Tips on how to have enough $ for Thailand long term?
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Mattt
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First of all... find a camp up north. The south of Thailand is a lot more expensive than the north, almost twice as expensive i think. Your money will go a lot further up north.
Of course, you don't get the beaches up north... but then you don't get all the distracting touristy stuff either. Instead, you get mountains, jungle and rivers. It's still pretty cool.
Then, try and find a place up north that is more rural, somewhere out of the way... food and housing will definitely be cheaper that way. Of course, there'll be less to do out in the sticks, but that's the trade off. Even so, big cities like Chiang Mai offer lots to do/see and still remain far cheaper than Bangkok or the south.
I'd forget working there unless you can do some sort of consultancy job in your free time, employed by a homeland company. You earn bugger all in Thailand. Even though the cost of living is also cheap, you may not earn enough to train and eat out all the time. You gotta remember that a lot of the thai people working thai jobs are also sharing houses with their families and cooking all their own food. You'll be staying somewhere and having your meals cooked for you. It's a lot more time effective to work for a couple of months at home before you leave, you'll probably earn in those few months what would take a year to earn in thailand... and then you'll have nothing to interupt your training.
Check ahead with the camp as to what places they recommend you staying at... most of them will offer tourist accomodation themselves, and if that happens, check with the farrang fighters when you get there as you can usually trust them to have found somewhere cheaper if possible. Sometimes though, the camp itself will know of all the cheap places nearby.
If you want to train at the camp for free, you're going to have to earn it. Most camps you'll hear of, have been heard of by other foreigners who have the same idea as you... so most camps are reluctant to let people train for free immediately. You'll have to pay for at least the first few months of training, and you probably shouldn't ask if you can train for free until you've had a couple of fights whilst there as a paying customer. Side note: It is polite to hand over half of your winnings to your trainers even if you are paying for training. After you've been there a while and had a couple of fights, they will probably allow you to train for free provided you fight fairly regularly (once or twice a month) and hand over half your winnings. The likelihood of them allowing depends strongly on how seriously you take your training... if you're the kind of guy who misses the morning run because you're hung over with a thai chick in your bed, then they won't be as pleased. Try to show up to every training session and go on every run.
After a while, you might also be able to live on camp... i knew a couple of guys who rented rooms in the owners house for a very cheap rate. But those guys had been there for quite a long time and trained everyday.
Finally, decide how little you can do before becoming bored. Some guys need a lot of cash because they get bored on sundays, after training, or on days where they were injured or exhausted. You can spend a lot of money that way. I knew some guys who saved money by spending all their time reading, they'd either bring a collection of books they'd always wanted to read, or they'd trade books... you'd have like 10 guys there all talking about a book they'd just passed round. Second hand book shops also sell english language books for dirt cheap. This is cool because when you come home you're not only hard as nails but you're book smart and well read too.
Also, decide how mundane you're willing to eat... you can usually get big meals for dirt cheap, but there won't be a wide range of dishes and it won't be world class cooking. The flip side is that you can also eat a wide range of brilliantly tasting food, but it'll cost you. I was happy with eating mundane food and i spent between 60 and 100baht a day, but some guys would spend 100baht on a meal, often more.
If it helps, and as a rough guide only, when i trained up north my costs went like this:
Place to stay: 2500bht per month
Training: 7000bht per month
Motorbike rental (highly recommended): 2500bht per month
Fuel for motorbike: 70bht every five days or so of regular long rides.
A decent meal: 15-20bht (you'll need about 4-5 per day if you train properly)
A great meal: 40bht
A pack of fruit: 10bht
A large bottle of water: 20bht
That meals and housing there are pretty decent. If you had something to occupy your mind, like books for example, then you can probably live quite comfortably on 15500 baht per month. The exchange rate seems to change a lot, when i went it was 75baht to a british pound (
Of course, you don't get the beaches up north... but then you don't get all the distracting touristy stuff either. Instead, you get mountains, jungle and rivers. It's still pretty cool.
Then, try and find a place up north that is more rural, somewhere out of the way... food and housing will definitely be cheaper that way. Of course, there'll be less to do out in the sticks, but that's the trade off. Even so, big cities like Chiang Mai offer lots to do/see and still remain far cheaper than Bangkok or the south.
I'd forget working there unless you can do some sort of consultancy job in your free time, employed by a homeland company. You earn bugger all in Thailand. Even though the cost of living is also cheap, you may not earn enough to train and eat out all the time. You gotta remember that a lot of the thai people working thai jobs are also sharing houses with their families and cooking all their own food. You'll be staying somewhere and having your meals cooked for you. It's a lot more time effective to work for a couple of months at home before you leave, you'll probably earn in those few months what would take a year to earn in thailand... and then you'll have nothing to interupt your training.
