Muay Thai Pai

The gyms fall into three types. Charn Chai is the one most travellers end up at: traditional training, two sessions a day, more than four hundred reviews and fighters in the ring most weeks. Sitjemam is the live-in camp, a family-run gym in the rice fields ten minutes north of town with rooms on site, small groups matched by level, and a female co-founder, which makes it a good pick for first-timers and for women who prefer a female coach. Pai Fit, by the walking street, is a fitness gym with a daily muay thai class and a sauna, for people who want to stay in shape rather than fight. The rest, Apple Muay Thai in Wiang Tai, Razorback and Warhog at Pai Park Cottage, Sit Kru Gong in Mae Hi and The Art of 8 Limbs in Mae Yen, are small family gyms with strong reviews and no website, so message them on WhatsApp or Instagram for the schedule.

Nearly every gym trains Monday to Saturday with a morning session around 8:00 to 10:00 and an afternoon session around 15:00 to 17:00, and Sunday is a rest day. Single sessions are around 350 baht, a week of training around 2,500 to 3,000 baht and a month around 9,000 baht. Live-in packages with a room start at roughly 150 USD a week. Prices shift between seasons, so confirm with the gym before you travel.

Pai has its own fight night, held at the Sit Kru Gong gym in Mae Hi, where local gyms put fighters in the ring. It is the easiest place in town to watch muay thai live and, for students at the gyms, sometimes the place for a first fight. December and January are peak season and rooms fill up, so book early for a long stay, and rent a scooter if your gym is outside the centre.