A climber's Odyssey
By Hamish Brown
I'm 110m high above a golden beach looking out over the Andaman Sea knowing that this is my last climb before I have to fly back home. Looking back on my two months in Thailand I've met some interesting people and done some amazing climbing, maybe this is the best climbing spot in the world?
I step off the boat in Railay and two friends of mine from New Zealand, Joe and Amy, who have already been climbing here for 4 weeks prior to my arrival, greet me. They will be my climbing partners for the next two months. Even though I've been traveling for two days and I'm lacking sleep I can't wait to get my harness on so I can start exploring. After dumping my gear in my room (by room I mean a bamboo thatched hut in the jungle that looks like something out of survivor) I head strait for the Ton Sai wall located on the Ton Sai beach which offers a nice selection of overhangs and some easy 6a+ right though to technical 7c+. I choose a nice looking 7a+ called Riesenbaby to start on, it turns out to be a lot harder than it looks and I spend the rest of the afternoon trying to make a clean ascent of the climb.
On my second week in Thailand we head over too Krabi and catch a boat to Phi Phi Island, which is half way between the Krabi Coast and Ko Phuket. My first impression of the island is that it's a lot more of a mainstream destination than Railay, this turns out to be true when we head to the main beach and see that it's lined with topless sunbathers. Even before I get a chance to admire the view I'm approached by a local who offers me drugs - I politely decline - only to be approached by another local 15mins later. After two days of exploring the island and getting my quota of pirated DVD's we decide it's time to get some climbing done so we head over to the main cliffs on the island. The routes here don't see as much traffic as the other areas in Thailand, and on my second climb as I lean back to re-chalk my hand, the rock I'm holding onto comes free from the wall (I've taken a lot of lead falls before but this would have to be the worst because not only am I four metres above my last draw I'm also holding a large rock in my hand) as I start to fall down past my quick draw I can't help but notice that I am now upside down and the rock has left my hand. I open my eyes, I'm still upside down but not falling anymore, I can hear Joe asking if I'm ok, I re-right myself, do a damage inspection and then finish chalking my hands and the climb. We spend the next two days working our way through the routes that Phi Phi has to offer before heading back to the mainland.
Back in Krabi we head to Railay, this small resort town is surrounded by steep limestone cliffs that have something for everyone - overhangs, multi-pitches and stalactites that hang down off the cliffs looking like melted candle wax, plus it's only a 10min walk from Ton Sai beach. We head to the 123 wall where all the climbs start about 40m above the sea so they all offer a great view back over East and West Railay. Only a day earlier in the same area a climber from Malaysia took a lead fall. When the rope took his weight the bolt in the rock broke making his total fall about twelve metres, not something I wanted to try so this was always in the back of my mind while climbing. On the way back from the climbs we find out that this wall is affected by the tides so we walk back though chest deep water while the whole time I'm freaking out because earlier Joe had been telling me about all the sea snakes in this area and how poisonous they are.
Two days later we're heading back to Railay, only this time at night, our route across to Railay is though a small jungle trail where I have to try hard to keep my hands to myself - it's not like walking in New Zealand bush where you can grab trees to help yourself, if you grab a tree here you'll be pulling thorns out of your hand for the next hour. The reason we've come to Railay at night is to see a snake show, so for the next two hours we watch as just metres in front of our eyes deadly snakes from all over Asia are controlled by a Thai "snake master" by just moving his legs back and forth. I look on in amazement as he has three snakes in front of him under his leg spell, he grabs a hold of two of them then asks for someone to help him catch the third one, Chris from Auckland (who obviously didn't hear when we were told that a bite from one of these snake will kill you in 20mins and the nearest hospital with anti-venom is an hour away) jumps up on the stage and starts to wave his leg around to mesmerize the snake, then grabs hold of it like he has done it a million times. A cheer goes up from the crowd as the snakes are put back into a bag. The snake master asks for one more volunteer and I find my self being picked out. I step onto the stage hoping that I don't have to catch any poisonous snakes and to my relief they pull out a four metre long carpet python which I know is a constrictor so I don't mind catching this one, but I don't have to do anything, just stand there as they wrap the snake around my body.
I'm 110 metres up, hanging off a cliff and still thinking to my-self, is this the best climbing spot in the world? Can anywhere have as much to offer as Thailand? Ill leave that decision up to you, because I've got a plane to catch.
