Such Great Heights

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Since I am not the biggest fan of great heights (but jumped out of a plane several months ago thanks to the effective persuasion techniques used by Doug and Slattery), I figured I might as well go rock climbing. I mean, I am in a developing country on the opposite side of the globe from home so it must be a good idea, right? Well, it turned out to be a great one even though I am not sure which was more questionable: them letting me climb fully aware that my previous climbing experiences were playgrounds in elementary school and the gates at the local pools OR me not thinking twice about it. From the rush of getting to the top to the views once you are up there to getting both feet back safely on the ground, it was amazing.

When Phil (my English friend who climbed with me) and I signed up for the class, we figured we would do a couple several meter climbs and then maybe one long climb to end the day. Nope. Instead, we had two 25-meter climbs (roughly 80-feet), then abseiled 55 meters into a cave (roughly 180-feet), and after lunch we had three more 25-meter climbs. I have no clue what the French grading system means, but we did two 5A climbs, a 5B, 5C, and 6A (noticeably the hardest and the drizzling didn't help). It was a great workout to say the least. I am not sure if I was sweating so much because of the heat, the physical stress, or the fact that I was literally hanging by a thread. I am definitely going to do this again.

This was all done in the outskirts of Chiang Mai, which is the largest city in northern Thailand. Unlike most large cities, I really enjoyed my time here. While there were the masses of people and cars, it felt a lot more spread out and had a much more friendly vibe. There was much to like. Cheap rooms. Good restaurants. Nice locals. Plenty to do. I did not do any trekking here because I just spent a month in Nepal, but this is a great place for that as well.

I decided to keep heading north and was off to Pai for a couple of days (might as well keep trying to get closer to Burma). Pai is a small and very low key town. Aside from renting a motor bike to see the surrounding areas, searching for waterfalls, checking out the temples, and relaxing, there wasn't much to do, but was exactly what I was looking for.

After that, I decided I was ready to move past Thailand so I was off to Chiang Khong (stalled slightly by some protesters) for a night and then the slow boat into Laos...

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Photos

On My Way to the Top
That speck at the top is yours truly.

View from the Climb
This was when we started.

View from the Climb
This was at the end of the day. The mountain in the distance seemed to look like a volcano erupting. This meant it was time to leave soon. Even though it is the "rainy season," it usually would only rain during dusk.

My Instructor
He heads up before our first climb.

Abseiling
Phil coming down into the cave.

Post-Abseiling
Me and Phil.

Post-Climb
Just a little dirty.

Market in Pai
Machetes? Or maybe a white board to teach your toddler how to spell?

Parking Structure
A little different than parking at The Shrine or PN.

Following a Brit
They drive on the left side of the street in Thailand so I figured I might follow somebody who is used to it to start. This is through the countryside where we hit a dead end (a river was formed the night before) and ran into a couple of Thai guys sporting machetes and shotguns. Luckily, they were friendly.

Looking Down on Pai
The view from Wat Pra That Mae Yen (aka "The Temple with a View").

Pre-Skype
Things have changed a bit.

Red Sky in Pai
The very beginning of my night shots. They do get better.

Thai/Laos Border Crossing
Only the beginning of my time with the Mekong River.