Merry Christmas from Thailand
......where I am sitting in the internet cafe looking out over sparkling blue sea, shading from the midday heat. We hear it's a little cold and damp in the UK at the moment! Paradise has a cost of course and I have given up on trying to download any photos over the very slow connection after a few frustrating attempts. Also there are giant ants crawling all over the PC.
Thanks for the animal stories in the comments - am pleased to report that since the last update a rat on the bathroom wall is the worst it has been. We met a girl at the crag the other day who found a cobra in her bathroom so guess we have been quite lucky!
Have been back climbing today after a rest day yesterday. One day of rest doesn't really seem enough at the moment - at the end of the climbing day you feel like you've been wrestling a bear - in a sauna. The climbing is so physical it is really a whole body effort, in fact the legs seem to be taking a lot of the punishment! After a couple of weeks I felt brave enough for my first lead here - also my first 7a - most of the easier climbs are horribly polished and I find it easier to pull on steep jugs than trying to smear on glassy rock. I've now started work top-roping the next route - Babes in Thailand 7a - which seemed impossible at first, but which I am only falling off in one spot now. Think it would be really scary to lead though so not sure about this..... The climbing on the beach is all hard - the only route under 7a in the bit we have been in is a 6c where you have to climb up to a ledge and then facing outwards fall forwards to catch a stalagtite hanging two metres clear of the face.... Watched a korean guy up on the ledge for over half an hour trying to psyche himself up for it. Not rushing to get on that one!
Iain ticked Elephant - 8a - after a rest day allowed everything to come together and is now working on another 8a, Sexpower which seems significantly harder but I think he's getting there - maybe in time for Christmas! We are both noticing that we're becoming a bit "acclimatised" to the conditions in that we don't seem to be sweating quite so much on routes. I decided to redress the balance yesterday morning by going for a run before breakfast which was quite extreme!
Yesterday we went on an organised snorkelling trip around the local islands. We chose a bad day to do it - it was grey and windy and the sea was really a bit choppy for swimming - getting back in the boat and keeping your head above the waves when surfacing was really quite hard. Although the water was really warm after each swim we were getting increasingly cold, sitting in an open boat in your bikini in squally conditions is not too much fun. We were then dumped shivering on a beach on a deserted island with a load of strangers while the guys went back to the mainland to collect dinner - seafood curry on the beach after dark while enormous bats flew from the cliffs overhead. After dark the sea is full of phosphorence which is pretty cool. We saw some nice fish and corals and am quite keen to go back in better weather.
Thanks for the animal stories in the comments - am pleased to report that since the last update a rat on the bathroom wall is the worst it has been. We met a girl at the crag the other day who found a cobra in her bathroom so guess we have been quite lucky!
Have been back climbing today after a rest day yesterday. One day of rest doesn't really seem enough at the moment - at the end of the climbing day you feel like you've been wrestling a bear - in a sauna. The climbing is so physical it is really a whole body effort, in fact the legs seem to be taking a lot of the punishment! After a couple of weeks I felt brave enough for my first lead here - also my first 7a - most of the easier climbs are horribly polished and I find it easier to pull on steep jugs than trying to smear on glassy rock. I've now started work top-roping the next route - Babes in Thailand 7a - which seemed impossible at first, but which I am only falling off in one spot now. Think it would be really scary to lead though so not sure about this..... The climbing on the beach is all hard - the only route under 7a in the bit we have been in is a 6c where you have to climb up to a ledge and then facing outwards fall forwards to catch a stalagtite hanging two metres clear of the face.... Watched a korean guy up on the ledge for over half an hour trying to psyche himself up for it. Not rushing to get on that one!
Iain ticked Elephant - 8a - after a rest day allowed everything to come together and is now working on another 8a, Sexpower which seems significantly harder but I think he's getting there - maybe in time for Christmas! We are both noticing that we're becoming a bit "acclimatised" to the conditions in that we don't seem to be sweating quite so much on routes. I decided to redress the balance yesterday morning by going for a run before breakfast which was quite extreme!
Yesterday we went on an organised snorkelling trip around the local islands. We chose a bad day to do it - it was grey and windy and the sea was really a bit choppy for swimming - getting back in the boat and keeping your head above the waves when surfacing was really quite hard. Although the water was really warm after each swim we were getting increasingly cold, sitting in an open boat in your bikini in squally conditions is not too much fun. We were then dumped shivering on a beach on a deserted island with a load of strangers while the guys went back to the mainland to collect dinner - seafood curry on the beach after dark while enormous bats flew from the cliffs overhead. After dark the sea is full of phosphorence which is pretty cool. We saw some nice fish and corals and am quite keen to go back in better weather.
posted by Gill at
10:53 PM
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