Khon Kaen Gym
116 11-12 Chalermprakiat Road, Tambon Nai Mueang, Chang Wat Khon Kaen 40000.
Opening Times: Mon-Sat: 1000-2200, Sun: closed
Cost: 49 baht a session, or 800 baht per month.
Location
Khon Kaen Gym is located centrally, 1.5km northeast of the nightmarket. It’s correctly located on Google maps and easy to spot.
Facilities
Firstly, don’t rule it out based on appearances! Whilst the gym won’t be winning any awards for aesthetics, I was very pleasantly surprised that what appeared to be a grubby looking dungeon in internet photos was actually a fully air-conditioned gym with a surprisingly nice clean toilet! Well, the women’s one was anyway. The quirky gym plays metal whilst you do your workout in a dark and strangely lit room…
This small-medium sized facility is an absolute bargain at 49 baht a go – I am just living the backpacker’s dream here. The staff were friendly, the gym had all the basics for a good workout, including free water and I believe coffee! (I don’t really speak Thai but coffee was certainly there and clearly labelled in English!)
Cardio equipment consisted of 2 treadmills and 6 bikes only.
The state of the décor leaves something to be desired, but take care not to trip over the mats lining the floor and you should be ok. ?
What’s missing? Well, mats, as it happens. The ones on the ground that you might trip over are not workout mats and I couldn’t see any others. I did my abs work on one of the incline benches and decided to save other floor work for another day. If it’s just standing floor space you’re after, there is plenty of space there.
Weights and Functional Equipment
Dumbbell weights went up to 70lbs, with a few odd ones out labelled in kilograms for good measure. Whist there are no fixed weight barbells, you’ll find several adjustable ones and numerous disc weights in various places. There are plenty of flat and inclined benches, 2 Smith machines, a squat rack, pull up bars and cable cross overs, lat pulldowns and several other pieces of rather dated resistance equipment – the creaking adds to the character. You’ll even find short stools of an appropriate height right under the pull-up bars – can’t beat that for convenience.
There is also not much in the way of functional training equipment; I saw only a roller for abs work and there are some tiny cushion mats for the purpose of using it (but only big enough for a baby to lie on, or more likely, you to kneel on).
Summary
Khon Kaen Gym is fantastic value for money and absolutely perfect if you’re on a budget. Good location and the cheapest gym in Thailand that I’ve found so far! It’s cheaper to use this place for a month than the nearby Fitness First’s regular day pass price! You will notice a bit of a difference in the facilities though. 😉
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