6-25 Railay Day 5

I had talked Jeff into climbing a half day with me, so that morning we hastily made our way to meet with Jane. Today she took us to the Northern part of Railay called Diamond Cave, where there were 3 decent routes. Despite being somewhat hung over the night before, we pressed ourselves up the rock face. Jeff is a tall, lanky guy, but despite his long limbs, he was a natural climber. With a bit of advice and encouragement, he ascended the 3 routes and was having a great time. Day 5 was otherwise a lazy day for all of us. That night we hung out at Bamboo Bar, which is a popular spot along Railay East. Stewart, who is friends with Vanessa and James, is a partial owner of Bamboo Bar. He's quite an interesting character in all facets. His appearance is of a lean and somewhat imposing demeanor. When you hear him speak though, you think 'Mike Tyson', because he's very soft-spoken and has a high-pitched voice. Covered in a diverse array of tattoos and flamboyant jewelry, you would never think that this guy is a former surgeon and the most qualified medical professional on Railay. If you get badly hurt in Railay, he's your only hope.
The bamboo bar likes to run a lot of night promotions to attract a crowd and tonight was the routine Muay Thai match. Tonight was Phuket vs. Railay. The scrawny Railay opponent was outmatched and got slapped around. Afterward it was 'open mat' for anyone wanting to goof around in the ring. After a few people messed around, Mike talked me into a quick sparring match. For 45 seconds, it was a furious match of roundhouse kicks, jabs, slaps and rolls. I picked Mike up and dropped him hard onto the mat, shaking the stage and frame. The crowd roared "ooohhhhhh" in approval of my brutal dominance over my tubby opponent. We were soaked in sweat after that so a cold beer and cold shower really hit the spot.

