Climbing Again At Last
It feels good to be pursuing our passion for rock climbing again. Thailand is home to some of the world’s best rock climbing. The steep karst limestone formations jutting up off the beach make for a beautiful playground right in our own backyard.
Upon our arrival to Thailand in late September, we traveled to Koh Phi Phi Don. Our initial impression was one of disgust at the over-crowded tourist scene. Motor boats driven by testosterone-filled unlicensed teenage boys zipped around the anchorage kicking up massive wakes that sent any un-stowed items aboard Chandrika flying about. The boats did not even slow down as they wove around the heads of snorkeling sun-burnt tourists.
Fortunately for us, the tourists did not venture as far as the crags, and we had the climbing almost to ourselves. Occasionally, the friendly Thai guides would bring a few clients out for a half day of climbing, but otherwise there was no one else on the rock.
One day while climbing at Drinking Wall, we foolishly rappelled off an overhanging route straight into the jungle. We landed in prickly thorn bushes. While clambering back to the trail with thorns up to our necks, we were viciously attacked by hoards of red ants. Once one bites, they all bite together in unison. The pain is intense. Even when you squash them, severing their heads from their bodies, their heads continue biting. After jungle swimming back to the trail and cleaning the ants off our bodies, we went to pull down the rope and saw a highway of ants streaming up and down it. We pulled the rope down using Graham’s T-shirt to clean the ants off the rope. The rope was now clean, but Graham’s shirt was swarming with the evil biting creatures. To rid ourselves of the ants for good, we lit the shirt on fire. We learned a valuable lesson and will never rappel straight into the bushes again.
The other evil jungle creatures we encountered were the crab-eating macaque monkeys. Their horrible behavior directly correlates with the number of tourists in the area, as the tourists seem to think it fun to feed the little devils. This teaches the macaques that it is okay to steal food from people, rummage through their backpacks, toss stray items into the jungle, and create general havoc. It also teaches them to bite and to throw rocks at people when they do not get what they want. The macaques have been a problem throughout both Thailand and Malaysia.
After Ko Phi Phi we stopped at the twin islands of Koh Lao Liang. The north island has about 50 established rock climbs. There is no development on the island aside from one small resort. Due to its remote location, few come here. It is quiet and peaceful with no boat traffic and the climbing is spectacular.
October – November 2010
