My camera was stolen so no photos- you will just have to believe me or look at Natalie's blog. We have not had wifi for a bit so below are some snippets of events from my time on the thailand beaches.
Thailand is majestic, I'm constantly entranced by my surroundings, easily distracted by the turquoise waters, stunning sunsets, and incredible limestone formations. I can't help but think that these 700 baht/night bungalows will soon be a thing of the past.
A few days ago we took at boat ride out to Ang Thong, which is hands down the most beautiful place I have ever laid my eyes on. This island comes equipped with crazy caves, green lagoons, rock formations erupting in the middle of the ocean, and water that feels like a warm bath. The whole day felt like I was looking at photoshopped backdrops. The surroundings brought me to place of surreal serenity which was abruptly ended by an evening of food poisoning/sickness. I'll spare you the details but I finally found a good use for the hoses in all the bathrooms here. I've been moving at a snail like pace since then, easily exhausted by the simplest movements. We took a boat to the another part of town just to go to the atm and I literally forgot my atm card. My brain is on vacation.
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Falling is digital. My climbing instructions said " climbing is digital, you either fall or climb but there is no in-between. I still have no idea what climbing is digital means but it sounds nice, right? The either climb or fall part struck a chord with me. My default indecisive self can only wrap my brain around this concept theoretically. I'm keenly aware that I either have to let go or keep climbing- but I feel like Ive been really sucking at this. I'm always half holding on to something in my life, plagued with indecision, to afraid to let go or hold on. It is something I have really been consciously trying to work on- but still struggling. To me every decision is "same same". I deliberate until there is equal pros and cons for everything. I have such a hard time seeing the tipping point. This indecision most recently cost me a job that I probably should have fought for. So I'm working on it...trying to teach myself that I either need to climb or fall.
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We are in Tonsai now which is basically a beach and two dirt roads. Most of the places here only have electricity in the evening. I have a feeling this place is run on a few generators. Before I got here I didn't understand why we had to take a boat to another part of town instead of taking a bus there. This was soon cleared up for me once I saw the enormous krast rock providing the backdrop for theses little towns. The cliffs are impenetrable and dwarf everything in the foreground.
We did our first day of climbing in thailand today! I knew I was in trouble when I asked our guide where he learned to climb and his response was I learned english in the JUNGLE! hmm alright, I thought, well that is good to know. I was afraid to ask him anything else for fear that I would then confirm that I could barely communicate with the person who was supposed to be belaying me. The day with the instructor pretty much continued in a borderline unsafe fashion. Then on our way back he kept saying " what happens here finished here" Which Natalie and I pretty much took to mean what happens in vegas stays in vegas. I couldn't exactly tell if it was a language barrier issue or if he was just an asshole. Overall it was still and enjoyable first time out. The rock is smooth but not too much, and even though all the beginning routes are packed full of people it was still so fun and incredible to scale a limestone cliff jutting into the ocean.
