Finding the Right Muay Thai Camp in Koh Samui and Fun Times in Bangkok, Thailand
After an amazing experience in Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party, I took a ferry back to Koh Samui and it was time to buckle down and get in some quality Muay Thai training.
After checking out a few places, I went with Lamai Muay Thai Camp. They had a good website, reasonable prices, and clean looking facilities. Also they have their own dorm rooms so you can get a packaged deal for training and housing. The rooms were nothing fancy, but the good thing is you literally wake up and you are at the gym, ready to train — And trust me, this helps after you’ve been training twice a day for a week and the next morning you have to be up by 7am. The stay on camp package includes 2 sessions a day, room, wifi, and free breakfast which is right across the street. There is no training on Sundays. The weekly cost is around 7200baht or $220. That means that breakfast (and we’re talking about fresh squeezed juice, scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast), two training sessions, and housing are less that $32/day.
I’m sure that if you looked around you could find a cheaper Muay Thai class and just find your own housing (which is not going to be too expensive) but Lamai WMC had a good set up and I was happy with them. They are recognized by the World Muay Thai Council. Also, they have lifting equipment in a facility right across from them which is free for use if you do the on camp package. All in all, it was a good deal, and I didn’t miss a single opportunity to train during my time there.
As you can tell I got a really cool Spider-Man Under Armour compression shirt. I bought it while in Shanghai. It cost me a pretty penny, but it was totally worth it because when I put it on, I felt this responsibility to train harder! I just kept hearing “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.” =P
Here’s a quick look at the lifting area. We trained twice a day and sometimes I would throw in a third little session which included weights and body weight high intensity training. 
The Muay Thai head coach was P’nong (pictured below). He was a good guy, skilled, and down to teach. Some of the older looking coaches and really young coaches were a mixed bag. Some looked like they just wanted to get class over with. They also offer PT (private training) and I think some of the coaches were pushing for PT if you wanted more detailed instruction.
How do the group training sessions work? Usually we start class with warm up, shadow boxing, some bag training, then we move to Muay Thai drills. An instructor will demonstrate an attack and a block and we pair up and drill the move. We rotate partners going around the class. We do quite a few drills and push ups and that lasts the majority of the class. We do some light sparring at the end but are not allowed to aim at the head. At the end of class we do 2 rounds of mitt work and more push ups. In summary I think it’s a decent work out, but it’s geared for weekend warriors to intermediate Muay Thai athletes.
For me personally I would’ve liked slightly more intense conditioning along with more focus on fighting/sparring. We did spar but since head shots weren’t allowed, it limits you from practicing a lot of moves and from practicing defending a lot of attacks.
Overall, I would go back to Lamai Muay Thai. I met great people and could definitely learn more from going there again. I also like the area that it’s in. It’s very close to the beach and there are some great restaurants walking distance.
On one of my last days in Koh Samui, I went to check out Jun Muay Thai. I only attended one class at Jun’s but it was very different. We jump roped, shadow boxed, did a few drills, and then jumped into sparring with different partners including coaches. Head shots were allowed and the people I sparred with seemed to be more experienced in actual combat. Then we did crazy amounts of bag work, pull ups, sit ups, push ups, etc. I was totally burnt out at the end of the class. The coaches also didn’t let you take it easy when you feel like dropping from exhaustion (which I appreciated). Granted I dropped by Jun’s after 5 straight days of training twice a day at Lamai Muay Thai so I was already pretty tired, but I felt that Jun Muay Thai was a little more hardcore with cardio and did focus more on full contact sparring. I think they spent less time on drills and technique, but again I only went to one class. It seems Jun Muay Thai might be good for someone who already has a base in Muay Thai and really wants to get some hardcore conditioning. There’s a picture of me with Jun (pictured below).
