!!

Ive worked out a few different scenarios, not cos Im an overthinker or geek (hopefully) just cos its my 1st time and theres soooo many options. Im wary of not trying to train everywhere and see everything in one trip. My other fav option was stay at Rawai Guest House or other cheap digs and train full time at Sinbis with casual training at Tiger a couple of times a week.

Any advice on staying in Rawai? Is there a nightlife to speak of for weekends? Anywhere peaceful to chill out of a weekday evening? Sounds like its far enough out of Patong to be away from distractions, but I could still. get up to Patong on night out at weekend.

Will be cool if I saw anyone of you out there. Much appreciated.

Stapes

[Shaun.R.]

PBG is a good gym. i actually go there every now and then and sit with and chat with bow (the owner) and all the trainers, they are always happy to see me, you will get along with them well there. they will all go out on saturday night with you aswell, they will take you to suzywongs where you will never want to leave!

only problem currently is getting food there but they are now building a restaraunt so you will be alright. the food in patong is awesome, eat at all the thai places.

cant help you with rawai, ive never lived there. ive been out drinking there and it doesnt appeal to me

[falcon77kg]

you will probs find first week there after your morning sessions all you will wanna do is sleep! first week killed me with the heat and training and jetlag all combined, only after a few weeks you can get any sort of routeen going on.

as for staying in patong, as others have said forget it! its not like towns over here where its only busy on weekends or anything its fucking crazy every night! you will soon grow to resent the place if you have to try an sleep thru it all each night!

as for suzywongs......well i will leave that one for you to discover yourself!!

[Soreshins]

they will take you to suzywongs where you will never want to leave!

Haha! What a place that is. Took one of my mates there and he just couldn't get enough of it....

Rawai has loads of accommodation - all price ranges. Sinbi gym could put you in touch with places close to the gym but we've always stayed at Yanui apartments which are a 5-10min bike ride away.

There are bars scattered around Rawai and along the beach. It can be very quiet sometimes and is not really somewhere you can walk bar to bar - so people do tend to ride bikes between bars (which is obviously bad news). However, if you're with a group it can be a laugh and its fine if you just want a quiet few drinks. They have a club called Icon which is a allright for a laugh but its definitely not Patong.

To be honest, you will find groups from the gym going to Patong every weekend and also if you go up for fights then people tend to head out to the bars afterwards. If you're there for a month then i'm sure you'll go out in Patong a couple of times. That's more than enough for me otherwise the training goes to shit.

I think the Stone Inn in Rawai is pretty cheap and used by a lot of muaythai students but i've never been there. Might be worth a look.

[stapesmk1]

Cheers again for all the help guys. Im waiting on hearing back from Sinbis, Rawai Guesthouse and another Rawai hotel. So hopefully will get somewhere within easy reach of Sinbis. Ive had a lot of people msg me saying dont stay in Patong if you wanna train so Im takin that on board!

Im looking in and around Rawai, but so far my internet searches are only throwing up the larger more expensive places to stay. Im assuming that cos all the many budget places dont really have websites. Ive heard conflicting reports on Rawai. Some saying its nice, clean, out the way, good vibe and enough to do during the week like quieter bars, restaurants etc. Others have said Rawai is a dump.

Im thinking it might be a good idea to book a weeks accomodation then when I get there see about finding somewhere for the remaining 3wks. Gonna crack on finding out more about Rawai. Defo wanna be away from Patong during the week, but dont want to be in a ghost town and be bored as fuck after training during the week. Rawai beach looks nice for the afternoon snooze!

Stapes

[Shaun.R.]

cheaper places you will find just driving around on your bike.

rawai is shit IMO but you might like it, everywhere is quiet and boring compared to patong but once you know a few people and get into a routine it dont matter.

yes book a week then have a look around, have you considered phromthep mauy thai, lion, nai harn boxing? all in the rawai naiharn area. think there is a few others aswell


btw rawai beach sucks balls! go to nai harn, its nice down there

[Soreshins]

Rawai beach is definitely not a sunbathing beach. Nai Harn is the place to go - its only a couple of minutes away on the bike and one of the nicest beaches on the island.

I agree with Shaun on the accommodation. Book a week and then take a ride around and try to find something else if needed. Its not like booking back in the UK. The first time I arrived (back in 2004) I had "booked" accommodation at another gym and it was full so I basically had to go and drive around to get someplace to stay. Was easy and I found a great place in Yanui. However, its maybe a bit more expensive than you're looking for.

I love Rawai, but I'm not looking for a busy place - just want somewhere relaxed and chilled out where I can train and enjoy a quite beer/meal on my time off. Not everyone's cup of tea but I've not found anywhere else at the south end of the island that i'd rather stay.

Definitely have a look around the other gyms when you're there as they might be more to your liking than Sinbi. As i've said earlier Sinbi is my own personal choice but I've heard good things from people who have trained at Lion. Personally, I would avoid Promthep muay thai.

Have you tried that Stone Inn place in Rawai? A mate of mine stayed there and I could find out a bit more from him. I think it was an ok place and pretty cheap.