More Higher, More Higher!

As I mentioned before, Railay is known for it's amazing monoliths and its rock climbing. You can't step too far off the beach without seeing a climbing outfitter nor can you gaze up at a giant rock without spotting small bodies scaling it at different heights. We originally wanted to rock climb on our arrival day and only stay one night but decided we were too exhausted from the trip and wanted to find a really good school. Luckily we didn't have to look far. While we were being mermaids in the salt water we swam up to a few guys (two danish and one from Iowa) who mentioned they were going 'solo climbing' the next day and were looking for more participants. Turns out solo climbing is the awesome and fairly hard to find new sport where you are taken out to cliffs and the boat drivers hang a wooden ladder on one of the cliffs and you proceed to scramble up the ladder and begin bouldering up the rock until you feel you have gone far enough and simply jump back into the water. awesome, right?

When we finally found Wee's Climbing School in the jungle of Tonsai Beach we were delighted to hear that the trip was only 700 baht per person, included lunch, snorkeling, rock climbing and lasted all day. We were so in. The next morning we hiked over to Tonsai using the low tide route. This entails walking over a couiple rocks and little caves with water about ankle deep. Pretty simple. Unless you're Kor. Once again, Lindsay and I were over the rocks with no blood or scrapes to show for. We didn't even have any close calls. Kor, on the other hand, managed to slip onto a rock covered in barnacles and somehow also cut up his elbow and knee. When we arrived at Wee's, Kor had a bloody hand, knee and elbow and was wondering why everyone was looking at him like he had the swine flu.

At Wee's "office" (read: wooden bungalow) we noticed a small group forming for our trip. Mostly young men who looked American or European. All of a sudden, a red haired guy (without a sun burn- still not sure how that works) looks at Kor and says "Oh my god, Kor!!." Turns out it was Dave, one of Kor's best friends from college at UC Hayward. he also lives in SF and they had been trying to get together in their own city but were apparently to busy and found it more convenient to meet up in the middle of the jungle on a remote beach in Thailand. Crazy.

The group consisted of eight of us plus the two guides (who we later decided were actually monkeys disguised as Thai men). We set off to sea and stopped at a big cliff about a ten minute boat ride away. The guides set up the ladder and we were off. Dave and his traveling buddy Andy were actually amazing climbers. The were up the ladder and scaling the rock in no time. Looked pretty easy so we jumped in after them.

At the top of every ladder the guides placed a bag of chalk for us to get a nice grip on the rocks. Since we were all soaking wet from swimming to the ladder, however, it proved to be quite useless. The first rock seemed nearly impossible. Linds and I moved at a snail's pace from hold to hold and couldn't even make it up to the second level. We had nice jumps off and decided to give the other side a try. The other side of the rock was a bit easier and with some coaching from Dave we made it all the way to the second landing and posed for a few pictures before plunging into the ocean.

We were not the only creatures that seemed to think this water was amazing. Jellyfish also like to inhabit the area RIGHT where we jumped in. Generally our jumps involved a scream, big splash, come up for air and then another yelp from a jelly fish sting. (They were harmless jelly fish, mom, but they did give little stings that hurt for a few minutes). After jumping several times from these rocks and watching the legit climbers scale to unbelievable heights we headed to an amazing little cove for lunch and snorkeling. The lunch was a delicious fried rice with the spiciest curry and chili's I had yet to try (that has changed now...). While digesting we got a chance to really see how Thai men climb. Essentially, like monkeys. Our two guides started scaling rocks that had essentially NO holds or grips on them whatsoever. They would turn their bodies upside down and wrap their arms around their knees and hoist themselves up. Everytime. We all gave it one or two honest at temps before deciding we didn't have any monkey in us.

The snorkeling was relatively uneventful but the water felt amazing. Dave and Andy had brought along the ultimate travellers camera. It was waterproof, shock proof, sand proof, beer proof and pretty much amazing. We dinked along the rocks looking for sea cucumbers, giant clams, clown fish and anything else we could find to take pictures of with the famous camera.

After snorkeling we stopped at the next (and definitely most epic) rock. The ladder this time was a bit longer and required you to hoist yourself up onto the hanging cliff without using any leverage. The first to go was a Canadian man. He got up to about 30 feet and decided to jump down. Naturally Dave had to go higher. Dave scaled all the way up to 17 meters (roughly 60 feet) and we all watched in amazement. The guides got him up there by basically just saying "more higher, more higher" and he obliged. Once at 60 feet he squatted on the rock and contemplated if he was cliff jumping or sky diving. IT didn't take him too long to jump (surprisingly) and he emerged from the water without too much pain. Next up was Emilie, our chain smoking, speedo wearing Danish friend. He claims he hasn't climbed in two years but was able to scurry up pretty much any challenge he was given. He got up to the top no problem, jumped and made it out in once piece.

Andy was hesitant but decided he better do it since solo climbing was the reason he came to Thailand. His climb was flawless but his jump resulted in a nice thorough edema he was still feeling the next day. Oops. Once all the boys had gone Kor decided he HAD to do it (with some serious pressure from me and Linds). He got up the rock just fine and got to the squatting section and yells down, "is it normal to be shaking?" We reassured him that it was and began the countdown for his jump. "No counting!" he yells and we then start singing his favorite song to get him to jump. Within a few minutes he was plummeting into the water feet first (phew!) and emerged with a big Kor smile on his face. Since then he has decided he is a rock climber and attempts to scale anything in sight. He also claims he is commited to doing it back in SF. We'll see if that happens.

Unfortunately, the rope logistics were too difficult for Lindsay or I to make it up to the big cliff and we remained in the boat as the camera women and much needed cheer leaders. By the end of the six hour day we were ready to bond some more with our rock climbing friends and Kor wanted to catch up with his long lost friend. We all went out for a curry dinner (a mistake I regretted about two hours after...) and went to another hippie bar with mats and incense for drinks and card games. We left Railay the next morning with sun tans and new senses of accomplishment. We also left with much more cohesiveness than when we came and were totally ready for more adventures and more people to meet. Our next stop: Ko Phi Phi!

I've used up my internet budget for the day and am ready for some Roti so hang tight for a day for the next post!