Petchyindee Academy

This is muay thai training with a professional pulse behind it. Petchyindee has been one of the sport's big names for around fifty years, a promotion and stable that keeps producing champions, and the Bangkok academy puts paying visitors inside that same machine. You skip, you shadow, you go through pad rounds with trainers who work stadium corners, and around you are active fighters getting ready for Rajadamnern cards. That last part is what makes it different from a gym built for tourists.

Don't let the pedigree scare you off if you've never thrown a kick. Beginners get looked after here better than the name suggests. But I'd be honest with yourself about why you're going. If you want a light workout and a photo, plenty of places in Bangkok will give you that more comfortably. If you want the actual rhythm of a Thai camp and trainers who read your body properly, this is where I'd go.