Christmas in Thailand

Thais Like it Hot

This winter I decided to spend Christmas in Thailand. I was looking for a place where rock climbing could be mixed with some other activity (such as snorkeling) in a comfortable climate where food and accommodation were cheap. Some friends had gone there the year before and had good things to say about the climbing there. I started looking for information in mid-November. I located the Adventurous Traveler Bookstore by browsing the Internet and was able to order the book 'Thailande Escalades' by entering the appropriate information, including my credit card number, on their on-line order form. I also ordered two guidebooks for climbing in southern Spain as this area looked promising as well. The books arrived just a few days later.

One look at the pictures in the climbing guide for Thailand told me it would be the place. Color photographs showed climbers on limestone cliffs overhanging white sand beaches and turquoise seas. The climbing takes place in the southwestern part of the country, in an area where the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' was filmed. Most of the climbing takes place on the peninsula of Phra Nang, south-west of the port city of Krabi in the province of Krabi. There are no roads to Phra Nang, access is by a short boat ride from Krabi to the east or Ao Nang to the west. More picturesque but less popular for climbing is the island of Phi Phi Doon and its uninhabited southern neighbor Phi Phi Ley. Phi Phi Doon is accessed by ferry from Krabi, Ao Nang/Phra Nang or Phuket.

There are only three climbing guides to Thailand to my knowledge, and one of them can only be purchased from the Phra Nang Climbers shop in Phra Nang. The book 'Exotic Rock", which can also be obtained through ATB, contains a small section on Thailand. Truth is, once you get there, you will not need a guide. A pencil, a piece of paper and five minutes in front of the bulletin board at the Phra Nang Climbers shop (in Phra Nang of course) or Mama's Restaurant on Koh Phi Phi are all that are needed. These same bulletin boards were also good places to locate equipment and climbing partners.

Getting There

In order to get cheap airfare you can't travel between December 15th and January 15th. I was able to get a ticket for $812 round trip San Diego-Bangkok departing December 11th and returning January 16th. This involved following up on all the cheap tickets advertised in the travel section of the Sunday paper. After some time I was finally able to locate an agent who could actually sell a ticket for the fare advertised. Anabel thought this sounded like a good idea as well and decided to accompany me. We packed very little besides snorkeling and rock climbing gear. For me that was a pair of sandals, two t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, one pair of jeans and a sweat shirt. No jackets, no rain coats, no shoes or socks. Our flight was on EVA, a Taiwanese carrier. We were among the few Caucasians on the fully loaded 747 out of LAX. After countless meals and movies we landed in Taipei, where we spent the night. We were herded about along with a hundred or so other transit passengers, in the process exchanging our passports for a shuttle pass, the shuttle pass for a hotel room key, the hotel room key for a meal ticket for breakfast and another shuttle pass until we finally were given our passports back before boarding the plane for Bangkok the next morning.

A visa for a 30 day stay can be obtained on arrival in Thailand. There are two methods for handling longer stays; apply for a visa from the Thai embassy before going or apply for an extension once you are there. Obtaining a visa from the Thai embassy in LA involved sending them a self-addressed, stamped envelope so that they could send me back the visa application, then sending the application along with 2 photos, my passport and a money order for $15 to the Thai embassy and waiting 2 weeks to get the passport back. As I only had a week I opted for option two. I suppose I could have driven to LA, dropped off the application, photos and passport and returned the next day to pick them up, as they suggested, but in fact it only costs $20 and an hour of time to extend the visa for another 30 days. This was the route taken by all of the long term climbers I met in Phra Nang. A visa extension can be conveniently procured in the nearby town of Krabi.

