1 if by Public Transit 2 if by Foot

Now that I got a gym membership and I’m pretty much settled down here in Bangkok I’m ready to re-start my old routine of making it to the gym almost every day.  The only thing I’m not entirely sure of is how I’m going to get to the gym.

I live a 10 or so minute walk to the Nana & Phloen Chit BTS stations so I can always walk to the BTS and take the skytrain on down the road for 1 or 2 stops to get to the Asok California fitness where I have to walk for 2 minutes to get down the gym.

I could also walk the entire way there but doing so would require me to not only cross some busy streets which could take up to 5 minutes to get across, but also hundreds of street vendors and the browsers of their products who crowd the sidewalks and pollute the air with body odor:(   Either way the transit time would not be sufficient for cardio or even a warm-up so I looked into another option.

Method 1:  The Canal Path

I mentioned in the entry about choosing a gym in Bangkok how nice I thought it was to be able to jog back without any traffic even though it was along a filthy canal but I didn’t expect what was coming.

As usual I procrastinated my workout all day.  It was nice out one minute and the next minute I looked out the window the skies were so grey they were almost black.  I heard the exposive thunder and it started the typical downpour.  The downpour gave me another excuse not to head to the gym so I waited until it stopped.

The rain stopped and it was time to head to the gym.  I hate wasting time especially taking a train or taxi so I decided to run in the dark along the canal path to the gym.  That is where my adventure began as I walked 50 meters to the canal path which I took one time before during a dry day going the opposite direction.

I started jogging along the narrow canal path with my Garmin GPS Forerunner 405 which tracks distance and much, much more but also distracts you.  As I started running I noticed that the path was litered with stray dogs.  If you have been to Bangkok you will know that there are stray dogs everywhere (up to 300,000 according to National Geographic) but they never cause any problems other than the land mines they leave on the sidewalks.

I was jogging down the path weaving my way around sleeping dogs when suddenly I heard barking and I could feel dogs running after me.  I knew that running would encourage the dogs to chase me so I turned around and saw three of these dogs growling and coming at me!

I tried my best to growl at them which seemed to stop them in their tracks, but they still started creeping towards me!  I was prepared to throw down with these mangy muts but I opened my bottle of water and splashed them with water and they ran back around 10 feet which allowed me to walk away without any further agression.

It wasn’t a big deal at the time because I like dogs but as I started thinking if I got bit by one of these dogs, I could possibly get a host of disease including rabies!  Once I cleared all the stray dogs I started joggin on my way to the gym again.

The jog was one of the most death defying jogs ever.  Not that I’m not used to dodging drunk drivers, making sure not to step on syringes or human waste in San Francisco but this canal path had it all.

First of all I can’t swim or tread water and the safety railing is only 2.5 feet high.  There is no lights on the path other than the lights of nearby houses and the moon and the ground is wet.  As I’m running through spider webs and notice bats fluttering about I come across planks replacing the cement path in some places.

You’d expect the planks to be sturdy but I’m guessing they weren’t designed for joggers close to 200 pounds.  I thought they were going to break and deposit me into the filthy canal.  I kept jogging thinking I would find the exit which would take me to Suhkumvit 23 which goes to my gym but no.

I kept running trying not to slice my arm along the rusted tin roofs of the shanties along the canal on the path waterlogged with puddles in the pitch black.  I even walked by the most dangerous animal on the planet, the terrorist looking homeless guy under a bridge who gave me a death stare as I jogged by.  I picked up speed a bit to avoid any stabbing attempt from behind as I finally found an exit from the canal path which I thought was the right exit.

Getting Lost in Bangkok

I found myself on a narrow road which obviously was not the main road (Sukhumvit 23?) I was looking for.   It was narrow with slippery muddy patches which wasn’t very safe coupled with the electrical wires dangling in my face above the sidewalk and the steady flow of traffic in the street.  I wasn’t very “lost” but just misplaced really.  I could see the tall buildings which I knew are located along Sukhumvit 1 where I had to go and I knew the direction of the canal but I still was on a road which wasn’t heading towards the gym.

I kept jogging and came to an intersection where I had to choose which road to take as there were tall buildings in each direction so the choice wasn’t obvious.   I stopped for a minute and went in a 7/11 to get a Gatorade.  I didn’t bother asking for directions as the clerks didn’t speak a lick of English.  I walked outside and stood on the corner drinking some Gatorade thinking how to get to the gym and I saw a tall, slim girl in a pink skirt and black tanktop walking out small shack looking house.  This could be considered a Bangkok compass in my situation because my gym happens to be near Soi Cowboy (below) so I jogged in the direction she was walking which lead me to the gym which I got to 30 minutes before closing time.  Just another day in Bangkok.

More Expensive than the USA ?

One of the benefits of living in Bangkok is the cost of living is much lower than most of the United States.   While living in Manhattan or San Francisco is much more expensive than Bangkok you have to realize that Bangkok is like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York all rolled into one for the Thais as it is the center of everything.

