18Feb2006

Hello beautiful people!

I hope this note finds all of you doing really well. Apologies for the group email...

We've been in Thailand for almost a week now, in Bangkok for the first few days and then arrived yesterday to our haven on the beach in Tonsai. Here are some excerpts from notes I've sent my folks over the last few days... I hope you guys are all doing well. I wish you were all here to enjoy this with me!!

We've taken lots of pictures but don't have them up on-line yet. I'll write more when we get them up.

Big hugs to all of you,
Margaret

Bangok, Day 2

It's been quite a ride here. We arrived late at night on Tuesday (or Wednesday morning, depending on how you look at it). Yesterday, after only a few hours of sleep, we had breakfast down in the hotel restaurant, and then hopped into the Tuk Tuk of a friendly Thai who was waiting outside the gates of the hotel. A Tuk Tuk is a very typical Thai vehicle - picture a three wheeled scooter with a bench seat in the back and a little canopy over your heads. The driver rides in front in what's kind of a motor-bike setup, the passengers sit in the back. They rip around town like no one's business, passing cars (often in the lane of oncoming traffic), scooting around corners at breakneck speeds, and spewing the nasty smoke coming from their two-stroke diesel engines. Traffic signals, lines on the road, and even policemen are more of a suggestion than the law here. Motorcycles, Tuk Tuks, cars, busses, trucks - all jokey to get to the front of the line as fast as humanly possible. You'd think it would be incredibly scary - and i suppose it is to some extent - but it all works out somehow. And they've got a beautiful temperment, so are often laughing their whole way through it.

We were taken to visit several different temples - gorgeous - and then to the mandatory tourist spots. Apparently the driver gets a kick back if he takes you to certain spots - top of the list are the tailor shops where you can get a hand-made suit made to order for you in a couple of days (not necessary for me now, but had i still been part of the corporate world, it could have been quite a steal); jewelry stores with loads of rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of jewels I must admit I'm really not interested in; and ending at the pier at a boat launch for a trip up the river and canal systems. The boat trip was perhaps the most dissappointing part - not because of the sights (which were fascinating - the abject poor living in shacks you can't even fathom right next to the mansions of the wealthy), but because we apparently pissed off the driver when we refused to pay extra to go into a snake park he took us to. We were under the impression that it was included in our boat fare (which was high) and honestly weren't that interested in seeing snake charmers do their thing (it was quite the tourist trap), but suddenly he wasn't that interested in doing much of anything for us anymore. We asked to go see the other stop promised on the tour that we were really interested in - one of the spectacular temples on the other side of the river we wouldn't have had access to otherwise - and he begrudgingly stopped, giving us only 15 minutes to scramble through the temple or he'd leave us there. He dropped us off in Chinatown - the furthest away possible from our hotel, which was where we asked to be dropped - and to be honest we were glad to be rid of him.

Chinatown was actually much like most Chinatowns in other big cities except bigger, with tinier streets and far more packed with people and with everything imaginable you would never want to buy. Tacky little trinkets abounded, and i can't possibly see why anyone would want any of them. There were also the food vendors and fruit / meat markets. So far we've played it fairly safe with the food - eating either at our hotel or at a restaurant we found in the downtown district last night; i think we might brave one of the street vendors at a night market tonight, which is where the food is really authentic and I've heard quite delicious. The smells here are quite something - very sweet and pungeant; I was telling Sam it smelled like the inside of a Thai restaurant even in the cab on our way in from the airport that first night.

You asked about the driving - while Tuk Tuks are everywhere, there are also lots of cars, pickups (which typically have tall cages built onto the truck bed), and buses. The cars - as you might expect - are mostly Asian - lots of Toyotas, Hondas, and the odd Mercedes. They drive on the left hand side of the road, when they drive where they're "supposed" to. Motorcycles also abound, and while most of the drivers wear helmets, many of their passengers ride side saddle and look absolutely perilously perched as their driver swerves through traffic at breakneck speeds. It's scary just watching it; I can't imagine what it would be like to ride one.

