Scorpions, Chickens and Saiyok

I thought it would be about time to make another blog post.. It's been about three weeks since the last one. Not that much has happend since my last post. Just the daily life I'm living here. My going-home-date is coming closer every day and it makes me think about things. I love living here but I'm also ready to start a new chapter in my life. How much I love training every single day, my leg injury is getting out of hand and I really just want to get home to fix that shit. I was supposed to fight one more time before going back home. It would be July 27th on Koh Samui again but this might or might not happen anymore. Guess that's what fighting in Thailand is all about. You're never sure of anything. I would be really bummed if I didn't get to fight one more time before going home so I am really hoping to get that last fight. On the 27th five boys from this camp are fighting as well on Koh Samui so we got another road trip down south. If I'm not fighting 27th, I might be fighting 30th on Samui but that as well is something to not be sure about. I'm just happy to be able to go to Koh Samui one more time. I get to meet up with my friends once again and my close friend from Brazil is making his way down to the island 28th so that should be great fun. My Thai adventure is almost coming to an end (again) and this time it's definite. Going to University in September and who knows where that will bring me. Living abroad will be put on hold for a couple of years but as soon as I get the opportunity to get out again, I will. Enough with the talking, here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks and the stories to go with them, enjoy!

I thought I had seen it all. Snakes, rats, cockroaches, etc. But no. I was doing my homework when I felt something on my foot. Thinking it was just an ant or something I just waved my foot to shake it off. It didn't go away so I looked down to see what it was. Got the scare of my life. Smacked it with my sandal and took a picture before praying I would never see such thing again.  

We all know Kongfah is a little off sometimes, but he always knows to light up the gym with his appearance.

Kongfah and Hayden

We had Dam Chalamkow training at Sitmonchai for about ten days. He was preparing for his fight in Lumpini tonight (July 19th). Best of luck to him!

Monday July 15th we had three birthdays at Sitmonchai. Ikkyu (Pee A's son), Kongfah and Stephen. Good reason for some candles and cake!

I'm getting used to seeing things that would upset most other people. Just a morning where Kongfah killed three of the chickens and chopped them up in pieces before cooking them into that evening's meal. The Thai life I'm part of right now.

P'Nae and Kru Dam both have chicken they train for chickenfights. Taking care of the chicken's is an every day job. Wash them, train them, feed them, and if they lose; eat them. They made them fight at the gym. P'Nae's chicken won and Kru Dam's chicken needs to learn some more skills. They didn't get eaten. Just yet.

A little night out with the people from camp. Free food, some muay thai and a weird thai cabaret. Guess the night was alright.

Kru Pan and Kru Yod

And about three seconds later Juab and Kongfah decided to join the picture as well.

P'Nae is friends with a lot of people and one of his friends happends to be Saiyok. To non-muaythai-people this might not sounds like someone or something big. But meeting Saiyok is like, a pretty big deal. He came by the camp twice. He fought the day before, won by K.O. Just like it's his everyday job (which it kind of is of course, but still). This picture right here is a precious one.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday buddy! 

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

I just got back from Rio and I had so much fun, could've never thought it would be this great. Already feeling sad I'm back home, but luckily we've still got pictures and other footage to keep the memories strong . I stayed with my dear friend Jeferson and he showed me all around town. I got to train at his gym and had a blast. It was a nice get-a-away from the cold temperatures in Holland and coming back to these temperatures has not proven to be easy. I don't think I will ever be warm again. I'm not a cold climate person, that's for sure. I can't wait to go back. Met so many great people, felt like home. All good things come to an end but now it's time to look forward again. Before we know it I'll be out there again. For now I'll drop some pictures and footage of the trip.


Training at Harang Gym on a daily base, had to keep in mind I have a fight in four weeks, but also just because it's great fun. Training with these people was awesome, had a blast everytime I trained.

                            

Life and all its struggles

Life is not easy. That's something I found out quite some time ago already. Life is throwing things at you and you just have to make sure you catch the rights and duck from the wrongs. You learn by making mistakes and you grow from experiences. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I travelled to Asia on my own last year. The first picture below is that very first picture that was taken of me when I started my journey. The second picture is the last picture that was taken of me at the end of my journey. There are exactly 111 days in between, and I still can't really believe how much I have changed. On the first picture we had just landed in BKK and I was so happy I survived that long flight on my own. I was so tired of all the impressions and I guess I didn't really realize yet that I would be on my own for about four months. I didn't have a clue of what was coming for me at that time. 

The second picture was taken by Matteo when Arjen and me were at Koh Samui Airport to go home. By that time I had seen 5 Asian countries, gained a pretty sweet tan, improved my muay thai skills, spoke some Thai, learned to eat rice for breakfast, decided not to go to University after summer and most importantly I got so much more independent and confident. I was still alive! I found out being on your own isn't as hard as it sounds. Yeah of course, I struggled at times, but looking back now, this was probably one of the best decisions of my life. I gained so much of this trip. I met so many new people. It really makes you think about how big this world is and how many people are living on this planet. I feel like I met the whole world while really I haven't even met 1/100 of it. I met some nice people and I met some not so nice people. I met some people I'd rather not have met and I met people that will stay with me forever. I quickly found out not to trust everyone but also figured out that most people are willing to help you if you are in need. Everyone is human. That's for sure. I guess Asia made me grow up. And made me a little more the person that I am right now. 

Like I said, life's not easy. I'm still young, I'm still learning every single day and for now I'm just catching the things life throws at me and I'm trying to make the best of it. I read this quote one day and every time something isn't going as planned or when things turn for the worse I think of this quote.

'Even if you fall flat on your face, you're still moving forward'

Life wasn't made to be easy. Life was made to be worth it. I decided not to go to college yet. To travel some more before starting another chapter of my life. I thought I'd only be going to Asia again. Those plans changed already. I'm going to Rio as well now. Things change. Change isn't always a bad thing. I can say I'm not really good with changes. But sometimes change is what a person needs. So Rio in January, Thailand in March, University in September and after that, the rest of my life. 

People, we can conquer the world. Don't ever let someone tell you you can't do something. Prove them wrong. And remember, Karma's a bitch. Do good, get good. What goes around comes, around and when life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life you've got a thousand reasons to smile. I could go on in quotes for about on hour more but I'll leave it here. I just needed to get this of my chest. Had my mind going for a while. Okay, now go and enjoy the rest of your day. Carpe Diem. 

2013

I bet my 2013 is starting better than yours. Why? I'm going to Rio, that's why! I took another year of for travelling and I realised travelling didn't only have to include Asia. So I decided to pay a little visit to one of my close friends living in Rio. Can't wait! After Rio I will return back home again, work some more and then I'm off to Thailand again by the end of march. Sweet times are coming up. I just really love the fact that I'm young, free and able to do stuff like this. Just chasing my dreams, a thing everyone should do.