No Protein for the Weary

Location: Malacca, Malaysia

NP: Entwine - Surrender

Mood: Bereft

The gym was quiet apart from the hum of spinning fans and the funky music from the speakers. Weight lifting and cardio equipment were scattered along the mirrored walls and the windows were open to the darkened street. In the middle of the gym stood a Thai boxing ring. It was hot. Apart from us, there were no customers. The man behind the desk was lean with only a little muscle, probably more into muay Thai than lifting weights. Towels were on the compulsory equipment list. We would soon understand why.

Jungle Gym on Koh Pha Ngan in Thailand was the last time we'd worked out. That was about two weeks ago. But the little training was just as well, because the Asian diet doesn't seem to include too much protein in it. In fact, it has far too little.

Breakfast at d'Garden Hotel consists mostly of carbs.

This was the reason why every now and then we opted for the omelette dishes at restaurants and liked eggs for breakfast (the included breakfast at D'Garden in Kuala Lumpur only had eggs once). At least it was one source. There was too little meat on the main dishes usually to enable any kind of regular training regime, so we'd given up on training and it was beginning to show. Also gyms weren't that easy to find here, and tended to cost quite a lot.

The best omelets I've had were served in Trang, Thailand.

Mika is affected by all of this more than me. Whereas I only dabble in exercising at gyms (back home I went once or twice a week), for him it is more of a lifestyle (three or four times a week). He complains about it often and profusely and claims his shorts were starting to feel too large for him and the shirt he'd bought from Bangkok was no longer tight across the chest and shoulders.

Looking at the mirror I could see his point. A smaller man with scrawny arms peered back at me. At least the belly was still there, as big as ever. Though some weight must've come off, it seemed to be departing from all the wrong places.

We'd only been on the trip for a month now. There were two more left. I wondered how much of me would make it back home.