Climbing on the Phrang Nga Peninsula

On our next Thailand trip, we chose to explore the southern tip of the Phrang Nga peninsula, near the city of Krabi. This area has over 800 climbing routes and is the world-class climbing area that attracts hundreds of climbers every year from all over the world. The climbing is generally quite steep. Most routes are single pitch, but there are many multi-pitch routes as well (usually around 4 or 5 pitches long). We discovered that once above the first pitch, the crowds would disappear and we would have the climbing to ourselves. Most of the climbs are near the beach (Ton Sai and Railey beaches) and a few of them are directly out of the water, making it an excellent place to climb via sailboat/ dinghy.

Our first multi-pitch in this area was to climb "Orange Chandeliers" on Ao Nang Tower.

Ao Nang Tower

We raised the dinghy to keep it from banging on the rocks while we climbed.

Sue at the belay at the start of the climb.

Graham on "Orange Chandeliers"

We also climbed three different multi-pitch routes on Cat Wall named "Heart of Darkness", "Mussong" and "The Ninth Life."

The view from Cat Wall of Railey Beach and the Southern tip of the Phrang Nga Peninsula

Graham leads through a STEEP overhang on "The Ninth Life".

Graham trying to fit his oversized body through the tunnel on "Mussong"

with about 250 feet of air below.

We also visited a nearby island and enjoyed some fabulous single pitch routes in a beautifully serene setting.

Graham finds a rest on the overhanging "Hang Whitey".

Leaving the cave

Sue on "Roy Raeng"

During this time period, we have made a few improvements. While we have been happily content to row for the last 3+ years, the combination of climbing and rowing was exhausting. We have purchased a used 3.5hp Nissan outboard engine. We now also have internet aboard Chandrika while in Thai waters as long as we are within range of cell phone towers. On our climbing rest days we also putter about the boat and work on boat projects. We have recently painted our boom and our aluminum hatches.

Cooking Thai food in the galley aboard Chandrika

photo by James Pullum

Carrying the dinghy up above the high tide line.

Photo by James Pullum

While at Ton Sai and Railey beaches, we had the good fortune of meeting Sam Lightner and Liz Wattenberg from Moab, Utah and James Pullum and Laurel Graefe from Atlanta, Georgia. We spent two weeks climbing with them and spending every evening sitting on Railey beach watching the sunset. We will always cherish the memories of “sunset” on the beach.

Eating lunch at the base of Thaiwand Wall,

where we met Sam and Liz.

photo by James Pullum

Sue belays Laurel on pitch 2 of "Circus Oz" on Thaiwand Wall.

photo by James Pullum

Sue on "Organ Grinder" on the Thaiwand Wall.

photo by Laurel Graefe

Drinking coconuts on Railey Beach before sunset From left to right: Sam, Liz, James, Laurel and Graham

Sunset

It is general practice all over the world to place fixed stainless steel bolts on climbs that can not be protected with natural, removable protection. However, in the 90s it was discovered that the stainless steel bolts that were being used in Thailand were corroding very quickly (sometimes becoming unsafe within 6 months of being placed). These bolts would occasionally rip out of the rock, when a climber would fall on them, sometimes leading in serious injury to the climber. The problem is the corrosive marine environment in conjuction with the high magnesium content of the karst limestone rock. After a bit of experimentation, it was discovered that Titanuim glue-in bolts were far superior in terms of longevity than stainless steel ones.

View from Thaiwand Wall

In the foreground is a stainless steel expansion bolt,

which has been replaced by Sam with a titanium bolt glued-in with a two-part epoxy.

photo by Liz Wattenberg

Our friend, Sam Lightner, has been climbing in Thailand for over 20 years and has established many of the rock climbs in the area. While we were in Railey, he was rebolting a number of routes with Titanium bolts to make them safer for climbers. Sam and a number of other climbers have spearheaded a rebolting project, called the Thaitanium Project, with the goal of rebolting the climbing routes on the Phrang Nga peninsula with Titanium bolts. The problem is that the Titanium bolts cost significantly more than regular stainless steel bolts. To learn more about this problem or if you would like to contribute to making climbing in Thailand safer (and thus making us safer by extension), you can make a donation to the Thaitanium Project by visiting http://thaitaniumproject.com/ January – February 2011

Langkawi, Malaysia

The time was up on our Thai visa, so we headed to the island of Langkawi, Malaysia. We anchored Chandrika up a river on the north east side of the island. Every morning, we would awake in flat water to a view of lush green river banks and to the sounds of sparrows. Squeak was in heaven. Rowing up the river we explored nearby beaches, a cave full of bats (that formed an archway over the river), and viewed the abundant wildlife. We saw Monitor Lizards (similar to the Komodo Dragon), Crab-eating Macaques, Spectacled Languars, and two different kinds of sea eagles (Brahmini Kites and White-Bellied Sea Eagles). Various tour boats would run wild-life viewing trips along the river. We would watch the eagles feed as the tour boat operators threw chicken skins in the water to entertain their clients. The considerate Malaysian boat drivers would slow down as they passed our dinghy, so as not to kick up wake.

Spectacled Languar

Crab-eating (Coke-drinking) Macaque

photo taken in Thailand by James Pullum

Eagle Feeding

Water Buffalo Crossing

After our river exploration, we brought Chandrika to the town of Kuah. It was nice to stretch our legs and to explore more of the island by bicycle. Kuah also served as a nice place to provision with food and to buy a few odds and ends for the boat.

Next we headed to the large city of Penang, about 60nm from Langkawi. Our stay in Penang was brief. We applied for Thai visas at the Thai embassy while we waited for our chain and anchor to be re-galvanized by a galvanization company. In the mean time, we enjoyed the culture of Penang and visited a number of both Chinese, Thai and Burmese Buddhist temples.

Our sail back to Langkawi from Penang was fast with 15 knots abeam the entire way and calm seas. We caught a 3 foot Spanish Mackeral (which looked just like a Wahoo). When we arrived in Tulaga Harbor on the west side of Langkawi, we cut up the fish and offered pieces to a couple of cruisers nearby. The sailors we met were shocked that we had caught a fish. The waters in Thailand and Malaysia are so overfished that these sailors had never heard of a sailboat catching a fish before in this area. I guess we were lucky, because we have yet to catch another fish.

Tulaga is beautiful. Again Squeak was in heaven. Every morning, he would salivate while watching the fluttering sparrows gather on the nearby abandoned sailboats in the anchorage. We would awake at dawn listening to his little paws scampering around the deck with excited glee. Tulaga (which means “Well” in Malay) has a number of beautiful steep jungle hikes, cascading waterfalls, and 7 wells along the river. One of our hikes took us up a concrete stairwell through the jungle, to the top of Mount Chinchang (the second highest peak in Langkawi). One can also ride a cable car to the top, but we found that the hike made the view more rewarding. At the top, we bought ice creams and then rode the cable car back down to save the knees. Another hike brought us to a gorgeous crystal clear swimming hole right in the middle of a waterfall. On our hikes, we again saw abundant wildlife, such as monkeys, lizards, hornbills, and a few leeches that were clinging to our ankles.

Graham having too much fun

View of our previous day's hike to the cable car summit

Crystal clear fresh water swimming hole

Nothing beats a cool swim in the tropics

During our time in Tulaga harbor, we discovered a much simpler and safer method for climbing coconut trees. We now will gather about 20 green coconuts at a time. The green coconut water makes for a refreshing electrolyte drink after a sweaty day of hiking or climbing.

Tropical Aid Climbing

We look forward to seeing more of Langkawi on our next visit and to exploring its neighboring islands. November – December 2010