6-25 Railay Day 4

After four days in rock climber's paradise, we finally made it to a beginner's course in the morning after a quick relocation to a new guesthouse called Anyavee. It was much nicer and only 500 Baht per night. We were accompanied by new friends Vanessa and James to Hot Rocks climbing school in 'downtown Railay', which is simply an alley with 2 bar/restaurants and 8-10 shops. At hot rocks we met local climber celebrities/instructors Jane, Toto, and Tex. Jane is the current national champion for competitive rock climbing. She normally doesn't teach new climbers except when friends are in town. Vanessa was a world traveler who worked for a non-profit that did work related to the tsunami. She's been all over the world and was happy to be settled down in Railay for 2 quiet months. James was a 40-something world traveler with a colorful past. I believed most his stories, especially the ones involving binges on drugs and alcohol, but the story of his past as an investment banker was a bit in question. We naturally gravitated towards them because of their personalities and great conversation. Vanessa and James had met Jane the previous month and had climbed twice before with her, so we were lucky to join up with them today. Jane is a real sweetheart and was very helpful and enthusiastic about the day ahead. Toto was another Hot Rocks instructor who also happened to be Jane's boyfriend for the last 8 years. Tex was a small chiseled guy wearing a variety of tattoos and an infectious smile. We had seen him the day before at Phra Nang with Vanessa, Scarlet, Stewart, and James. He was crawling across a horizontal overhang....upside down with hands and feet glued to the ceiling like a gecko! He's incredibly soft-spoken, but is a real joker and ladies man. He's even got a few mesmerizing magic tricks up his sleeve. While climbing, Tex would yell words of encouragement and advice, but often his advice was in the form of a deceptively innocent metaphor between 'the rock' and 'the woman'. Tex should have his own T-shirt on 'the rock' and 'the woman' -- similar to the ones stating 10 reasons why a beer is better than a woman. Vanessa at one point was clinging on with all her effort, only to lose all concentration from one of Tex's ambiguous comments, sending us all into laughter. Unfortunately the ambiguous comparisons of the rock and the woman are a bit too racy for this blog.
One by one, we climbed up a 30 meter route on the 1,2,3 wall at the South end of Railay West. It's a really popular beginner's wall that has a small pocket at the top where you can sit and enjoy the views. I was surprised we all made it up, from the ground, it was very intimidating. After the third climb at 1,2,3 we were drenched in sweat and our hands & forearms ached. We skirted the cliffs up into the jungle for our second set of climbs for the day. We fell silent as Vanessa attempted her first lead climb up a very difficult section. We all let out sighs of relief as she made it to the top. Lead climbing is an advanced skill due to the risk of injury and added task of clipping in. In lead climbing, there is no rope above you to immediately slow your decent if you fall. You instead clip in the rope to existing anchors on the face of the rock as you climb, exposing you to nasty cuts and bruises if you fall the 5-10 feet to the next anchor you've clipped into. We all had our grips give out on some of these routes, which were rated 6a and one 6b. After short rests, we all resumed climbing and eventually conquered the routes. We got to see Jane and Toto climb a few routes and they made it look incredibly easy. Each move was deliberate and they seemed to flow up the rock. I was still feeling pretty good after my 3rd climb and was doing really well so Toto climbed up a fourth route and set up the rope for me. It was the 6b route, which is an upper-intermediate difficulty on a scale of 4-8. At about 18 meters up, there was an overhang with no solid foot or hand holds and the pitch of the rock forced you to lean out backwards, further straining your grip and footholds. All I could do was 'palm' and pinch a few minuscule grips. After 2 failed attempts, I tried a few different moves and was able to slowly inch my way up and on top of the overhang. Even with fingers and calves on fire, the adrenalin and feeling of accomplishment rocketed me up the final 8 meters. It was an awesome climb and I returned to Earth met with high fives and big smiles. Chris mentioned to Jane that he'd like to spend a month here with her learning to climb and getting back in shape. Jane thought he was goofing around but after 3 days here, I knew he was serious. If I had the opportunity, I'd jump at the chance.
We were dead tired after climbing and the associated adrenalin high, so we got some lunch at a beach side restaurant and chilled at the resort pool.
Not long into our relaxing soak, a familiar face appeared. It was Jeffery Carter! After 2 months in South America & the Galapagos, he still had it in him to take a last-minute flight out to join us for a month. Jeff recently was awarded "teacher of the year" at Folsom High School, the same school we all went to. Thanks to the economy, Jeff not only received the standard summer pink slip, but had to deal with the reality that there might not be a budget for his art teaching position the next year. He had to decide that summer if he wanted to substitute teach 1day per week over the summer or extend his travels into Thailand. It was an easy decision. Mike and I had a double and single bed in our room, so Jeff joined us. With Jeff's enthusiasm sparking new life into us, we gave him the Railay royal treatment. That night at Chok Dee's we added Jeff's drum skills into the mix, so it got a little crazy.

6-24 Railay Day 3

Today we planned to explore a new part of Railay called Phra Nang (Princess). The walk to Phra Nang is a 1/8 mile path along the base of a limestone tower which is like walking through a cave due to the overhangs at the base. Off to the side of the pathway are several short passages going in & out of the face of the rock. We were walking under a huge overhang that was covered in stalactites. Some hang so low into the path that they are marked in red cloth so you don't smash your face into them at night. We arrived at a gorgeous strip of beach facing South toward limestone islands jutting out of the sea. Off to the left was a sacred cave filled with a shrine with hundreds of wooden phallic symbols. Supposedly a Thai princess drowned on this beach long ago and now by paying tribute, you can receive a blessing of fertility. We swam 100 meters along a rocky shoreline and climbed up a razor sharp rock slope to a 10 meter cliff jump. If Matt Martin's speedo doesn't attract the attention of the myriad of beautiful ladies on the beach, maybe flirting with danger would help. On the beach sat 3 cute ladies with two hippie-type older guys. Judging by their tans, hair, and clothes, they've been on Railay for quite some time. We noticed them watching us from time to time. We would later learn that their smiling and giggles were not fueled by my boyish good looks, but rather a debate on whether we were gay or not. Special thanks should be given to Matt's speedo and Chris rubbing his furry chest while making his signature Chewbacca mating calls. This beach was by far the nicest of the 4 beaches at Railay. We were though, hounded by two sweet old Thai ladies wanting to sell us a massage and some of their street food. We gave in and got some cold Changs, egg rolls, and chicken skewers. With nothing but an improvised hibachi grill fueled by coconut shells, she reheated our lunch. After a good slathering in sweet chili sauce, we feasted. It was delicious but we all feared our stomachs would pay the price later. There were official signs posted with the image of the very street food vendor we bought our lunch from....with big red circle and cross through it! Was it trying to discourage beach vendors from annoying tourists, or was the food not safe to eat? We feared what it might mean. After the tasty meal, Chris and Matt gave into the ladies once again and agreed to a massage. I felt a bit left out and decided to get a tatoo. I reluctantly passed up the "NO FEAR" and Hello-Kitty tats and settled on the most machismo tat offered. I talked him down from $25 to $4. What a deal for a tatoo! Now on my back is the image of my Cinderella. One day she will be mine. It may take a few trips to some biker bars, but I'll find her.
As we were playing frisbee, a guy walked in front of me. He looked strangely familiar, but I didn't know where. Without thinking, I said hello. "Matt, is that you?", he replied. As it turns out, it was Mike Stitt. He was a sophmore Fiji when I was a freshman at college. We lived together for 2 years. He looks a bit different now so I didn't quite recognize him. He's been traveling 8 months now, working in Australia and wandering on his own. What a small world!

