Hello everyone!
Executive Summary:
- Spent the last month rock climbing in Railay, Thailand.
- Joined by a third traveller - Elisabeth's father, Aldo.
- Left Railay for Bangkok, where we have been for a week.
- Leaving tomorrow for the towns of Mae Sot and Umphang (8 hours of bus fun).
Rock Climbing in Railay Continued
A month spent rock climbing may not seem like everyone's cup of tea. It probably was not even mine at the start. However, I was won over by the challenge each route presented and the reward at the top. At left, I had met another climber on a nearby route who was able to take this picture. This rock face is halfway up the cliff, reached by a short and steep hike through the jungle. The results are even higher views from the top! Each climb this month gave incredible views over the sea and the surrounding rock. The following were some of our favorites:
Just to give you an idea of how we spent our time on a typical day:
Morning walk out to a climbing area at the end of Phra-Nang beach. Storm rolls in (left) while Shawn is leading. The heavy rain comes so suddenly and heavily that there is little point to relocate. Luckily, because the rock is overhung, both climber and belayer stay dry while the jungle soaks. Taking the camera up for some dramatic views of the storm, I can take a picture of my sleepy belayer. (right)
Once the storm passes, we head down to the beach for a quick bite from one of the lunch boats. (If you zoom in, you'll see the white menu off the bow of the boat) The tides, which can rise or fall as much as 2.5 metres, throw in some surprises as access to different climbing areas often depends on
them. After lunch, the sea was low enough to walk over to Happy Island and climb there. We have learned our lesson to pay attention to the tides as wading back holding your gear over your head, although adventurous, is not the most convenient. The route we selected is to the left - can you find Shawn?
The start of the this route was a little more challenging than expected, but after many tries and finally using Shawn as a ladder, I was boosted past the beginning and continued to the finish. Here's a shot from the top, you can see Shawn at the bottom:
We walked back as it was getting dark, much in need of a cold shower (30+ degrees everyday) and a hearty dinner.
As we cannot climb every day, we did take a few rest days in which we explored the nearby towns and went on a snorkelling trip. It was like swimming in an aquarium!! Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of that!
A visitor!
My father, Aldo, joined us in Railay on March 20th and will be travelling with us for 3 weeks! We are both really enjoying having him here climbing and spending time with us. It helps us feel less far from home. No time for jet lag, he got right into the swing of things. At left is my father on the rock!
Below is our instructor and friend Cho. Cho works for King Climbers, one of the climbing schools in Railay. He miraculously guided me past my fear of leading. We enjoyed climbing with him during and after the course we took.
Below is another friend that I met outside our bungalow one morning.
In our new climbing team of 3, we now had a photographer!
Here we are climbing one of our favorite routes called "Monkeys Gone to Heaven".
Bangkok
As we were leaving Railay, we both came down with bad colds. In a bid to kick it as quickly as possible, we've taken it pretty easy for the last few days. Aldo has made a brief side-trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia while we recover. We couldn't ask for a better place to be sick. Bangkok is truly a world class city. Should we need it, excellent doctors staff a number of nearby hospitals, and top quality Western cold remedies are readily available from such household names as Starbucks and Baskin Robbins.
Road traffic in Bangkok is legendary, but between canal and river ferries, the new skytrain, and the new subway system, we've gotten around town pretty painlessly.
We've spent some time walking around the big shopping malls, since the air conditioning is gentler on our sick lungs than the hot, humid, often diesel-choked air of the busy streets. Bangkok's rich and famous shop at the Siam Paragon. Never before have we seen a mall like this one. It is lined with haute couture boutiques, and also contains dealerships for Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley, Maserati, Aston Martin, and for the poor, BMW.
Monestary of the Emerald Buddha
Yesterday we visited the Monestary of the Emerald Buddha, the holiest site in Thailand. It contains the country's most revered Buddha image - a 2.5 foot tall statue of Buddha in a seated position, carved out of jade. The complex is quite large, containing many buildings covered in ornate carving, murals, and goldleaf. At left is a giant demon warrior guarding the temple from evil spirits. At right are a few of the monestary buildings.
Below are some pictures of a group of young monks that were on a field trip.
We spent an afternoon walking through some of the markets that bustle with activity day and night along narrow side streets all over the city. Below are some of the happenings: Twins eating ice cream and Trade Envoy Vesnaver negotiating a fair price for an apple.
Tomorrow we leave by bus bound for Mae Sot (a small town on the Burmese border), and then on to an even smaller town called Umphang where we'll likely do a 3 day trek into the jungle.
That's all for now!
sk & ev
