The ZAP Project: ประสบการณ์แห่งประเทศไทย (Thailand experience)

January 3. 2012... the humans get dressed and eat a quick breakfast, I being polyblend and having no mouth, pass on both.

Its been far too long since I've had an overseas adventure. Three months in south east asia is a good way back into the adventurous flow.

Crusin' to SFO

Its not long before our flight

and we're all stoked to cram

into a tin can cruising at

500mph for the day and a half!

Anna Stoked!

Rachel Stoked

Steven Stoked

ZAP Stoked

After a few hour I really got bored and decided to stroll around cabin and meet some new people, the flight attendants are super nice and chatty, pointing out some cool sights as we fly over Russia.

THE MOTHERLAND

With the first leg over, it is only a six hour flight from Soul to Phuket and I was too delirious to sleep.

Photo op with our next plane

Anna passed out so I figured I'd help keep her head warm.

Finally January 5. 2012 THAILAND!

We spent one night in Phuket Town before heading to Koh Yao Yoi or "long island"where we promptly settle into a slow and relaxed rhythm drinking coconut water and eating sticky rice with mango, SO GOOD!!!

relaxing at Activities Resort Beach

Sometimes you feel like a nut,
sometimes you feel like Hanging on a nut

The Owner of the resort surprised us with an invite from his "brother"- a super cheap trip to Egg Island. The tourist stop over on the way to Phi Phi. Its a cool little island with a few bars, restaurants and souvenir shops.

We spent the day snorkeling and bouldering in between sessions at the bar.

Water is not my natural element.

This is more my style

The crag

After a few days we headed to Koh Yao Noi to check out the limestone cliffs and meet up with Denny, a local who some friends met on a previous trip and recommended we look up.

The approach

Just a few photos from the area...

ONWARD

the Ao Nang area is the place most climbers head, its where you find the popular Raily and Tonsi beaches.
we opted for a more private and less hectic scene, we hopped a longtail and went deepwatersoloing!

Rachel on the Long Problem

Steven swinging on Monkey Business

Steven chickining out before the problem even got hard

("I did't have any chalk" was the excuse given.)

Relaxing on the beach after a hard days work

KOH TAO

We spent the next week exploring Koh Tao,

we didn't climb much but we did a lot of snorkeling.

The reefs around the island were some of the most beautiful anywhere!

The next stop with quality rock was Chaing Mai, despite its number of Wats (Buddhist temples)

the city is surprisingly western - English is spoken frequently amongst the locals and there is no shortage of american chain stores.

**As a side note,

I have to mention this

place also has the best roti

on the face of the earth!

Anna and Rachel would

order 6 plain roti at a time!

The main crag is called Crazy Horse Buttress. I have to say, it lives up to the title, seeing it from the parking lot you can easily make out the horses shape. Its a rad formation with good rock and great route development, it is also one of the cleanest and most thought out areas I've ever climbed. Well established trails and shade huts (+ hammocks) make this a great place to visit. not to mention the pit toilets in the parking lot are well taken care of, a huge plus!