The city is enormous, polluted and filthy, yet totally lush and tropical with such a sense of history. The mix is incredible. Take mid-summer southern-Ontario humidity and heat and add polluted air so thick you can taste it and see it, and you've got Bangkok. By the time we got back to the hotel, i felt like i'd been sucking on the end of a tailpipe all day - which in some ways i had been. The Tuk Tuks are adventurous and cheap, but not the healthiest option. I'm looking forward to beach and clean ocean air...

Today we'll check out some more of the must see places we've not yet been to: the Grand Palace (the 'big' temple here); Khao San Road - the hangout for backpackers; and maybe this house called "jim thompson house", the home of an American who helped revive the silk trade here after the second world war. The house is apparently quite spectacular, done traditional Thai style with all sorts of artifacts and Thai crafts. I'd love to see the Thai Craft Museum as well, to see how they weave the gorgeous Thai silk that you find in such abundance here. Tomorrow we get picked up at 6:00am to go 1-2hours north west of the city to some sights, including a floating market; sugar cane fields, some thai boxing demos (unfortunately not the real thing - i wanted to check it out but it's too expensive at the Stadium here), and some traditional thai dance. I have a feeling it'll be really touristy, but with so little time here and absolutely no ability to speak Thai, it seems the best option.

Tonsai, Day 6

Things are wonderful here. We finally left the filth of Bangkok for a tropical paradise in the south west. We flew from Bangkok yesterday into Krabi, a little fishing town on the water. From there, a short cab ride brought us to Ao Nang, another little beach town, from which we hired a long tail boat to bring us to Tonsai. A long tail boat is just as it sounds - it's a long boat, skinny, but larger than a canoe, with a really long tail that has a propellor on the end of it. The driver stands at the back and steers using this big wand-like thing. We litterally grabbed our packs, jumped into the ocean up to our thighs, and walked ashore to find this great little beach community. Admittedly, mostly tourists - and most of them climbers - but a great little place nonetheless. We rented a bungalow for $15/night, which was the high end option. Had we wanted to save money, for $8-10/night we could have had much the same setup, with a less sophisticated toilet and instead of cement walls fairly well sealed ( i.e., bug/spider/snake proof), we'd have had more of a woven-style wall. The extra $$ per night is worth the sleep i will gain from knowing the chances of a cobra, scorpion or bird eating spider are NOT sharing the room with me. (I exaggerate; but only slightly.)

It's much more of a "scene" here than i was expecting. With tons of climbers from all over the world, it's one big party really. Kind of like being back in Dominican Republic for grad trip, except I'm 13 years older and wiser and much less interested in drinking 'til i can't see straight. This morning we were up early to climb on the beach before the sun reached us. If the climb I endeavoured is any indication of the level of difficulty here, i'll be spending a lot of time with my books! Wow, was it hard. Really overhanging, rock so worn the handholds were a smooth as glass, lots of big moves (my least favourite). Either I'm going to get really brave and really strong, or just really tanned from hanging out on the beach all day while Sam climbs! :) Apparently there are easier climbs. i'll believe it when i see it.

We expected to be here for the remainder of our trip, but an opportunity presented itself we just can't say no to. A friend of ours who's been here since December has a friend who married a Thai woman (a.k.a. the banana pankake woman) and moved here permanently a few years back. He now runs a tour to an island off the coast that is very remote and very undeveloped. Apparently it's a favourite of the Thai folks, but we "farangs" haven't really discovered it yet. Mike (our friend Jason's friend) runs tours to this place during the week when there aren't as many people there. It sounds like heaven on earth (even more so - if that's possible - than here): perfect white sand beaches, crystal blue water, some climbs for folks who want to climb (not as many as here, so it's less of a focus, which is fine by me), delicious food catered by the group for all meals, deluxe tents you live in right on the beach. We debated and decided, why not? There are about 20 of us going - a group from France (I think it's a big family from grandpa on down) and then a misc group including us, Jason and Helen, and other folk we haven't met yet. While we've already paid for our bungalow here until mid-March, we figure the extra cost (only $20/day for five days for both of us) is worth it. We leave tomorrow morning, first thing.

