Monday, Dec 31, 2007

Think of a place where huge pieces of rock are melting into an already liquid sea; then imagine a prehistoric ice age that flashed by instantly freezing the oozing giants; now, if you will, imagine that this ice age has passed, but the rock has not yet begun to melt, but is alive with trees, grasses and ferns--and as high as any average city building.

This is has been my experience with Thailand so far, but it has become an entirely different world here on the shore province of Krabi.

My ferry departed today at 9am, and I was fortunate enough to wake early again and catch the sunrise squeeze up from behind a thick blanket of clouds.. the hike to this stretch of coast was about one and a half hours and I wanted to get back to my bungalow to shower, eat breakfast, and check out. I didn't have the time so I hired a water taxi to take me back to my beach. It costs roughly 80BHT to hire one of these cabbies and it's hard not to have a great time gliding over the water in a long-tailed boat, with a loud and long propellar pushing you briskly along.

I took this picture as I was riding:

I boarded the ferry with little time to spare and arrived and hour and a half later in Krabi. After getting haggled by taxis and people who visit the docks with their own personal car (to make extra money from unsuspecting tourists), I chose the cheapest and enjoyed a dangerous and thrilling ride through the towns surrounding the port.

After 25 minutes, I found myself in Ao Nang; hired a water taxi to Rai Lay, where I was to meet up with my friend Kristen. And she found me right away!

We caught up over lunch--I had two--and she gave me a cursory tour of the beaches that were around. I'm happy to say there is plenty of rock climbing to be had around here and I jumped on some problems right away. We then hired a sea kayak and ventured off into the sea of stone giants! This was incredible: not only were there caves, huge stalagtites dangling just feet to hundreds of feet over our heads, awe inspiring views of the beaches and elevated caves in the cliff-face, there were hundreds of questions bouncing through our minds, which could only be answered by exploring each nook and cranny of the sea-level caves (so cool), climbing (from a kayak) to an elevated cave some 20 feet from the water (and then jumped off of), and by a quiet sense of reverence which both Kristen and I had been consumed with from the get-go.

The kayak trip ended because a huge storm was blowing in and we wanted to make it back without being cast-away in one of these caves. We didn't make it, but it was great that we didn't. We were caught in a heavy downpour and were getting soaked. Once we made it to shore we went swimming in the rain. The water was warm and inviting, and danced with silver drops on top of rolling waves--it was an experience never to be forgotten.

New years was great and started off with some drinks at the Bungalow in East Rai Lay, just Kristen and I; then moved to a restaurant then to a couple of bars, then to the shore to fail triumphantly at lighting a fire-balloon (not sure what it is actually called)--it turned into a small, quick bon fire, but seemed to satisfy the 5 of us that were concerned with getting it afloat.

If I keep updating this blog with my experiences like this, it may be time to write a novel.

Thailand is a place of infinite beauty and I can't wait to climb tomorrow and explore more of this wonderful country!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sunday, Dec 30, 2007

I wake up to this each morning. It may seem like a water resevoir, but it's really a water resevoir in an extremely gorgeous area--THAT takes away the blandness of such a mundane thing.

Anyway, I woke up early this morning (6:30am) to catch the sunrise from the ocean; and because I didn't account for the enourmous hike to get to the top of this island, I was a few minutes too late. But I was just in time for the sun to crest over one of the mountain tops allowing it rush into the island's heart, igniting the gold rock and clear blue waters and the white beaches.

I can across a unique garden, which was filled with crazy flowers and MONKEYS! cutest little things. Didn't get a great picture, but they were EVERYWHERE!

After I visited three lookouts on the top of Phi Phi I descneded to town and walked around until I found a restaurant. There, I ate a healthy breakfast (two eggs, two toast with jam, a plate of fresh fruit --watermelon, banana, pineapple--hot tea, and pineapple juice). It was 55BHT; divide by 33 and that's how much it was in USD. CHEAP.