Bangkok

View of traffic on the Chao Phrya river from Wat Arun

We actually landed in Bangkok on the 13th, having lost a day to the international date line. On the advice of the Lonely Planet guide we decided to try to reach the cheap guest houses on Khao San Road on the public bus. It took us three hours to get to Khao San Road from the airport on the #59 bus in the middle of the day. I'm sure we did something wrong, like catch the bus going the wrong way, as we spent a good hour up at the northern bus terminal. We never wanted to get on another city bus again. We made it to Khao San Road, a mecca for young travelers, and installed ourselves in a restaurant for a beer. We ended up passing several hours there talking with a variety of people, studying the Lonely Planet guide, eating Thai food and drinking Thai beer. Based on what we learned we decided to head for a guest house about 1 km west of where we were, close to the Chao Phrya river on Phra Athit road. We found a room in the Apple Guest house, which was hidden so far up a long narrow alley you had to have real faith to keep going in order to find it. A double was 120 baht (~$5)/night and came with a fan and no bugs.

We spent the next day doing the quickie tour and learning the ins and outs of using the river boats to travel as road traffic is at a standstill for most of the time in Bangkok. For about $0.25 you can take a river boat just about anywhere you would care to go. Give the floating market a miss, it's for tourists only these days.

Phra Nang

Ton Sai Beach from the Thaiwand Wall

Climbers on 'The King and I', Thaiwand Wall

Rapping into the boat off 'Orange Chandeliers', 6B, Ao Nang Tower

Stepping onto the stalactite on 'Humanity' 6B+, Ton Sai

Trevor rapping off the Fire Wall

Happy Island from the Fire Wall

Thaiwand Wall Stalactite

One day in Bangkok was enough and we shipped out on the overnight bus to Krabi that evening. The bus carried us and 40 some odd other foreigners from Khao San Road to Surat Thani departing at 6 PM and arriving at 6 AM. The air conditioning on these buses either doesn't work, as was the case on the trip down, or freezes you to death, as was the case on the trip back 5 weeks later. From Surat Thani we split up and those of us continuing on to Krabi were put in a minivan for 4 hours. Arriving in Krabi we took a long-tailed boat over to Phra Nang after being sold two nights accommodation for 800 Baht, much more than I had hoped to spend. We were told that we risked not finding a vacant bungalow if we didn't reserve in advance. I was skeptical but didn't want to take the risk of being wrong so I went for it. As it turns out I saw many cases of people arriving and not being able to find a bungalow during my 3 1/2 weeks at Phra Nang. We were able to move into a bungalow for 200 Baht/night ($8) a few days later. Those in the know just head straight for the Ton Sai Bungalows where the hard core climbers hang out for just 80 Baht/night. The downside of this option is the steep walk through the jungle at high tide to get to the easy climbs on the rest of the peninsula.

The climbing scene at Phra Nang is BIG. Lots of climbers come from all over the world and stay for months on end to climb wildly overhanging limestone dripping with stalactites. Within hours of arriving we had already seen the three climbing shops and were climbing at the most accessible area, just 100 yards down the beach from our bungalow. We joined the crowd at the Muai Thai and 1-2-3 climbing areas whose routes are popular with beginners and are used by the local climbing guides for instruction. Anabel was able to get her start in lead climbing at this area, tackling all the 5s in one day. In 3 1/2 weeks I climbed with numerous partners in most of the climbing areas in Phra Nang. No area was more than 30 minutes walk from the bungalow. The tides and exposure to the sun dictated when and where to climb. Some areas needed a low tide in the afternoon to be both accessible and in the shade, others needed the low tide in the morning. I on sighted routes ranging from 5 to 7A+, attempted up to 7C, fell on 6B+, dogged 6Cs, took a 25 footer on a 6C+ when a hold broke pulling over the roof. I chimneyed and monkeyed up stalactites and pulled pockets on roofs and slabs. I rapped into space off double 60 meter ropes and, in taking myself off rappel, saw my ATC fall 300 feet into the sea, only to get it back almost a week later from Trevor, one of my climbing partners, who had found it on his morning snorkel. I had several 50 meter free rappels into boats and the subsequent dripping wet ropes.

