The weather here in Koh Samui is finally nice and hot! I've gone to the beach the past couple of days, but not for very long, since the heat is actually unbearable. There are also a ton of jelly fish, so its hard to stick around under the sun when you can't go for a nice long swim in the water. But tomorrow our group is going to take a boat to Koh Phangan (the island of the infamous full moon parties) to go snorkling. Sunday is the one day off we get from training, so I am really gonna enjoy it. And possibly top it off a couple of massages...haha.
And since I am on the topic of training, it's been going really well! I've had the opportunity to spare a bit more with the thais, and despite the fact that they are obviously going easy on you, it's still a rush just working with them. There's a couple trainers who are my favorites, in particular this one old guy with a chest tattoo that looks like he weighs maybe 100 lbs, but he is solid muscle! Even his "light" kicks hurt like you wouldn't believe! But he's always smiling and laughing and saying, "Oyyy!" everytime he hits you! The runs have gotten a bit easier too, and today I managed to finish a 5km run without stopping and only getting cramps at the very end of the run.
Today we also went and checked out this aquarium/zoo that they have here on the island. I'm not gonna say much about it, because, really it's self explanatory, but I did get a picture taken with a Bengal tiger! A heavily sedated Bengal tiger, I'm sure, but still pretty cool!
I also forgot to mention the fights we went and saw the first night here in Koh Samui. They were much more intense than I expected, with every fight ending in a knock out, often with blood everywhere. The fighters don't wear shin pads here, so you can imagine how tough you have to be to compete. I've already taken a couple of kicks to the shins and it hurts and bruises like you wouldn't believe. Anyways, one fight ended after one of the fighters hit his opponent with an elbow to the top of his head and split it open! The most interesting part was the round where children fought. Yeah, you read that right...they had a couple of 8 year olds fighting each other. These kids were amazing to watch; they were really skilled and tougher than a lot of people my age that train! I videotaped a short clip of their fight and if I have the chance, I may upload it to youtube for you guys to see for yourself!
Since we have tomorrow off, tonight everyone at the camp is partying hard! We have a BBQ right away and then we're heading to the Green Mango, a club we went to a couple nights ago. It was a good time that night and we trained the next day, so I can only imagine how crazy things may get tonight. Pictures to come soon!
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