09 Jan Last Leg In Thailand
Chiang Mai
After my amazing cooking class we had another day or two to kill in the city. Gina had a dentist appointment and there was a climbing event coming up that we wanted to attend.
We stayed one night at Annie’s Hostel and one night at Rose Guesthouse, both of which were okay. 350 and 300B respectively for a private shared room. I wasn’t feeling the temple fever, so we skipped out on the touristy experience of the city, but I did check out several café shops and bars, and we saw quite a bit of live music.
Coffee and a snack at Farm Story House was delicious, but rather expensive. My favorite find was Khan Kae’s Juice Bar. Most fruit smoothies in Chiang Mai are cheap, but this place was health conscious, had delicious combinations, and still had a comparable price to the street stands.
In the evening we checked out Bus Bar, which had been recommended to me by multiple people. It was a nice area by the water and you can sit inside or on top of this old bus. Apparently they have live music, but it was pretty quiet by the time we got there. We also went to a bar called the North Gate Jazz Collective. It’s a tiny place right by (as the name suggests) the north gate to old town. It was completely packed – and for good reason. Bands rotate throughout the night playing jazz classics augmented by solo jams. Thais were killing it on drums, sax, bass, trumpet… It was an awesome experience. I loved it – when great jazz is being made you can’t even really hear what they’re playing, you just feel it. Right down to your soul. And some of them were really feeling it.
I also had a bit of an adventure getting a tarp for the tent. I had decided that this was necessary after the monsoon-like experience in Ban Rak Thai. If I’m going to live in this thing for a month, there is a possibility it will rain at some point. And if my things get wet, they will never get dry again. So it goes.
I asked a local where to buy a tarp and my friend Micka gave me a ride to Chiang Mai Plastic. We arrive and I tentatively walk inside this craft shop with ribbon and foam everywhere. I walk out to the next shop and ask for a tarp (with handy dandy google translate) and he points back to the craft shop. So I go inside and I ask them and they say go inside. So I go to the back of the store and it opens up into this big warehouse area. I ask them and they said to go inside. So I go even further to another warehouse area and ask again, and they sent me back to the middle. I eventually found it, but it was a very unusual feeling being in a shop with no tourist value swimming through this maze of rooms. It felt so alien and yet so normal. So if you need a tarp….
Chiang Mai Rock Fest
Gina had planned on coming to this climbing event with me, but the timing didn’t work out. She needed to head back to Bangkok to catch a flight, so we said our goodbyes and I left early in the morning to catch a bus to Crazy Horse climbing area.
Something called Chiang Mai Rock Fest was being held by the local climbing company Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures (CMRCA). They were cleaning up the climbing area called Crazy Horse. While you could volunteer for free and get free lunch, if you paid for a ticket you also get dinner, drinks, and a viewing of the new Reel Rock movie. Dude, I’ve been wanting to see this and I get to watch it with new friends in Thailand?? Yes!
The clean up was hard work. It wasn’t just trash they were clearing, but also noxious weeds that make you insanely itchy and leaves and debris that had piled up on routes and pathways. In the afternoon you could choose to do an ‘activity’, such as caving, climbing, or zip lining with the CMRCA guides. I decided to just try climbing on my own, so I grabbed my gear and hoped I would find a partner.
I had pitched my tent at Jira’s Homestay just outside the climbing area and there I ran into Patrick, who was also looking for a partner. We headed to Windy Cave, which had a hidden entrance you have to crawl through. There are just two or three routes inside that you have to wear a headlamp to climb! We did this sweet 6a+ and he finished his project 7a.
The dinner event was bigger than I expected. It was a seriously grand affair, with a photo area with CMRCA’s logo in the background, formal tables, a stage…They had a lot of Thai and English speakers come up for speeches, as there are apparently a lot of local government officials involved in keeping this climbing area going. Throughout the night they did raffles for several prizes as well, ranging from t-shirts to hot air balloon rides. I didn’t win anything or I would be a lot more excited.
Then comes the movie!!! The moment I’ve all been waiting for!!! Reel Rock 12 was everything I had hoped it could be. The Chris Sharma movie was more of the same – serious and full of ‘Tsaaaaa!!!’s. Margot nearly made me cry, the one about disabilities and Gobright were hilarious and touching. The free rum may have contributed to the extreme emotional response, but I was so glad I got to see these in this environment: a climbing area with new friends (and old friends from Tonsai) and climbing partners.
