Wow

Yesterday I fulfilled my long held dream of rock climbing in Thailand.

I booked my full day outing with the highly regarded Kings Climbing, which is in Railey Beach West. Pick up time was 830 from my hotel - we drove in a truck to a pier near Ao Nang, then boarded a longtail boat to Railey. There were people from Sweden, UK and other european countries aboard.

At sign in we were split in to groups according to previous experience - I have done a fair bit of climbing indoors, so know how to tie the ropes and use the harness and belay, but had never climbed outside. I was put with Joachim from Denmark, Allo from Switzerland and Daave from Sweden. Our guide was the chain smoking Sue, a local man who has been with Kings for 13 years.

First up we walked to Diamond Cave, which I take to be an area for introductory climbs. There was a group of 5 women climbing on the wall, and we were later joined by more people. It was a very communal vibe, lots of cheering and support. On this wall I made a short first climb and reached the top easily - it wasn't too steep or long, maybe 10 metres max. The view was amazing, so was the thrill. We then climbed two longer pitches, up to 15 or 20 metres. This tested me more, and I made both after a fairly decent struggle - more difficult hand and foot holds, steeper, some slight overhangs. AT the top of the third climb I was met by about 5 small monkeys sitting on the ledge!

We walked back for lunch and then had an hour to rest. I needed it - on the third climb I had to rest for a while as my forearms started seizing. This is normal, but it's also about technique - need to use my legs more and arms less. By this time Daave and I had become old mates, which is easy to do when your life is literally in the hands of a perfect stranger. We walked to watch some very experienced climbers taking on a wall that started with a pretty serious overhang. Amazing strength and skill.

Sue met us at 2 for the afternoon session, and told us we were moving to a new wall. In fact, it was the wall Daave and I had just visited. The afternoon would be much harder! Our first climb after lunch was the hardest for the day - a 6a ranked effort that started with me jumping to grab a stalagmite (or is it stalactite? whichever hangs down) that was about 8 feet off the ground. Jump, grab with left hand and hang, swing right hand up higher, move left hand up again, then get left foot on bottom of the rock. Then push up over an overhang and climb quickly to a small ledge for a rest. It was an intimidating site. Daave tried about 4 times but couldn't get a start. I was able to get up on my first go, and I was thrilled. From there the climb wound over bumps and up a large crack. I rested a fair bit, having spent too much energy at the start. It required so much arm strength that I was spent at the final three metres. Sweating and panting, and totally exhausted across my whole body, I tried in vain to make the final push and retreated to the beach in a drench of sweat. It was an awesome climb and I am happy to have got that far on day one.

We did two more climbs, one of 30 metres which I couldn't finish, and a shorter more technical climb to end that I did succeed at. By 515 we were knackered and walked back for some chocolate and gatorade.

This was an awesome experience, the best of my trip. I have heaps of great photos, some of which I will load online when I get home next week. I made a new friend, pushed myself to overcome many fears and achieved a lot on my first effort. It's a great sport and a huge thrill.

Leaving Ao Nang tomorrow on a speed boat for the trip back to Phuket. We have decided to go back a day earlier and also to return to the Pacific Club Resort at Karon beach, rather than find a new place. The staff are so good to us, and it is so peaceful, we couldn't resist. Two nights there and then fly back via Singapore. I'll finally start The Grapes of Wrath, which I bought for the trip but haven't opened, as I am flying alone. Should be good.

Thanks for reading - more tales from Thailand, including highlights from week one, soon.