I spent the rest of the morning wading waist dep in these waters. People dream of this place!

I booked a sightseeing tour today with one of the millions of enterprises here. It was great. We left around 3pm and headed toward the smaller island of Phi Phi Lay. Here we went snorkeling and took a small tour through the [[[[ bay. We returned to the ship and visited the next destination: the famed beach from the movie The Beach, May Lay. Here we had to swim/climb through a small hole with the aid of ropes. From here we walked a few minutes through the island and came out the other end, onto the beach. There were loads of boats and tourists, which made the experience a little washed out, but I tended to unoccupied shoreline and reflected on how beautiful this bay beach was.

The rock here was riddled with stalagtites and other weird rock formations--it almost looks like rock is dripping out of the side of cliffs.

We boarded the boat in time to watch the sun set on the [[[[ Sea, framed by the rock entrance to May Lay. We were fed fried rice, fruit, bverages, and tea during the trip and it cost about 450 bht. I extended my stay another night at Tropical Garden Bungalows. I will leave tomorrow on the ferry to Krabbi and Rai Lay Beach--the world famous climbing spot in Thailand; and guess what I'll do there..

Friday & Saturday, Dec 28 & 29, 2007

Today was my last day in Australia. I woke up early to check out the Victoria Markets. They were very much similar to the Paddy Markets in Sydney: every nick-knack one would ever need to hold kitchy memories of a place far more memorable than the item itself; fresh fruit stands (includiong kiwis from New Zealand); cafes and restaurants.

I returned home with my bike and got in touch with my friend Sandra, who I had met a week before at a climbing gym called, Lactic Factory. She and I met up in the city and took a tram out to a nice spot underneath a highway bridge where local climbers have been developing a rock climbing wall. Well, three to be exact. Here are two of them:

She and I climbed for over an hour, testing routes, flashing a couple of the easier ones. We returned to the tram stop and said our farewells; then I was off to a final dinner with Jeff.
After packing the last of my things and saying goodbyes to my new friends and old, I set off on my mountain bike (thank you Sean!) and headed to the skybus stop where I was to catch my ride to the airport. It was a grueling 30 minute ride with a pack weighing at least half of what I do up and down long city streets. I made it with one minute to spare and I was off to Thailand!

........--------------zzzzzzipppppp-zeeeeeeeeeeeeee (time warp)

The adventure continues: I am now in Thailand. Stoked.

I left Melbourne at 12:45am today and had my 4 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

From there it was a quick flight to Phuket where I quickly exchanged a US$50 for 1670Baht. Good deal, huh?

I bargained with a taxi driver to take me to the pier where I needed to catch my ferry to Phi Phi, a gorgeous little island to the east of Phuket. Needless to say, everything has worked out so far and I'm safe and sound in Phi Phi (pronounced pee-pee).

Here are a few panoramics of the amazing view from the boat.. this is Phi Phi Don




I can't believe this place. It is very small; imagine an hour glass--the wide areas are ocean, the thin part in the middle is town center. I am staying in the north eastern section of town but it takes about 15 minutes to walk from one end of the town to the other. No cars, just bikes and a thin walkway. Here's one of the beaches:

It really feels like I am in paradise here. I am staying in a bungalow made of fallen trees. The walk to my hut is covered with palm tress and hills, scattered with other huts. The street is very narrow, there are many people here and loads of cheap food.

I'll try to post some pictures, but if this goes up and there aren't any, you may have to wait quite a while. I don't think any camera on the planet could capture what I'm seeing though..

Thursday, Dec 27, 2007

Dear Diary,

Today was fun. Last week I met this really great girl, Cecilia, at a party (entirely random) and she and Jeff and I went rock climbing at Hard Rock, which is a belay only gym. Jeff and I had already climbed there so we set off while she was trained on how to climb and belay.