It had rained heavily for an hour early that morning so initially were weary of attempting the 90min trek to the "secret lagoon". After a beer and hearty lunch we felt like we could tackle anything, so off we went in search of the trail head. We laced up our shoes and Matt read aloud from an old faded wooden sign of caution. It basically said that the trail was very dangerous and there are "several vertical drops to traverse which could result in injury or death, especially after a rain". You know you're in for some adventure when you see a 'danger' sign in Thailand! The trail to the lagoon was no trail at all. It made the monkey trail to Tonsai beach feel like child's play. Many sections were a spider's web of roots and slippery rocks. Looking up the 65-85 degree trail, all you can see is a stair step of jagged rock. On the side of the trail was the occasional flip flop that had died a horrible death, shredded to pieces on the the razor sharp rocks. There was a small group of people following behind us but the path was otherwise deserted. This was no doubt due to the danger involved with the slick rocks and mud. Shoes were an absolute requirement and this was a flip flop town Where there wasn't a knotted rope available to pull yourself up the slick muddy slope, you were climbing up muddy boulders on your hands and feet. After 15min of slow going, we hit a ridge with a fork in the path. We headed left into thick jungle and within a minute we were at a small opening in the forest, which was the edge of a 200 foot tall cliff. From the edge, you could see all of Railay's Eastern shore, Western shore and surrounding cliffs to the North. We finally had a good perspective of the small size, yet incredible beauty of this place. Minutes later we were back to the fork and headed down a slippery mud slope, grasping at ropes and vines to slow our descent. Ahead we saw the group that had initially been behind us. They were scraped, muddied, and looking very serious. We had now descended into a very narrow crevasse between two limestone towers, reaching 200 feet above us. The crevasse measured just 5 meters across and we were not sure how far down it went. Thick jungle canopy above us blocked out most of the sun. All we could focus on was a multi-tiered trail of slick rock below. Over the course of 30min we traversed 3 vertical drops, ranging 3-5 meters with jagged rock below. It took all our strength and nerve to grip the rope, which was now caked in slimy mud. With a death-grip on the slimy rope, we lowered ourselves over the side of the cliffs and carefully climbed down to a series of lower levels. We were all relieved to make it to the lagoon uninjured. 50 meter high cliffs surrounded a small, shallow pool with muddy banks. Along the face of one wall was a series a natural shelves in the rock face. Dozens of heads made from the mud were on display. Some were funny, some spooky and evil looking. They were of all shapes and sizes. It was quite an unexpected site to see. The thought of making our own contribution to the wall of art arose, but everyone was just happy to rest and enjoy the view. After a short rest we made the perilous journey back to our rooms. We were tired and covered in mud, but our spirits were high.