So today, I met my first Thai cockroach. I showered with him (how romantic, I know). Normally, I’m the first to jump, scream, or cry when any little critter is in my way, but I think I’m beyond the point of caring…

For one, it’s hot. Like really hot. Which I love, but there is no escaping it, EVER. Being cheap, I of course got the most budget room possible, a la fan. I both love and hate this fan. Without it, I would most certainly die, but at the same time, it’s comparable to a blow dryer, blowing hot heat directly on you all the time.

Secondly, the workouts are intense. How could they not be when working out in Thailand, where even walking down the street feels like mad cardio? So far, it’s been about 2.5 to 4.5 hours of workouts a day, including yoga (if that counts), cross-training, and Muay Thai.

Muay Thai is something I’ve never done before, and it’s pretty damn good for getting your sweat on. The classes are 2.5 hours long, with the first 20 minutes consisting of jogging to get warmed up (as if I wasn’t already). After this, the Thai instructors bind your hands up super tight, and you stuff them in your gloves to create a nice steamy hand sauna. For the next two hours, you learn different kicks, punches, and blocks. There is usually some one-on-one time with a Thai instructor, some sparring with another person, and some bag work. Just to ice it all off, you finish the class with 300 sit-ups, 100 pushups, and 10 beatings to the stomach. YES, THEY LITERALLY BEAT YOU. The first time this happened, I thought they were joking. No joke, they take a defense pad and beat your stomach (while you’re doing your 300 sit-ups), and it hurts. All this being said, I am obviously disappointed each morning I wake up to discover, still no six-pack.

By the time I get to shower, I am so exhausted and so overheated, nothing could bother me. (Did I mention the shower is just a wand over a toilet?) So, yeah, this morning, the little BIG bugger didn’t even bother me. (Don’t get me wrong, if he jumped at me, I was fully prepared to run out of the bathroom naked.)

~If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.