I got to spend a part of December 23rd and all of Christmas day climbing with Mike Gardner from San Diego who was on vacation with his family. Together we tackled 'The Best Little Climb in Minnesota', a 6C that is entirely inside a large cave. Mike taught me the advantages of a good belay stance when he fell on the first bolt of a tough 6C+ called 'Chicken Head'. I found myself with my feet off the ground and my back against the razor sharp rocks that one finds at the base of all climbs that start off the beach. My thighs took the brunt of the punishment and I'll bear the scars for life. Mike stuck it out and completed the route and then patiently allowed me to dog it. Mike left me with a copy of the local climbing guide, which I hadn't shelled out the 250 baht ($10) to purchase yet, and his belay device, as mine was still lying, unfound, in the sea under the Thaiwand area.

There was enough climbing in Phra Nang to stay busy for months. New routes were going up and old ones were being rebolted constantly. Two new areas were being developed on the far left end of Ton Sai beach. The Fire Wall has clean smooth orange-red slab bolted with a mix of 6s and 7s and the Melting Wall has pocketed gray-white rock dripping with stalactites and several moderate routes. The view of Phra Nang on the other side of the bay and the afternoon shade will make the climbs on these walls very popular. The Keep is another area not yet in the guide that is worth seeking out. Bring your 60 meter rope!

During our time on Phra Nang we made several trips to the outer islands to snorkel as the visibility near the mainland was poor. We saw Leopard and Black-tipped Reef sharks, sea snakes and countless trigger, parrot, butterfly, what-have-you fish. The Andaman Sea is alive with colorful fish. I made several long swims with mask and snorkel to burn off some excess calories, swimming from one beach to another around the peninsula. Others opted to take morning or evening runs along West Raily beach, running from end to end till they had had their fill.

Koh Phi Phi

Anabel on 'Le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or', 6B, Koh Phi Phi Ley

Hangin' onto the Ton Sai Tower

Hin Taak beach party

Blandine Lemaire on the Monkey Head

Eric Everson on the Monkey Head

After New Years Day we made the tough move to Koh Phi Phi, tough because you become comfortable where you are and with the people you're hanging around with. We packed up and caught the 9 AM ferry to Koh Phi Phi on January 6th and docked at Koh Phi Phi at 10:30 AM. Within minutes I had stumbled upon my next climbing partner, Eric from Boulder, Colorado. He was sitting on a lounge chair looking out at Ton Sai Bay with his big Nikon camera. One look at his forearms told me what he did for fun. He pointed out the way to the 200 Baht/night bungalows and we agreed to talk that evening. After a tour down the beach and up through town I jumped into the water for a snorkel. The coral and fish in Ton Sai Bay were fantastic. I walked for about 20 minutes along the west side of the bay, passing a troop of monkeys scouring the rocks at low tide, and made my way out over the reef. I snorkeled down to the Hin Taak climbing area where I saw the local guide, a Frenchman named Michel from Haute Savoie, with four clients. I knew who he was without ever meeting him as the downtown area was plastered with his advertisements. I was to bump into Michel every day of our stay on Koh Phi Phi, small place. Michel installs himself in Mama's restaurant every evening between 7 and 8 PM and uses this location to meet his clients and discuss climbing (among other topics) with anyone willing to sit with him. Hanging on the wall in the back of the restaurant are topos for all the routes on Koh Phi Phi, for those arriving without the guidebook.

We met Tina, from Heidelberg, at Bird Thai Food, a small restaurant off the main drag. She was alone on Koh Phi Phi and asked to sit with us at our table. We listened to the sad story of how the boyfriend she once had in Germany, who was now living and working in Bangkok, had fallen for one of the local women. Tina was on her second trip to Thailand to see if there was anything left of her relationship and had just concluded there wasn't. We traded some of our sad stories, notably Eric's observation that in Alaska you didn't lose your girlfriend, you just lost your turn. Eric, Tina, Anabel and myself were to move as a group for the rest of our stay on the island.

