Bangkok,
Thailand
Friday, April 8, 2005
we spent a few days on ton sai beach near krabi (with beautiful rai leh around the bend), doing a whole lot of enjoyable nothing. i also took a 1-day rock-climbing 'course' which was a lot of fun. i took a 3-day course once long ago (back in high school) but had forgotten almost everything since then, so trying it again was great. i think this time around, the climbs were more challenging too, as the instructor just threw me in the deep end (sort of) since i was the only one of the group who hadn't done the half day course the day before. i ended up liking that in the end - less talk, more climbing! out of all the sports i have ever engaged in (and i've tried a lot in my time - even curling! :)), i'd have to say that rock-climbing is one of the most physically demanding ones, but incredibly rewarding. both ton sai and rai leh are rock-climbing meccas so it seems like almost everyone there is there to climb. i'd like to return some day to do just that for an extended period of time. the natural beauty of the area is incredible (nothing like clinging on to a cliff while the sea is spread out below you..), some nice views, and there are rock faces suitable for all levels.
the krabi beaches were all hit by the tsunami (some worse than others) and like the others ones we've hit, they are all a lot quieter than normal right now.
now we are in in bangkok to cheaply accumulate some of my guilty pleasures: clothes, shoes and haircuts!
jessica's mom is arriving on saturday night (to spend several weeks travelling with jess) and the following day, we will be hitting the huge chatuchak market on sunday. on monday, jess and her mom head north to chiang mai while i head to nearby ayuthaya to visit the ancient temples. then on tuesday night, i fly back to toronto...