Afterward, she drove us to St. Kilda beach where it was clear skies, but quite windy. The beach was small and short, and had bits of glass in it.. but it was fun to get the local tour.

The night ended with a movie with Jef and Gary and the possibility of catching a beer with some friends I met at a rock climbing gym I met late last week.

I'm getting sad knowing that I only have another 24 hours in Melbourne and Australia. I haven't yet figured out how I'm getting to the airport, but I know that it'll happen somehow.

Tomorrow I plan on soaking in the sights and figuring out how I'm getting from the Phuket airport to where Kristen is staying. I may just go to a beach on an island and meet up with her at another time--this is what I need to think about and look into.

No pictures in this post, just a diary report; there are plenty in the previous post! Already missing Australia..

Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007

So, to preface this post: most best day ever!

Well, not ever, but you should see what I mean. It was beautiful, full of beaut, and I (get it?!) was in between it all!

I woke up this morning at 6:45 to gather my camera and two shirts, and set off with my bike to ride into the city. I easily found the pick-up spot for my day tour to the Grampians. Knowing I was safe I made a holiday call to my Dad and his family. I lucked out in that I was able to speak to my entire family during Christmas--my Mom's on Christmas eve, and my Dad's Christmas afternoon.

I was the last one on the tour bus, and was told that we were 3 hours away from the mountains--or "the hiils", as one tour guide commented.

After two hours we stopped for tea and cookies. We arrived into the town of Halls Gap for lunch, and instead of eating lunch I ran toward the base of the mountain range--we were in the Grampians. I was trail-running throughout this park (I only had 40 minutes, and the entrance was at least ten away from the bus). I visited a secluded river-pools called "Venus Pools." Along the way I viewed some amazing outcrops of rock that seems to have flung themselves sideways up into the air millions of years ago in one violent thrust.

Our next stop was the Aboriginal Cultural Center. This center was dwarfed by the opportunity to see, snap and stalk wild kangaroos; and that's what I did. I counted over 30 different Kangaroos. When we first approached them it was too quick--me and the tour guide were pretty into our conversation. Although it was a sight to see a herd sit up from their lazy shade-lazing spots under thick foliaged gum trees and rapidly bounce off to another spot far away from the tourists with their cameras and bi-podal movements.

I separated from the group, as was usual for me, aqnd hunted down my own roos. I found a tribe under another thicket and I took my time getting close and gaining their trust. These animals are insanely strong. They "walk" with the use of their tree-trunk sized tail, which is rather humorous, and they are very muscular. One of the male kangas looked like he had spent each day of his entire life at a gym, benching 100s of pounds:his chest was well defined, his arms appeared to have triceps and large biceps, and his back was large and wide. It begs the question of how closely they are related to humans--probably not close at all (it's just odd that some parts resembles ours). Their feet are hufe and their hands are tiny, but with large black, razor-sharp claws.


After taking my fill of pictures and videos I withdrew to the Cultural Center where I learned a lot about the Native Australians and bush fires.

We headed off next to MacKenzie Falls. Now, these fall very tall and very beautiful. And once I rushed down to take pictures without the bother of the other tourists getting in my way I wandered beyond the gate and followed the stream down about 15 minutes. There I found peace and quiet along with some spectacular cliffs. On my return to the falls I stopped and hiked to the top of the valley, which was rather steep and precarious. I made it to the top and took these 44 pictures, which, when sewn together, form to create this epic picture of an uncapture-able falls sight:

..if you zoom in on the picture, look to the lower left to find a human, and then compare with the size of the falls.

I was reluctant to leave this place. I hiked for an hour all along the rocky area, while the tourists stuck to the paved pathways. It was an incredible place, but unfortuantely, the hike left me wanting a full days worth of water and much more time than the alotted hour to explore this amazing National Park.