Eric and I started out with a trip to Phi Phi Leh, the uninhabited island to the south of Phi Phi Doon, where we were staying. 700 Baht ($28) got us a boat for 7 hours. Anabel joined us as a videotographer and belay slave. Eric's main interest was to take photos for an article he was planning to write for Climbing magazine when he got back. We climbed several routes at the Pileh and Maya Bay areas, Eric got his photos, and then got down to some serious snorkeling spotting more sharks and some large grouper amongst the coral.

The next day we got a late start on a four pitch route up Ton Sai Tower, on the south end of the beach. I found a 1000 Baht ($40) bill under a dead leaf as I thrashed through the jungle on the hike up to the base, having somehow wandered off the main trail. THAT doesn't happen every day! The first pitch was only rated 5 but I found it to be the scariest with lots of loose rock. Rock quality improved with altitude and soon we were laybacking, monkeying and chimneying up clean white and orange limestone ribs and stalactites. Eric went one step further and did the 7A+ that was featured in a cover photo of one of the climbing magazines here in the USA. It was getting late and we had rappelled many times before I found myself hanging 15 feet off the ground and 10 feet from the rock face at the end of my 60 meter rope. Fortunately many others had found themselves in the same predicament and the tree next to me bore the scars of being used as a launch pad for the nearby cliff. Using the tree I was able to swing into the cliff, climb up a bit to release the tension on the rope and take myself off rappel while hanging on to the ends of the rope so that Eric did not suffer the same fate. We did the steep 100' descent to the beach by moonlight.

The Drinking Wall is a new area that is not found in the guide. Its up on the hillside overlooking the coconut groves. You can see it from down on the beach. Eric and I decided to try and get to it one day. We got all the information we could from Michel and from the topo posted at Mama's and headed out. After an hour of mosquito bitten, sweaty thorn scratched searching for the path leading up to the wall we gave up. Two Swedes had headed out to find it before us and they also gave up. The next day we tried again and I stumbled upon the path after another half hour of searching. From the path you could see the restaurant belonging to the Chong Khao bungalows, where we were staying. The path was wide, clear and ran straight up the hill. I don't know why it was so difficult to find. I called to Eric from the path and asked him to fetch the mosquito repellent before coming up. I stayed put in fear of losing the trail that had taken us so long to find. A five minute walk up the hill brought us to the base of a clean, white limestone wall that was in the shade from mid-morning. We did every route on the wall except one. The most notable was an overhanging 6C where I had to chase a tarantula out of the horizontal crack that was to be my next handhold. Eric put the draws up on a technical 6C+ that was probably one of the best climbs we did on Koh Phi Phi. This wall is definitely worth a visit, if you can find the trail. (Hint - try to spot the trail BEFORE thrashing through the jungle)

During our stay on Koh Phi Phi we partied until late, snorkeled mornings and climbed in the afternoon. The heat and humidity of the island made climbing at peak levels difficult. Many evenings were spent playing backgammon and drinking Mekong or SongThip and coke in the Tin Tin bar, named after the Belgian cartoon character. Breakfast was taken at a french bakery that sells pain au chocolat that are still warm from the oven. Dinner was often a rice or noodle dish from one of the innumerable food stalls or from the restaurant at the Chong Khao bungalows, where we were staying. Despite all the eating we did I left weighing less than when I arrived!

