Sitmonchai Gym

Sitmonchai Gym is one of the most respected traditional fight camps in Thailand, in the small town of Tha Maka in Kanchanaburi province, about two hours west of Bangkok. It is a working Thai stable first: the gym keeps a deliberate cap on the number of international guests at any one time so that foreigners train beside, and learn from, its Thai fighters rather than crowding them out. The house style is famous in the sport for heavy low kicks and boxing, and the head trainer, Kru Dam, holds pads for the same visitors who come for the reputation.

The all-in package is the way most guests stay. A shared air-conditioned twin room with training, two home-cooked meals a day, daily laundry and Wi-Fi is ฿1,200 a day or ฿36,000 a month; a private single room is ฿1,400 a day or ฿42,000 a month, and every room has a hot-water bathroom. Drop-in training on its own is ฿400 a session, and privates run ฿600 to ฿1,500 an hour depending on the trainer. The kitchen is a point of pride and handles halal, vegetarian and vegan diets.