Thailand

Ah Thailand. What a crazy, colorful, dynamic, and wonderful place you are. I feel like I’m having flashbacks to traveling in Mexico during college. One moment it feels like you are truly experiencing the best the world has to offer in food, culture, scenery and people. You could stay here forever. And the next moment you are being bombarded by high teenagers on gap year drinking booze out of buckets, spinning fire poi while a dj spins obnoxiously loud EDM music. Thailand is an incredible, sometimes disappointing, but always wonderfully exciting place. I can see why people always go back. 

 

We touched down at the Phuket International Airport after a relatively short hop from Korea. Our first order of business was to make our way to the Yacht Haven Marina north of Phuket town on the Andaman Sea where we were to spend a week taking an American Sailing Association course. The goal was to complete three courses in one go and leave with certifications in basic keelboat, basic coastal cruising, and bareboat cruising. This was all part of Crystal’s birthday present to me. I have wanted to learn how to sail for years and this seemed like as good a time as any. The first couple days of course were spent orienting ourselves with the boats and practicing basic sailing maneuvers just outside of the marina. Once we had a grasp on the basics, we loaded the 34 foot sloop and plotted a course that would weave through the karst islands of the Andaman Sea for the next five days. This turned out to be an awesome introduction to the geography of Thailand as well an ideal way to visit hidden beaches that haven’t been invaded by speedo adorned Russians just yet. We would spend our days learning and practicing man overboard recoveries, tacking and gybing, anchoring and mooring, as well as relaxing and watching the scenery go by on the way to our next destination. We visited the typical spots such as Koh Phi Phi and Railey but also some lesser known anchorages mixed in along the way. I think we both love sailing and I suspect it will be a reoccurring mode of travel for us in the future. I don’t know what it is but nothing quite gets me thinking all philosophically than sitting on a sailboat off some far-flung beach, drinking a Singha, and watching the sunset. Plus, there is something very liberating about moving your entire home from one new spot to the next all under wind power. If house-owning doesn’t work out for us maybe we’ll give boat-owning a try.

 

It was sad to see our sailing adventure wrap up so quickly but we were excited about our next destination. In 2004 I had read about a place where steep limestone walls came right out of the sea, where people climbed huge tufas in boardshorts and bikinis while longtail boats buzzed by hundreds of feet below. It was time to head to Krabi. A taxi, a bus, another taxi, and a boat brought us to Tonsai. I know that we were probably about 10 years too late to this place but I loved it. Tonsai sits on the Phra Nang peninsula in the Krabi province and is sandwiched between the better known and much more popular Ao Nang and Railey beaches. While its neighbors are home to the many of the aforementioned EDM aficionados, Tonsai tends to be a bit quieter, less developed, and the favorite hangout of the climbing community that flocks there every season. We were able to book a relatively cheap room a short stroll from many of the crags and spend the next day familiarizing ourselves with a very satisfying routine of climbing, reading by the pool, eating incredible food, and drinking Chang at the Freedom Bar while playing games and enjoying the sunset. The climbing is really quite incredible, characterized by big holds on steep rock, although a few months of eating our way through Asia didn’t exactly get us into peak climbing shape. Regardless, it’s as close to a climbing paradise as I’ve seen and I wouldn’t be surprised to find myself there again. Also, we had pretty sweet bonus guest appearance by Crystal’s long time friend Kenneth who is currently making his way through Southeast Asia at an enviably casual pace. Again it proved rewarding to share time with a familiar face in an unfamiliar place.

Resident crab-eating macaques

Tonsai wall and the Freedom Bar

Pool time

Long tail boats and the Thaiwand wall

After 10 days or so of this, that nagging feeling that pushes you to move on resurfaced and we set out for Bangkok. We didn’t spend more than a few days there but wow, Bangkok has a pulse all of it’s own. We spent our time wandering through the busy markets of Chinatown, sipping beer overlooking the Chao Phraya River, and watching an interesting musical experiment in the park. This is a place, like many cities, where one is both blown away by the complex mix of people and stories as well as disgusted by the contrast between the privileged and the underserved, where rich white travelers with Thai prostitutes on their arm is a common scene. It didn’t take long for us to decide to continue North by rail towards Chiang Mai.

Bangkok

Auto parts store in Chinatown

Need an engine?

Water monitor at a park in Bangkok

Founder of Sounds of Earth music experiment

An overnight sleeper train brought us into Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is a big city that doesn’t really feel that way. We stayed in the old city, right across from the aging city walls near street vendors who would set up their stalls every evening, turning out steaming bowls of Khao Soi, grilled prawns, and noodles for customers seated at tiny plastic stools on the sidewalk. Crystal and I have a thing for street food while traveling and while in Chiang Mai we ate dishes that were far better than anything we’ve found in any restaurant. Not to mention, far cheaper. Originally, we were planning on ditching the climbing gear in Tonsai and carrying on with light packs through the rest of Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam but suggestions from friends and fellow travelers of quality climbing throughout the region convinced us otherwise. One of those suggested spots was Crazy Horse just outside of Chiang Mai. We spent a few days waking up early for the 45 minute bus ride out to the crag and climbing until the afternoon got too hot or we got too hungry. Then it was down to Jira homestay for what might be the coldest beers in all of Thailand. The climbing at Crazy Horse is not as featured as the tufas of Krabi but sharp edges and pockets make it just as good, if not better. One of the more memorable experiences was walking to the back of an enormous cave where you can crag or climb multi pitch routes out the hole in the roof 200 feet above. This was certainly one of the most unique places I have ever climbed.

Crystal ready for the long train ride  

It sounds a bit crazy but even with 5 months to travel we are starting to feel rushed and worried about fitting everything in. As much as possible we try to ignore this itch and stick around in places that either fascinate us or feel rewarding but there comes a time to move on and so with a wealth of wonderful experiences we finally said goodbye to Thailand and headed Northeast towards Laos.  I can’t fully communicate our appreciation for the time we’ve had in Thailand. In the short amount of time here we have realized multiple life long dreams, all while creating more for the future. I think I’m starting to understand all the hype and stories of transformative experiences that seem to be so common when talking with people who have traveled here. Except for the EDM thing. I don’t think I’ll ever get that.