Check ahead with the camp as to what places they recommend you staying at... most of them will offer tourist accomodation themselves, and if that happens, check with the farrang fighters when you get there as you can usually trust them to have found somewhere cheaper if possible. Sometimes though, the camp itself will know of all the cheap places nearby.
If you want to train at the camp for free, you're going to have to earn it. Most camps you'll hear of, have been heard of by other foreigners who have the same idea as you... so most camps are reluctant to let people train for free immediately. You'll have to pay for at least the first few months of training, and you probably shouldn't ask if you can train for free until you've had a couple of fights whilst there as a paying customer. Side note: It is polite to hand over half of your winnings to your trainers even if you are paying for training. After you've been there a while and had a couple of fights, they will probably allow you to train for free provided you fight fairly regularly (once or twice a month) and hand over half your winnings. The likelihood of them allowing depends strongly on how seriously you take your training... if you're the kind of guy who misses the morning run because you're hung over with a thai chick in your bed, then they won't be as pleased. Try to show up to every training session and go on every run.
After a while, you might also be able to live on camp... i knew a couple of guys who rented rooms in the owners house for a very cheap rate. But those guys had been there for quite a long time and trained everyday.
Finally, decide how little you can do before becoming bored. Some guys need a lot of cash because they get bored on sundays, after training, or on days where they were injured or exhausted. You can spend a lot of money that way. I knew some guys who saved money by spending all their time reading, they'd either bring a collection of books they'd always wanted to read, or they'd trade books... you'd have like 10 guys there all talking about a book they'd just passed round. Second hand book shops also sell english language books for dirt cheap. This is cool because when you come home you're not only hard as nails but you're book smart and well read too.
Also, decide how mundane you're willing to eat... you can usually get big meals for dirt cheap, but there won't be a wide range of dishes and it won't be world class cooking. The flip side is that you can also eat a wide range of brilliantly tasting food, but it'll cost you. I was happy with eating mundane food and i spent between 60 and 100baht a day, but some guys would spend 100baht on a meal, often more.
If it helps, and as a rough guide only, when i trained up north my costs went like this:
Place to stay: 2500bht per month
Training: 7000bht per month
Motorbike rental (highly recommended): 2500bht per month
Fuel for motorbike: 70bht every five days or so of regular long rides.
A decent meal: 15-20bht (you'll need about 4-5 per day if you train properly)
A great meal: 40bht
A pack of fruit: 10bht
A large bottle of water: 20bht
That meals and housing there are pretty decent. If you had something to occupy your mind, like books for example, then you can probably live quite comfortably on 15500 baht per month. The exchange rate seems to change a lot, when i went it was 75baht to a british pound (
mschatz
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Damn. Hellova post Mattt.
By the way, I posted this earlier, but I really think it would help some of you guys.
"Vagabonding," by Ralph Potts. It has nothing to do with Muay Thai, but is an excellent book on long term travel, living below your means, etc. You can get it on amazon for a couple books.
By the way, I posted this earlier, but I really think it would help some of you guys.
"Vagabonding," by Ralph Potts. It has nothing to do with Muay Thai, but is an excellent book on long term travel, living below your means, etc. You can get it on amazon for a couple books.
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Great post Mattt, I had the same experience. I think I read 2-3 books a week while I was there.
The used book stores are great. Same for training, if you dont show up in the mornings cause you've been out drinking they wont take you seriously.
If you show up every training and show some heart you'll usually get training with the better trainers. At least in my experience, first month I hit the bars, and was just wrecked. When I got in better shape and stopped going out to party and just trained two times a day, 6 days a week I started getting padtime with the head Kru.
The used book stores are great. Same for training, if you dont show up in the mornings cause you've been out drinking they wont take you seriously.
If you show up every training and show some heart you'll usually get training with the better trainers. At least in my experience, first month I hit the bars, and was just wrecked. When I got in better shape and stopped going out to party and just trained two times a day, 6 days a week I started getting padtime with the head Kru.
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Kru Yoi was the head kru when I was there. The old and HUGE thai.
Chai Yai himself mostly just chased the tourist girls
I had a forearm broken from a kick yeah, but that was in februray 2006.
When was you there? And if you was there recently who was still around? Chelsea and Wimberdon? Did you meet Eirik, my fellow norwegian?
Chai Yai himself mostly just chased the tourist girls
I had a forearm broken from a kick yeah, but that was in februray 2006.
When was you there? And if you was there recently who was still around? Chelsea and Wimberdon? Did you meet Eirik, my fellow norwegian?
I was there recently then. I am kinda now interested in their politicals lol. Yoi has gone on to Siam no.1 . Yoi and Chaiy Yai Gym seems real bitter enemies now. Hmm...