Our next stop was the Balconies Lookout. As soon as my feet hit the ground I was off running to the lookout that was 1km down a stony dirt path. Out of breath, I reached the area which had metal bars preventing any time of exploration. So, an instant later, I find myself on the other side, bouncing from rock to rock which hang loosely on eroded siltstone over a large (and I mean large), vast canyon-y valley which seemed to extend forever. The horizon was cut with the jagged teeth of mountain tops, which give the area its name: "Jaws of Death."

After trying to automate my camera, and succeeding in snapping a few photos of me before the abyss I scrambled down the cliff face a little to this very interesting mouth of rock. The path was worn, so it seemed safe enough. I took more pictures some of which are below:

I ran back and took pictures of an enormous lake (natural, not made-made) that sat like an evaporating puddle in the armpit of a huge mountain. It looked quite amazing, and so I ran to where the view was best and shot off a few more pictures so that I'd never forget this place--it was serene.

We had another hour here, and I certainly made the most of it. Scrambling rocks and jaunting off into the unknown on dangerous cliffs was exciting, and hey, I lived to tell about it, so no worries!

The bus left at 5:00pm and the day was finished, but full. We stopped in a small town outside of Halls Gap on the way back to Melbourne. Most places were closed today--it's a National Holiday, "Boxing Day", I guesws named after the boxes opened at Christmas. The trip was worth the 6 hour bus ride with myself being the only native English speaking person. I got home at 9pm and started updating this blog and sewing these pictures together. I hope you enjoy them and that they convey the immensity that I saw today.

Tuesday, Dec 25, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I woke up to this this morning:

Festive, huh?

We wished Sean safe and fast travels this morning at 9, and Jef and I shared some crumptes and we made omelets. I made phone calls to my family who was celebrating on Christmas Eve--still interesting to think that my Christmas morning was your Christmas Eve.

Anywho, around noon I decided to check out the Zoo, The Melbourne Zoo--and what a good decision that was.

Gary, Jef and I had a blast. The zoo was huge and well-stocked, gorgeous weather to enjoy them in, and loads of indigenous animals. Among them I saw giraffes, koala, kangaroos, a platypus, gorgeous butterflies, a rhino snake, all sorts of monkeys, elephants, and the list goes on.

Koalas are perhaps the cutest creatures on the earth, even though I hear they can be quite vicious. The roos walk with the entire aid of their humongous tail, and hop all over the place. I have videos to share, but may have to wait until I'm stateside to show everyone--it'll take about a month to show you all everything I'm sure.

We spend about 4 hours at the park. I'm not sure what we have planned for the evening--I might head to the beach to see if there are any celebrations on St. Kildas, which is the local beach for Melbourne-ers.

My Grampians trip is tomorrow and I'm excited. The following days will be comprised of climbing, seeing some of the friends I've made at gyms and possibly checking out some local spots for some beers and food. I submitted an answer to a restaurant's trivia of the week (I might win a burger). What movie is this from: "Shoot the glass"

MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN! I MISS YOU ALL HEAPS

Monday, Dec 24, 2007

Christmas Eve. Still not Christmas eve back home, this holiday is getting surreal now..

I spent the day today scurrying around the city changing my flights from Bangkok to Phuket. I met up with Sean and Jef in the city and we stopped in some shops, including MagNation, which has every magazine from everywhere.. and I mean EVERY!

We stopped at this bar which was plopped down in a small city square hidden between buildings and thin alleys. The furniture was made out of wooden skids used in warehouses. Original and definitely a hip spot.

That evening the boys went out for a Christmas Eve Dinner at an Italian restaurant--the owner of which caught us by offering three free bottles of wine and a table full of garlic bread to rope us in. The food was great.. the company was better; it was an excellent way to spend the holidays with the friends we have met in Melbourne and a great way to say farewell to Sean, who leaves at 9am Christmas morning.

Sunday, Dec 23, 2007

It's been pretty low key here in Melbourne for the past few days, and most likely for the next with Christmas coming up and all. Sean's friend Alice offered to show us the Dandenongs, which is a small mountain range just an hour outside of Melbourne.