Well, that's really all my news. We're waiting for the sun to go down a bit (it's 1:30pm right now -- hottest part of the day) and then will head to another wall for some evening climbing, which i may or may not be able to do. If not, i'll head to the beach for a swim. It's a tough life, really. :)

I hope you guys are doing well and suffering the weather not too badly. It's hard to imagine ice storms from this tropical paradise, but every time i start to feel really hot i remind myself of what fingers so cold they go numb feel like, and i just smile.... It's been a long time coming, this trip!

24Feb2006

Helllloooooo!!!!!

We have just returned from 5 days on a southern Thailand island paradise – Koh Lao Leiung (“Koh” means “island” in Thai) – a tiny little island you won’t find on any map, just off the southwest coast, a 2 hour drive south from Krabi and 45 min boat ride off-shore. This little island is very typical of Thailand; huge jutting cliffs of limestone fall dramatically into a mix of jungle and white sand beach, sloping into warm, perfect, turquoise sea. On this particular island, in that little space between the limestone cliffs and the ocean, is a Thai-style resort: essentially a few thatched-roof open-air shelters, some sleeping tents, a little bar and eating area, a dive/snorkel/climbing outfit, and a set of bathrooms. This place is rarely frequented by we “farangs”, but it is a preferred destination among the Thai. An American climber now settled in Thailand recruits climbers from the crowded Tonsai crags to come get away from the scene here (funny the things we “get away from” over here!) and spend a few days climbing and relaxing on the quieter shores of Lao Leiung.

There were about two dozen of us there. A large family from France made up about half the group, and the rest were climbers from North America (I was the only Canadian) and Europe (a Brit, a Swiss, and two Germans). It was beautiful and relaxing. While there was much climbing to be done literally right out the door of your tent and steps from the ocean (you have to wait until low tide to even get on some of the climbs), the crag wasn’t in the shade until the early afternoon, so mornings were spent lounging, drinking coffee, reading, journaling, and just chatting with the other folks there. Blissful. The climbing was very good – a good range of moderate to difficult. Enough to keep both me and Sam happy, which is the important thing. The moderate climbs seemed more truly moderate than the ones we’ve done so far on Tonsai, so I was actually able to get up some of them. Sam climbed one of the most difficult ones there beautifully (picture attached). Many of the more difficult climbs had only been climbed a few times before as this is quite a newly-developed crag. The rock was much sharper, dirtier, and less polished than at Tonsai, and as a result I got my first flapper (for the non-climbers reading this email, a flapper is a big chunky flap of skin that comes off the pad of your finger or hand while climbing). I have to admit I am fiercely proud of this little war-wound, and spend much of my down time examining its progress. I’ve asked Sam to take a picture of it so we have proof. Yes, I am a geek.

While climbing and chilling were the main focal points of the trip, on one of the mornings we all piled on one of the boats and went snorkeling. Unfortunately the wind was up and it was a bit choppy, so visibility wasn’t fabulous, but it was still trippy for a snorkeling neophyte like me to see coral reefs teeming with life and all sorts of beautiful fish and sea creatures.

Seafood lovers would be in heaven there. The food was almost entirely seafood and fish, caught fresh that day, and often bbq’d with the mandatory sides of rice, curry, some type of soup, and a fried veggie/fish dish. Unfortunately, my stomach was in food-rejection mode (let’s just say I have a whole new appreciation of the word “run”) so I stuck to a diet of rice and watermelon, with the odd helping of veggies or an egg if I was feeling racy.

Now we are settling into another week of climbing in Tonsai before we head to the east coast islands for some yoga and spa-ing Thai style (a.k.a. Margaret's part of the trip).

7Mar2006

Sawadee kaa!