Isnt Chai Married to a very fair skin and tall lady who keeps following him around? how does he chase the tourist girls then?
I recall 1 guy from..europe.. cant remember his name though. He was very faithful to his runs and he has a thai wife..opps now i recall hes from canada.
But I think Chelsea and wimbledon are not there anymore.
Isnt Chai Married to a very fair skin and tall lady who keeps following him around? how does he chase the tourist girls then?
I recall 1 guy from..europe.. cant remember his name though. He was very faithful to his runs and he has a thai wife..opps now i recall hes from canada.
But I think Chelsea and wimbledon are not there anymore.
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yah i hear this is good for thailand if you want to stay a while.. lol
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Thats too bad Thecas, Kru Yoi and Wimbledon was imho the two best trainers at Chai Yai.
Wimbledon had about 180 fights(at age 21!), was ranked nr 1(not champ) and beat Buakaw 49-46 in a fight apparantly, he had some tricks to show.
And I guess it was before Chai Yai got married? Or not
Wimbledon had about 180 fights(at age 21!), was ranked nr 1(not champ) and beat Buakaw 49-46 in a fight apparantly, he had some tricks to show.
And I guess it was before Chai Yai got married? Or not
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double
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triple!
I have a friend who was working part time in Thailand and training up in the northern country a few years ago before moving on in life. He was making some sales contacts and only had to work a few days a week so he could train 3-4 days a week and was paid pretty meagerly by US standards, like $20k a year but even paying taxes he could put about half into savings.
The big question here is if you have a college degree.
If you do, I'd say there's a good chance you can find something part time that's on American-level salary. If not, it'll be tough
The big question here is if you have a college degree.
If you do, I'd say there's a good chance you can find something part time that's on American-level salary. If not, it'll be tough
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I heard one guy say he lived on 7K for a year over there? If that's true, why not get a good job, save the cash, and go?
Example scenario(states only): Get a job on a drilling rig in LA, TX, OK(preferabley, cost of living) No experience required, make about 60-70K a year STARTING OUT, work just 6 months (say 30K), save ~16-18K, pack up and go for 2 years.
Example scenario(states only): Get a job on a drilling rig in LA, TX, OK(preferabley, cost of living) No experience required, make about 60-70K a year STARTING OUT, work just 6 months (say 30K), save ~16-18K, pack up and go for 2 years.
blackvans1234
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if you cant do that, work two jobs, one full time, one part time
wait a while, use CD's, get massive interest, then go!
Short version:
Easiest way is to earn money at home before you go I'd say, or if you're good you might make a living there fighting.
Long version:
I lived and trained full-time in thailand for 6 months.
This was at Chai Yai gym in Chiang Mai(northern thailand).
Monthly expenses was about :
150$ for training.
100$ for an appartment next door to the gym.
Food: 100$++
And it's possible to live cheaper or vastly more expensive.
Last two months I didnt pay for training as I was finally doing my pro-debut. Usually if you're planning to fight regulary you wont pay to train, instead they'll take 50% of your fighting purse(negoitable of course). The fight purse starts pretty low, and can/will improve depending on you, managers and venues.(I got 1500 baht for my first fight, and had to spend 2500 at the hospital afterwards
I had a friend there who made a nice living off fighting(he had a sweet-ass appartment, etc), but he was good, and usually went fights abroad in australia, hong kong, etc where you'll get a much higher purse.
LOL! Dude what's your first name? I probably met you.
By the way, Chay Yai charged me like 3x as much as you! I paid 12,000 or 14,000 per month or something... I was also doing jiu jitsu with Pedro though.
Thanks for all the great posts in this thread guys.
By the way, when I was in Chiang Mai for a bit I think I did everything wrong with regard to money. Maybe because it was my first time being away from home at 19 years old. In general I tried to get meals like a whole chicken breast plus some vegetables, which would cost over 150b compared to the 20b rice stir fries. That caused me to spend way too much money. Ultimately I would like to cook in my apartment and have a fridge next time I go, because I am particular with food.
My motorcycle was also $100 per month. It made life 100x better and more entertaining though.
Lanna's listed price is cheaper and apparently there are 800b/month rooms near the gym.
By the way, when I was in Chiang Mai for a bit I think I did everything wrong with regard to money. Maybe because it was my first time being away from home at 19 years old. In general I tried to get meals like a whole chicken breast plus some vegetables, which would cost over 150b compared to the 20b rice stir fries. That caused me to spend way too much money. Ultimately I would like to cook in my apartment and have a fridge next time I go, because I am particular with food.
My motorcycle was also $100 per month. It made life 100x better and more entertaining though.
Lanna's listed price is cheaper and apparently there are 800b/month rooms near the gym.
