Kristen and I got geared up and followed our group of 7 and 2 guides over to the end of the beach where our guides dropped rope and said "here we climb"..they dropped the rope and soon shimmied up the rock to secure the rope in already secured loops in the rock.
After a brief lesson on how to tie the knot that would secure us into our harness we were off. The other guide also created a pathway and the two guides were open for climbers. I decided to jump in and get the first climb. So with that I put my rock climbing shoes on and got climbing. Feeling like spider man I climbed up the rock.
Rock climbing has a mental component as it feels like you and the rock. You have to calmly reach your arms and legs out, stretching to the limit to reach new grooves or tiny pieces of rock to stand on or hoist your body up. All the while sweating profusely in the heat and having your muscles tremor. You must push yourself onward. Once reaching the top the view was incredible. Looking over the Adaman sea and seeing into the distance the green turquoise waters, long tail boats and limestone rock it was worth the climb.
That was just the first climb. Kristen followed and smoothly made it to the top. Repelling down is half the fun!!
We had three climbs in total while mom cranked her neck to take pictures and cheer us on.
The grande finale was the 30 m climb which is pretty high on the side of a rock. This took about 35 minutes.
I went first and absolutely loved it. Nearing the top of the climb the rock was very flat and had little to grab onto. All the while the Thai guides are yelling from the ground, "your right foot needs to go to the left", "reach more to the right". I personally thought, how can they even see from down there? About 25 metres up, this flat spot was quite the challenge. I looked down once and said "I'm good, I'm done" the guide wouldn't accept that answer and encouraged me to continue. "Ok telsy, take a break. Look around then keep going"
It was a nice excuse to lean back , putting all weight on the rope and trusting the guide. It was a stunning view. Onward and upward, with every last bit of strength I managed to find tiny crevices for my hand and even smaller jagged nooks to stand on. Mental encouragement and voila I reached the top! a sense of pride and accomplishment to reach the top.
Kristen followed and did amazing . Watching from the bottom was unbelievable. There were moments we couldn't see Kristen as she was so high and hiding beyond a tiny ledge.
Meanwhile at the base, the tide was creeping in so that eventually we were standing in knee high water with our packs secured on rocks higher up the rock face.
Watching from the bottom I was both impressed by my girls strength and agility and bravery to make this climb. Odd but I did have total faith in the guide shimmying them up and down at the bottom as he shouted out commands and encouragement. He wanted all his climbers to reach the summit. I was particularly moved emotionally as I watched Chelsey,s determination, speed and agility as she scurried almost effortlessly to the top. Only 5 months since her last surgery and look what she was tackling and conquering!!
The girls loved the climb so much they decided to do the hike to the viewpoint. T was on the fence for this climb but once we reached the spot where they went UP it became obvious T would wait at the bottom! A rope amongst the tree roots and rocks went almost straight up and disappeared into the cliff side. A passerby said only 15 mins up but everyone's perception of time and distance is askew here. The plan was for girls to go explore and mom to head to a yet explored beach where girls would meet T in an hour.
We loved the climb up, it really was treacherous as the signs at the bottom said, however slow and steady we used the rope and the rocks as stairs to the top. The viewpoint really was beautiful as we could see east and west Railay and all the coconut trees In between. The sun was setting but we had a few moments to soak in the view, snap a few pictures and head back down. Downward was most challenging , we switched between going forward and backward as though we were going down a ladder.
While the girls hiked, T walked about 5 mins and rounded the corner to the most spectacular breathtaking beach (phranang beach)with jagged limestone rising from the water, white sand and 2 very distinct odd caves. To the oddest cave tracy went to explore the very absurd shrine. (Described in next day blog). Wishing the girls were with me to see my expression entering the "manly" cave! Ha ha.
I wandered down the beach since low tide allowed for this and waited for the girls. True to their word they were back in 45 mins. With 15 mins to spare. We laughed and took pics at this unusual shrine.
Sunset was beautiful on this beach but heading back we encountered a few bats in the walkway and a monkey or 2.
To our hotel for a BBQ supper which turned out to be drenched in butter and salt. :( During our supper we noticed a commotion a few tables over. We quickly went over to see a man 60ish laying in the sand having toppled off his chair. His wife at his side was shaking. He was momentarily unconscious. Chelsey was there in a flash with 2 others that all turned out to be nurses but no doctors around. A tourist lady appeared with water, another with an epipen while with relief we heard the the 1 st nurse confirm he had a pulse. Standing back I was moved by how it was all the tourists rushing to help while the locals carried on unconcerned. Eventually he sat up and was taken on a golf cart by staff back to his room. ( next day Chelsey spoke with them and he said he had pre existing high BP and really felt he had not eaten properly that day or drank enough). It certainly put all sorts of thoughts in our minds about what would happen should something worse of happened to him or us. :(
We are noticing that not only are these Thai people very, very laid back, but they speak very little English or choose not to and they are not overly willing to be helpful. They are not service oriented and seem to get annoyed or show frustration for any out of the ordinary requests.
Tourists do not chat much or mingle other than with their own. We know immediately if someone is from Canada by their dialect and the use of "sorry". Having encountered so many nationalities on this journey, it is very clear that Canadians are truly, for the most part, a very polite, caring, kind nationality.
There are many smokers everywhere we go. They can smoke anywhere and sadly most just throw their butts wherever. On the flip side, garbage cans are few and far between which would account for so much strewn garbage and very few butt out containers.
Another very full day in the books. With each day comes something unpredictable and a new learning experience. This is not a predictable all inclusive kind of trip but rather we are truly experiencing the culture in Thailand.
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