So in term of activities in Koh Samui and around Lamai Beach —
There was a really good restaurant right on the beach near the Muay Thai Camp called ร้านลุง, Bamboo restaurant. If you’re searching for this place it’s on Lamai Beach near the McDonald’s. You can hang out here get a cat fish and a corona while listening to the sounds of the ocean for under $4. Remember to wear long pants though because there can be mosquitos on the sand.
I didn’t visit too many tourist attractions because this leg of my journey was focused on the muay thai training, but I did check out one or two places nearby.
First stop was the famous Mummified Monk. 
After he died at 79 years old while meditating, the Buddhist monk Luang Pho Daeng was closed in a glass coffin and left in his mudra pose with his legs folded, lotus style. Over 25 years later, his body remains incredibly well-preserved.
In death, the self-mummified monk is housed in the charming Thai town temple of Wat Khunaram on Ko Samui Island in Thailand. Monks at the temple put the sunglasses over his empty sockets in order to make him less disturbing to visiting children and others who come to pay their respects.
Second stop was Na Muang Waterfall I.
There’s Waterfall I and Waterfall II. I only went to Waterfall I. It’s a nice little adventure to go on with friends and to check out, but the waterfall was not a huge spectacular waterfall. We rented some scooters to get there and I actually think riding the scooters through random jungle areas was more fun. The waterfall was nice too though. It’s a relaxing area and you can walk around and enjoy nature or you could hang out in the water.
Be careful not to slip when you walk around the rocks because they can be pretty slippery.
After a long day of training and or sight seeing it was awesome to scarf on the hamburger pictured below. It’s a hamburger shack on the corner of the street a few blocks from Lamai Muay Thai camp. I forget the name of the place right now, but I think it has a sign that says “best burgers” or something like that… and it’s right. The cheeseburger is amazing. The meat is cooked fresh and everything about it tastes fresh.
That concludes my review on Muay Thai camps in Koh Samui and also sums up my adventures at Lamai Beach.
If you are on Koh Samui island, Chaweng Beach is the main beach for partying. Ark Bar in Chaweng throws some fun parties on the beach and it’s also a nice hotel. Anywhere around there has quite a few options for clubs, parties, bars, etc.
In Bangkok I only had a few days, but was able to meet up some friends and check out a few fun areas.
Siam Center was a central area with shopping and coffee shops.
Met up a friend that I met in Koh Phangan for ice cream. First time trying charcoal flavored ice cream. haha I was skeptical at first, but it was good!
Rode around on some motorcycles with Damian and went to work out at Lumpinee park. 
Another friend Brahim took me out to the Sukhumvit Soi 11 area and we went to a club called Levels. We checked out a few areas and we also went to a cool pool party at Queen’s Park Hotel.
I found a really sweet hotel with a rooftop pool that was very affordable, called Bangkok 68. It was around $22/day and included free wifi. The downstairs cafe serves beer and some pretty good pad thai. If you really want to ball out there are a lot of other hotels you could choose, but for the price and overall deal, I found this to be a good place. It’s a little far from metro stations, but if you have a scooter it makes getting around really convenient. 
The bedroom I got was very clean and had a decent view. Pictured below is the rooftop pool. Nothing too fancy, but people would go up there and play music and party it up before going out.
One night it rained super hard, but I decided to go out still and I trekked my way over to the Asiatique. You have to get to the pier first and they ferry you over for free. The ferry ride itself is very peaceful and you can take in a lot of the sights during the ride.
Right before I left, I ended up meeting up a bunch of stunt guys for a stunt audition for The Mechanic 2. We did some short fight choreo and then had lunch. It was right before I was heading to HK, but it was great meeting everyone there.
I admit this whole Bangkok portion of my post is a little sporadic, but that’s just how my trip was. I enjoyed great food, worked out, met up with a few friends, and checked out one or two places for the nightlife. If you guys get a chance, I recommend going to all these places and staying for a good week or two at least. Thailand will always have a special place in my heart and I can’t wait to go back. Next time I think I would like to go to the northern part of Thailand.