The grand finale was a full day boat trip to the Monkey Head, a limestone formation located about 15 minutes by boat from the northern side of the isthmus. We had a full boat that included Blandine, a French climber we had met in Phra Nang. She was on her own on Koh Phi Phi as her boyfriend had left to go hiking in Burma. She had come to the island to take a SCUBA diving course. We started with exploring the sea caves under the Monkey Head formation. I got down to 35 feet on a 65 second dive. I was happy that my ears were finally clearing easily as they had been difficult to clear for most of the trip. I was able to dive to 30 feet many times with no problem but couldn't match my record of 50 feet from almost 13 years before. We ended the day on a four pitch route on the Monkey Head with a 6C crux and a full 50 meter free rappel into the boat. Tina observed and Anabel videoed as Eric, Blandine and myself ambled up. This time it was Eric who dropped his ATC in the sea, only to be recovered a little later by a German snorkeler who happened by. He clipped it onto the carabiner I lowered to him on the end of one rope while Blandine belayed Eric on the other. It was here that we found the rusty bolts that they warn you about back in Phra Nang. Our tactic was just not to fall, and we didn't, so these bolts remain untested.

Back to Bangkok

Our trip back to Bangkok was the reverse of the trip down. We departed Koh Phi Phi at 1 PM, got on the bus at 3 PM and arrived at Khao San Road in Bangkok at 6 AM. We met Tina for breakfast at the Happy Guest House as agreed, she departed with us from Koh Phi Phi on the same ferry but ended up on a different bus line from Krabi to Bangkok. Tina took off to spend a final night with the ex-boyfriend and his Thai lover while Anabel and I marched to the Apple Guest house where we dozed for a few hours before hitting the streets. We made it as far as Lumphini Park where we admired the enormous variety and size of the palm trees in their botanical garden. That evening we hit the bars on Patpong Road and, as it was our last night there, we were prepared to go until the sun came up. Unknown to us the US government had put some pressure on the Thais and all the bars closed at 1 AM. We were told that this had been going on for about a month. We ended the night, sadly, at the big McDonalds on Silom Road before taking a tuk-tuk back to our guest house. The trip to the airport the next day was aided by information imparted to us by two veterans we met at the guest house. They told us how to get to the airport using the taxi boat and the train, two means of transportation immune to traffic snarls. The boat stopped on the Khlong (canal) Banglamphu which passes under Chakkraphong Road only 100 meters from the guest house. The boat dropped us off within 50 meters of the Hualamphong train station. From there its a straight shot north to Don Mueng station where the train deposits you just across the street from the airport. The whole trip took 1 1/2 hours and cost only 10 Baht ($0.40), much better than the #59 bus.

And home again

We flew EVA from Bangkok to LAX with a two hour layover in Taipei, departing Thailand on the 16th of January at 6 PM and arriving in LAX at 8 PM the same day. Anabel had a nasty time getting through immigration, not the first time for her, and I had some nasty words with one of the immigration officials. Anabel disappeared into secondary as I was escorted out of primary by an immigration official and a representative from EVA, the airline that dared to bring us to American soil. About 45 minutes later, as I waited patiently in the hallway outside the baggage inspection area, I was surprised to see the immigration official who had given Anabel (and myself) such a hard time come out to apologize, let me use her personal cellular phone to call San Diego, and escort us to the American Airlines terminal where we would catch the shuttle to San Diego. I guess my threats to write a formal complaint letter struck home. Anabel's sin was to not bring the ticket for her return flight to Switzerland along with her to Thailand, something I advised her not to do for fear of losing the ticket. In all my travels I have never seen people treated as harshly by immigration officials as I have here in the USA. A distant second place goes to the Moroccan border officials, but that's another story.

We had a great time climbing and snorkeling in Thailand. The people there are easy going and don't give you hassles, the food and accommodation are cheap. The beaches are covered with scantily clad European babes and hunks during the day and the bars are packed with better dressed versions of the same at night. The climate is mild, not too hot or too cold, the water perfect for swimming. We needed to cover ourselves with a sheet some nights. Mosquitoes attack at sunset and during the day in cool damp places so be prepared, a mosquito net is a must and is provided along with the bungalow. The 5 week trip cost me about $1600 including airfare and would have been much less if I didn't like Singha so much! There is never a problem finding a climbing partner if you have a rope and draws. Get down there if you haven't been.