This being said, Bangkok which is actually the short version of, “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit,” is more expensive than much of small town USA, at least if you want to live with the things you have grown accustomed to living in the USA.

I have been thinking about this the entire 2+ months I’ve been here so far and it has never been more apparent than in the last 2 days where I have been searching and looking for a gym.

California WOW

I previously had a membership at California Fitness WOW which is the large gym chain which people love to hate a-la 24 Hour Fitness, Planet Fitness, etc. back in the states.  The positives are multiple locations (w/ certain memberships) lots of equipment and space and of course the cheapest membership prices.

California fitness is okay with me.  It has loud music and cheesy marketing everywhere along with big crowds sometimes but that’s what an iPod is for.  There are 3 or 4 located withing comfortable distance from me so they were on the table but I wanted to see what was out there as well as see if I could get a better deal than 17,000 baht ($500) for the first year and then 3000 baht  ($87) each year thereafter, more on this later.

Other Bangkok Gyms

By no means is this going to be a complete review of all the gyms in this giant sprawled out city.  I was specifically looking for something convenient to my apartment which is close to the canal and the Phloen Chit & Nana BTS stations.  I would guess most people wouldn’t want to travel an hour across the city just to work out.  The primary criteria for a gym were a low price and convenient location.  Instead of immediately getting a California Fitness membership I decided to check out some gyms in my area.

Olympic Club (Patumwan Princess Hotel)

I first checked out the Olympic Club in the Patumwan Princess hotel which is attached to MBK shopping center because I lived right next door.  I heard the gym had a basketball court so I had to check it out.  The Thai owned Olympic Club was very nice, open and not too crowded.

The gym had a rooftop swimming pool with an incredible view of neon lit skyscrapers and the Siam shopping centers.  There were also tennis courts and a 1/2 international basketball court with the trapezoidal key.

The front desk staff were s very nice and spoke English well.  The prices were high but not too high.  A year paid in full membership was something like 26,500-29,000 baht but they also had discounts for using Citibank credit cards.

My plans to join the Olympic Club were dashed a bit when I decided to move away from the National Stadium BTS stop.  It is still only 3 stops plus a walk through MBK away but I wanted something cheaper to be honest.  I don’t use any amenities other than free weights and cardio machines so the tennis court and swimming pool is a little excessive.  I also could justify paying the extra money for a basketball court so I can embarrass my by shooting airballs all day.

Overall the Olympic club is very nice and would be a cool place to join if money isn’t an option, you want to impress friends from out of town or you really make good use out of all their amenities.

Vita Life Gym (Bumrungrad Hospital)

I had to check out Vita Life Gym in international hospital Bumrungrad next simply because it was within 3 minutes from my front door step.  It was pretty small and I could see outdated cardio machines and old free weights from outside but this really doesn’t matter to me.

I went in and they ended my interest by wanting a 5,500 baht ($160USD)  joining fee then 2,000 baht ($58) a month.  They mentioned the joining fee included a meeting with a doctor but I was not interested in joining a gym which looked like a glorified cheap hotel’s fitness center for far more than what I pay in San Francisco.

Fitness First (Landmark Hotel)

My last attempt at finding a true walking distance gym was Fitness First in the Landmark Hotel which was about a 15 minute walk through traffic.  I was desperate for a workout and had just drank a couple cups of coffee.  When I got there I immediately noticed the nice Landmark Hotel and I figured Fitness First would be expensive.  First I asked how much was a month membership which I don’t remember the actual price but it was expensive.  I then asked for a day membership and it was something over 1,000 baht!

I should have saw it coming but when I asked for a year membership the next thing I was asked to sit down with a sales person which I just had it so I left.  I new California WOW was going to be my gym.

Getting to and Fro My Gym

I have the choice of going to any of the 9 (I think) locations of various sized California WOW gyms to head to.  They are usually right next to a BTS stop so getting to them means walking to a BTS station first if I don’t feel like walking 30 minutes to get there.  I decided to visit the closest gym so I first got to the (Sukhumvit 23) California WOW by taking the BTS to the nearby Asok and walking a couple minutes to the entrance.  On the way back I thought I’d be adventurous and take a canal taxi back!

I started walking in the general direction of the canal which I thought would be 5 minutes and turned out to be more like 15 picking up an iced pearl tea and friend bananas on the way.  I got to the canal and went down to catch the taxi and it was 100% full to the brim.  I didn’t feel like waiting for another so I decided to jog along the path.

Jogging along the path only took around 15 minutes but running along the not surprisingly filthy canal and its surroundings had me feeling like I should either wear a mask or go get a shot after.  The interesting thing is there are people living in shanties with mud caused by the canal, raising their own chickens right next to nice condos with Mercedes parked outside them.  I got back from the jog sweating like a swine but I enjoyed the fact that I could jog back from the Asok California Wow without getting delayed 50 times due to traffic.  Welcome to Thailand, again I guess!