Crazy Horse
After stealing a bunch of free rum and open Coca Cola bottles, you would think I had partied late into the night…but I had climbing to do! I had met Neta the previous day and we went to another cave called Anxiety State Crisis to do some easier 5 and 6a routes. Though they were nice, the routes were a bit muddy and damp. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Crazy Horse area working on this difficult 6b that Neta was challenging herself on.
The next day we went to Reunion Buttress and Windy Cave again and I led FOUR 6a’s!!! I even took a (very short) lead fall! This may be a small achievement for many, but to me this was a major accomplishment. I was exhausted, adrenally depleted, and ecstatic. I may have celebrated a bit excessively with the rum and had a few too many ‘white thais’s’.
The third day we climbed with two other girls from America in Little Monkey Cove and Tamarind Village and crushed some more routes. We formed the ‘6a club’ for funsies, since we had all done our first 6a lead the previous day (except for Neta because she is a badass). Our progress was a good motivator, but the heat was brutal and we were all tired from the previous day. We were challenged on this sweet chimney route in Tamarind. Neta led it twice (to send it), and I ended up top roping the first 3 bolts and leading the rest after someone else’s attempt.
Then we all went to Heart Wall, which is a long hike around, but totally worth it because it’s in the shade almost all day. It was challenging after 4 days of climbing, but Neta had a good project route, while I only led one 5c and top-roped a few harder things: Neta’s project, and this incredible 6c+ that Patrick sent. It was brutal and powerful, just the way I like it – I struggled my way through to the top.
And finally a rest day! My fingers were shredded after all that climbing and I needed to regrow some skin. So I did some laundry, cleaning, chatted with friends from home, and blogged for all you fellers.☺️ I have been staying in my tent at Jira’s Homestay, which is a comfortable, climber oriented hostel with private rooms, a dorm, and tents to stay in. The owner has run a restaurant for 17 years, and makes really delicious food with HUGE portion sizes (climber oriented, remember?). They also provide Tupperware and have mini fridges for leftovers and your personal snacks, and they will pack you a lunch for the crag! The homestay has been open for 4 years and she has really embraced the community that congregates here. A tent costs the same as a dorm bed at 150B per night.
My friend Kris came out to climb on my last day. We went to The Furnace and I was cruelly forced to take some more lead falls for practice 😩 but what are friends for? I led some more awesome routes, felt super strong and proud of myself, and generally spent the day at the crag having an absolute blast with Katie, Hannah, Dei, Benas, annnnd a guy I can’t remember the name of. Dei and Benas are vloggers and were photographing and filming our silliness throughout the day. They talk about climbing, training, veganism, and overall health and are pretty awesome people. Link to their YouTube channel just above or to their Facebook page Day in Nature.
Traveling to Thakhek
Kris was kind enough to give me and my huge backpack a ride to the Chiang Mai bus station where we had a farewell dinner and I picked up an overnight bus ticket to Nakhon Phanom for 740B (pro tip: I found bus times at 12goasia.com, but bought at the station. You risk the ride being full, but I saved 100B).
Cost of Thailand
How much did two months of vacation in Thailand cost me? Well, here are the new numbers since my last post, then I’ll add it all together.
Transport: 780B ($23.76)
Lodging: 900B ($27.41)
Food: 1,400B ($42.64)
Alcohol: 705B ($21.47)
Activities: 350B ($10.66)
Souvenir: 205B ($6.24)Misc (tarp): 190B ($5.79)= 4,530B or $137.99
Full Month (29 Days):
Transport: 4,538B ($138.23)
Lodging: 2,360B ($71.89)
Food: 6,010B ($183.07)
Alcohol: 1,880B ($57.27)
Water: 66B ($2.01)
Massage: 220B ($6.70)
Activities: 18,680B ($569.00)
Souvenirs/gifts: 1,365B ($41.58)
Phone: 500B ($15.23)
Misc: 389B ($11.85)
= 36,008B or $1,096.82Try to remember that just about half of that was for scuba training! So in two months abroad I have spent:
24,430B + 36,008B = 60,438B or $1,840.97
Not bad, I think! Lodging was cheaper traveling with Gina since we could share a room, but we also camped and had good luck with accommodation during our time together and that definitely helped.
On to a new country and more adventures!
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