Euphorific
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - Phuket, Thailand
Local fresh market - photo by Lee Johnson
Life is unbelievable! I am in a state of euphoria. Today was by far the best day I have ever had in Thailand (although the mountain bike trek with my parents comes as a close second). I got up at 6:45am with ease and went for a 20 minute run with the other fighters followed by a morning training session.
After training I dealt with some internet issues and a few other sundry items and then made my way to the book store to get a Thai cookbook. With book in hand, I spent a considerable amount of time at the market. My Thai is starting to get pretty good and the market is a great place to practice. I bought all sorts of strange things that are necessary for Thai cooking. Such things as lime leaves, various curies and strange fruits and vegetables. The produce might have the occasional hole in it but at least it is incredible fresh and free of pesticides. The meats and seafood are all out in the open and each stand offers one type of meat. 1 Kg of pork loin will set you back about $2.00.
Spices and curries are all homemade. For example, you can’t buy pepper in a shaker but there are various containers of freshly ground pepper that someone hand-ground in a mortar.
Following my adventure at the market I came home and made myself something to eat. The great thing about the incredible tastiness of Thai food is that it is very simple and quick to prepare. It is also very healthy.
In the afternoon it was back to the gym for another run and my afternoon training session. Things went great! I have a few different coaches that specialize in different things. My fighting coach and I get a long really well. He seems to be quite impresses with my kicking skills. This contrasts with the head trainer who is a little frustrated with me at the moment. He’s been trying for the past 3 days to correct a part of my technique. Part of Muay Thai is using the knees to hit your opponent. For some reason though I can’t quite get the movement right. The knee has to come from the outside and then almost down as you strike your opponent. My mind understands what I am supposed to do. My body can’t seem to get it right.