Of course we took her up on the offer. She and Sean had been to this spot before; the view was huge.


The weather has been less than stimulating: overcast each day, low 60s, rain--feels like Fall back home; feels harsh. The clouds in this area were pretty cool, so I took a huge picture of them.

There were red, blue and green colored birds flying all throughout the trees here. And Cookaburro birds were cackling, which sound like chimps that are laughing at you.. seriously--it's weird.
Afterwards, we bought lunch at a take away spot and we returned to the Cave--the name of Sean's apartment.

The apt is really nice. Except for the bare blue walls, it is a great place and there are usually heaps of people coming and going. Jarrod and Gary live with Sean; they both skate and so do all of Sean's other friends.

One morning after a night on the town. Jef and I fell asleep on our usual spot on the floor. When we woke, we were surprised to find 3 more bare-assed dudes passed out next to us. This is how it goes in the cave. But it's fun and we're having some great times.

I booked a tour to the Grampians the day after Christmas today, and am looking forward to the trip and meeting some new people. I want to try and catch the Melbourne Zoo and Wilson's Prom before I leave this area of the world on Friday night... We'll see what happens!

Thursday, Dec 21, 2007

Tuesday evening, we drove through the night from Sydney to get to Melbourne in the morning. When we arrived we checked out the city a little and laid low. After spending the past day or so in Melbourne, Victoria we decided to get back on the road one last time.

Today, the three bromigos woke up early and embarked on another mini road trip. Our destination was the sight, Twelve Apostles. Although we had many sight seeing opportunities, which of course we took advantage of.

Our trail was the Great Ocean Highway, which is route B100--running east to west along windy roads that following the steep coastline of southern Victoria.

We drove through Torquay, and Jan Juc, where we stopped at the world famous surf spot, Bells Beach. Jef was disappointed that the swell was down for the season and the waves were not breaking at all. The sand was composed mostly of small rocks and ocean-tossed shells; it was very different sand compared to that of the west coast, but also different from the sand on beaches further west down the coast--still a unique sight, like everything here.

The Great Ocean road provided so many spectacular views, all very fleeting and hard to catch. It was a rainy drive, but the stormy light painted an iridescent landscape with colors not typical of coastal beauty. Nothing is more mysterious than seeing a dark cloud quickly escaping the coast by drifting entirely silent and swift over a steep hill of gum trees and rocks; mysteriously serene.


We eventually arrived at 12 Apostles. There were many people, and about 100 flies to accompany each. The Apostles are Limestone Outcrops which have been separated from the Australian coast by years of constant ocean erosion. Now, they appear as towering rock sculptures dotting the coast with their immense presence. Just two years ago, one of the Apostles crumbled under a weak foundation devestated by the ocean erosion. Therefore, the 12 are no longer--I think the current count is 9 or 7. There are certainly enough Apostles remaining to capture the enormity of this place... just check it out:


I jumped over the safety line, as usual, and climbed out on one of the rock out crops:


Little did I know that part of the rock on which I'm standing was supportd by a thin arch; and in an environment which is constantly eroding and falling apart, I realized this probably wasn't the best move to make, but I'm alive! and would probably do it again because the view and experience was quite unique.

After we enjoyed the sights at 12 Aposotles we ventured further down the road, driving further into the Port Campbell National Park. Our next stop was Loch Ard, where many famous shipwrecks occured in the late 1800s due to the reef and jagged coast line. Here there were many great sights like 'Cave Cove' (I think), where I ventured into a deep cave, kinda scary.

And other great sights like the Muttonbird Island, blowholes, and excellent coastal views. We visited a cemetary which dated back as far as 1879, which held memory for families or others who perished in this dangerous sea coast.


After soaking in the quiet views, and leaving when they were populated with loud tourists we headed back to Melbourne--stopping in Apollo Bay for some quality Fish and Chips from a great take away establishment.