Round up of climbing in Thailand and Laos

After a year of climbing an average of once a month, Anja and I took the opportunity to spend December and Christmas exploring some of what Thailand and Laos have to offer in terms of sport climbing and bouldering. The plan was this:
1) Fly into Phuket and catch a boat to the island of Phi Phi for a gentle introduction back into climbing routes.
2) Go over to Tonsai form Phi Phi and get crushing around the Railay peninsular.
3) Head north to Vang Vieng, Laos stopping at the bouldering paradise of Koh Tao on the way.

Part 1: Phi Phi Island.

Diving and partying. . . oh yes, almost forgot climbing. As you sail around the coast of Phi Phi island into Tonsai town you are reminded of the volume of climbing potential here in Thailand. On this island alone is just wall after wall of fantastically formed limestone. Most of it remains difficult to access and hence undeveloped and the most popular wall here is Tonsai Tower which is at the end of the south beach. This is the wall where we spent out 3 days as we got out head back on it and our fitness level up some, sampling the delights of the wall's starred routes.

Part 2: Railay Peninsular

 

DWS AROUND TONSAI

Coming to Tonsai from Phi Phi just made the place seem even more special. We were impressed with Phi Phi to be honest but the climbing on Railay is just so incredible and extensive it throws you; where do you begin? Well we went from Tonsai Beach where we were staying and walked across to Mui Thai wall, Railay East. A 6 a.m. Indonesian style approach meant we missed the crowds but also meant we were too early for breakfast. Plenty of good climbing though. The rest of the holiday continued in that vein and we met a good bunch of people to climb with and even had a DWS trip out. Now the only problem is I can't wait to get back there and sample some more. We had a week there when most people you chat to are staying for at least a month. 

Almayer's Folly - Joseph Conrad

I found Conrad, as I think a few of my generation must have done, through the film Appocolypse Now, which based on the novel Heart of Darkness. The film is really moving and quite disturbing and the book opened a new world to me. Not only do I find Conrad's ability to reach vivid realist descriptions and to firmly imprint images on ones mind just astounding but in doing so he somehow maintains the momentum and pace in the writing and keeps ones interest in the prose.

 

JOSEPH CONRAD

 

Published in 1895, Almayer's Folly is set on the Malayan island of Borneo during the 19th century with the backdrop of Dutch colonialism and pioneering explorers setting out to make money from the rich resources of these tropical lands. It's a great setting and the book is written at a time when few people lived in this part of the world and few Europeans had any idea about what it might be like. One can assume that Conrad wrote his book with the knowledge that those reading would almost certainly not not have sampled first hand the tropics or moreover the Malay archipelago. Perhaps this is one driving factor behind the rich imagery that he builds up; he wants people to be able to experience what he has so obviously seen, heard, smelled first hand and he achieves this wonderfully.

Being here in Indonesia, a nation that today shares the island of Borneo and therefore vistas as well as aspects of culture, allows me to read the book with knowledge of the places and and having met people like those described in the novella. Reading the book when you have this knowledge of the people here, of the landscapes, of the villages you realise just how exact the descriptions in the book are.

Every time you pick up the book it involves you and moves you to such a depth. You watch the story unfold before your eyes, unconscious of everything else and when you awake it is as if from a dream. While it isn't a page turner in the traditional sense, Conrad does keep you hungry for more. Style aside. The story itself: tragedy in human endeavor and the plight of the dreamer unable to realise one single ambition. The main protagonist finds himself thrust into a world to which he is not suited and manages to undo everything that has been done for him. Driven by intense motivation but contrantly thwarted by the obstacle of his own lack of a clue as to how to put it into action, the story describes him as he loses every single thing he has.