Well, we're in the final stretch - week four of our Thailand trip. It's hard to believe we'll be leaving in just under a week. The time has cruised on past. (And for reference for those to whom I wondered out loud whether I'd be able to "handle" such a long trip, turns out I could. I'm actually wishing it were longer! Next time...)

We have spent the last week climbing in Tonsai, and have decided to stay here the duration of our trip. We bailed on the yoga and spa-ing on the eastern coast island Koh Phi Ngan because, amazingly, I've really started to find my groove climbing here. As I think I mentioned in an earlier email, the climbing here is very different from anything I've climbed before. It's much steeper and thus requires much more brute strength... something with which I am not particularly well endowed. In the last week I've managed to get up things I never thought possible, boosting my confidence and willingness to try more. I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge, and am determined to finish off a couple of routes I've been on but not done cleanly (i.e., without falling or hanging).

Appropriately, Tonsai is home to an abundance of monkeys. I am learning some suprising things about these creatures. They are more human-like than you would think. For one, they are creatures of habit. Every morning between 6 and 6:30, and every evening around 5pm, the monkeys pass through the trees overhead, eating fruit and chucking husks, pits, and all sorts of vegetative projectiles onto the roof of our bungalow. This was quite a novelty the first night; now after a couple of weeks it's just plain annoying. It's incredlbe how high you can jump out of bed when a coconut is dropped on the corrugated metal roof of your bungalow at 6:10 in the morning. Once your heart rate has gone back to normal and you realize that the world is not in fact ending, you settle into a half hour or so of Shwack! Schwack! every few minutes wishing they'd choose another tree to eat from.

Earlier this afternoon I had an up-close and personal encounter with one of these little guys. We were walking to one of the crags in the early afternoon, still dozy from our mid-day nap and a little out of it with the heat. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there's a baby monkey straddling my leg and biting my shin. Totally startled, I shook it off, which of course it thought was a fabulous game so it jumped onto my other leg and started munching on it. Remembering the strict instructions from the guidebook of NOT to get close to these creatures (many of them have rabies), I repeatedly tried to shake him off each leg, and he'd hop to the other. Baby monkey and I did this dance back and forth for a while until I was able to get rid of it (or it got bored of the game, I don't want to give myself too much credit 'cause obviously my strategy for losing the monkey was not all that successful). Luckily, the bites were more in jest than real, and I think I'm rabies free. Although I have noticed a little foamy stuff at the corners of my mouth... ;-)

Aside from the monkeys the other creature I've had a near encounter with is a bird-eating spider. Many of you know that I am deeply arachnophobic, so you can imagine the trauma. These spiders are BIG, with a leg-span of about the size of my hand. For the most part they keep to themselves, building their enormous webs on the sides of the jungle paths. I'd seen them everywhere and was feeling quite chuffed with myself for co-existing with them (admittedly they were outside and I sleep inside; had they shared our bungalow I might not have been doing so well). A few days ago, again en route to a climb, I walked straight into one of their webs. Thankfully, our friend Helen caught me just as I was about to don a bird-eating spider hat, and I had a minor meltdown with tears, the shakes, a huge adrenaline rush and the whole bit. So much for peaceful co-existence. At least I didn't need to warm up that day; I had enough blood racing through my system to do me quite well.

I've attached a couple of pictures to give you a sense of where we are. The first is Tonsai beach at sunset. The bungalows and restaurants are all hidden in the palm trees on the lower left side of the picture. The rock formation straight on is where we often climb in the morning (shady time), and the rock formation the picture is taken from is where we often climb in the afternoons. Essentially, climbing in Thailand is a shade-chasing exercise. The second picture is of me climbing one of my "I can't believe I'm getting this" routes. Unfortunately I don't yet have any pictures of the ubiquitous monkeys; they seem to be everywhere I am without a camera. The last shot was taken on our last rest day when we went exploring by sea kayak.

I hope this note finds you all doing really well, and I'll be sure to send a link to more photos on-line once we're back in North America and organized.