Chiang Mai

A lot has happened since my last post. A week ago we left Bangkok on the night train headed for Chiang Mai. We stayed up late partying in the "smoking section" which is just the little open area between carsand the bathrooms right next to it. There we mostly talked to this couple from paris and this incredibly loud german dude who brought out his rubber chicken and repeatedly banged it against the side of the train car. At one point we sang a really bad rendition of "the lion sleeps" while soaking the floor with the beer in our little plastic cups. Finally, while the German dude (Marcus) was singing some old german standard unimaginably loud, a older chinese lady came out and very politely told him in german that some people had to sleep and hadwork in the morning.

Chiang Mai is cool as shit. Its small, laid back, insanely friendly (last night while me and john walked down the side of the highway a van almost splashed us by going through a puddle and the driver leaned out and started emphatically apologizing as he drove by). The first three nights we took it pretty easy and checked out the markets. The Sunday market was ill, a departure from the super touristy idiot "ipood" t shirt stand markets. There wasmad food and some ill street music; blind trios on different instruments, monks playing some illllll shit (will post video), some monk children doing spin kicks and banging cymbals to a beat. I bought a "doobie brothers" branded levis jean jacket therefor about 10 bucks. Definetely coudlve got it for less but the dude saw when my eyes exploded the second i looked at it.

One of the cooler places in the old city to go earlier at night is a rooftop bar called "THC" (sounds impossible i know). Thats were we met Dang Mo, whose mom runs the place, while she was playing the only sick gambling game where you bet change onpictures of animals and like a bottle or something (still cant find a picture of this game. If anyone knows about it, its called

"bottle crab fish", holla). Homegirl is dark, asian, dreaded, and speaks english with what sounds exactly (to me) like a london accent. I'm waiting for the right time to propose. The thais really love their sugar. At one point I watched Dang's friend Dti pour a heaping spoon of sugar on his noodles(theres fucking cups of sugar along with spices at every food place).

We're three days in training deep now. Four days ago we finally found our gym and got an apartment right next to it. The area is great, a little north west of the touristy old city. Its right by the university of Chiang Mai. Our turn off the highway consists of a "seven eleven" and then just lush bamboo trees and an endless row of amazing food carts, then a coffee shop with wifi. Everyone in this little strip is either a thai college student or a european studying muay thai. I don't think anyonewould be able to explain this neighborhood to me if i wasn't living here. Walk just a little further away from the main road and your in some hoaky painting you find on the street, mountain in the background (Doi Suthep, the one we do a run on some mornings), Grass and hay and horses and asians with those wide hats. Today, at six in the morning(coming back from clubbing), the tuk tuk driver got mad lost and we just rode through a bunch of farmland and like a cool looking hen and her chicks until the dude finally asked a dude with a horse where our spot was. And then it only took like 5 minutes. What the fuck.

A day in the life for the past three days consists of the following. wake up at 6:15. put my shorts on. walk with johndown to the gym(its still like 55 degrees or so in the morning, it being the north and "winter" and all). Hop into The back of Andy's(Manager/cool ass dude) pickup truck along with the other people training and like 4 or 5 of andy's dogs. Get driven either to the mountain or the lake (both beatiful) and do our morning run.Get driven back to the gym and jump rope/shadow box [--$had0w b0x--]/kick the heavy bag) till one of the trainers calls you into the ring to work the pads. feel beat up.kick the bags/pushups/shadow box/weights/drills/etc. leave at 9am. take a shower. Eat EVERYTHING at the food carts and restaraunts right by us (fresh cut watermelon/pinapple,noodles,meat and rice,any kind of meat u ever wanted on a stick, chicken feet, fish, etc etc etc)and still not moanage to spend more than 3 dollars. big ass nap. go back to gym at 4 and do it all over again till 7. Shower. eat everything. See my trainer sitting outside the supermarket, naked save the shorts, drinking a large chang and smoking a ciggerette. Haaaaaaang. Sleep early.

I refuse to read this before i post it. Its so hard to try and process all this information. more on training later. pictures later. Oh. i rented a motorscooter for the month. I've never felt more real than riding my scooter with my doobie brothers jacket. pictures later.