Going up! Part 1

After two weeks on islands swimming we needed to find a new activity. We just happened to be close to world class rock climbing so we couldn't resist. We jumped on another boat and headed for the unbelievably lovely karst mountains in Railay. I'm going to leave most of my thoughts about Railay to another post since these next two are just going to focus on climbing. 

We set out with our guide early in the morning and had a quick 15 minute refresher before jumping on our first wall. Cassie gripped the wall and worked her way half way up before finding the wall a bit too challenging. I did the same. Feeling a bit more comfortable we set out for our second wall and we both completed it with ease. I can only assume that the first wall was just jitters since it was our first time actually climbing outside. 

The Beach

Once we decided it was time to move on from Ko Lanta, we had only one option that was on the table. This landed us on the famous island of Koh Phi Phi, made popular after Leonardo DiCapro's star roll in The Beach. While this isn't the actual island in the film it's only a quick long-boat ride away and it's worth it. We got to visit the island while going on a scuba dive off it's shores. 

After arriving in any new location one of the first things to do is figure out what your working with. Initally, this had us strolling along four beaches testing the waters and sands at each one. Since each beach had it's own unique qualities this proved rewarding over the next few days. Sometimes you want shade with peace and quiet, other times you want loud music and beer, then you also have the days you just want to swim in crystal clear waters until your arms weaken. Fortunately, for us this island had all of these options within 20 minutes of each other. 

A true party island in every sense of the word, this was our first encounter with Thailand's famed buckets. These colorful buckets are filled to brim with your choice of liquor and mixers for around 200 baht. A cheap way to have a night you won't remember. We had our first bucket while watching amateurs attempt muay thai fighting for a free bucket, which proved to be very entertaining. I'm still not really sure how I made it back to our place that night. Cassie likes to remind me how I woke up very concerned that we passed out in a cabana on the beach in the middle of the night; telling her that there was sand everywhere. Once she convinced me where the light switch was, I realized that we did make it back to our place. I blame this on the buckets. 

One of the other best options for exploring an island would easily be hopping into a kayak for a paddle around the bend. This ride took us to Monkey Beach where as you guessed it, is filled with monkeys. After securing our food and valuables, we went for a swim while watching these little jerks attempt to open our drysack looking for goodies, luckily we kept them out. This beach was easily the best to swim on in Koh Phi Phi but the forest edge was filled with litter. Mostly from visitors feeding Monkies and running away letting them take their chips, cookies or whatever else people bring to this beach. It's always sad to see amazingly beautiful places trashed for no reason.

Clouds came floating into my life

After an exhausting 12 hours of travel, which included multiple busses, tuk tuk's and a ferry we finally crossed the border over to Thailand and arrived in Ko Lanta. A large island in the south west region. While we knew this island was a bit more quite, we did not expect it to be deserted. I guess the off season hits this island harder since it's not a major backpackers stop. 

Making the most of every stop we decided it was a nice time to finish up some freelance work and enjoy a nice peaceful retreat. We sat in total awe at the beautiful sunsets every evening while enjoying the deliciousness that is Thai food. Fresh caught fish on the bbq, pad thai's and curries will now be our staple.

Fine dinning at the kids table

To those foodies out there I'll let you in on a little secret, Penang is one of the worlds top dining destinations and for good reason. Hawker food, aka street food is cheap, delicious and everywhere. The dishes are a mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian recipes which have stood the test of time. Every night as the sun sets you would see shops close and hawkers setting up their carts along the major corridors. Child size tables and chairs lined the sidewalks with spices and napkins. Within half an hour every table would be packed and people would be waiting to place their orders.

A five minute walk down the street had our heads spinning, so many wonderful looking dishes it was almost impossible to choose one. That's when you go with your gut and try something for an appetizer, then move on to dinner and finish with a dessert all for around $5 dollars a person. Some of the popular dishes were assam laksa, hokkien mee, and wonton mee.

Would you like to convert?

In Penang we jumped at our chance to finally explore a few of the mosques scattered across the city. We started at the Floating Mosque of Tanjung Bungah. Resting on stilts high above the ocean this mosque had a lovely pastel blue hue which complimented perfectly with the ocean below. The security guard helped dress Cassie in the appropriate attire before entering. He was friendly and wanted to take our pictures from a slew of directions highlighting the mosques beautiful views.

Later in the day we explored the Kapitan Keling Mosque in Georgetown, the historic downtown of Penang. Since Cassie was pooped she sat outside while I ventured in to take a few photos. I was quickly befriended by a practioner who preceded to convert me to muslim. Since he denied me a portrait, I denied him my conversion. He was very friendly, and showed me key rituals, explained why certain things were done, and in what order. I left with around 5 pamphlets explaining muslim, and confirming that muslim does not mean terrorism.