Dead Air....

The lack of communication is not because something tragic has happened. I just haven't moved in three weeks...so there's not a ton to update.

I spent the last three weeks climbing on Ton Sai and an island called Koh Yao Noy, both of which are complete paradises (can you pluralize paradise?). Rock climbing, swimming, running, kayaking...outdoors 24/7 in beautiful tropical jungles and hanging off gorgeous cliffs.

So.
Freaking.
Amazing.

I think what really grabbed me about the experience was the whole climbing culture. It was like being in a Club Med for athletic hippies - little bungalows with hammocks outside them, beers on the deck looking out over the ocean after a day of climbing in the heat, kayaking on rest days and going for early morning runs on the beach.

The competition aspect of climbing is also pretty fantastic. Although there's a certain amount of friendly competition to see who can get to the top of a route first, there's also this sense of comraderie and mutual support that is incredible - people yelling up suggestions of where to put your foot next or what the next move should be, showing you how to tie a new knot at dinner, teaching you how to rapel and belay - everyone wants everyone else to succeed and love this sport as much as they do. And ultimately, any sense of competition doesn't matter - when it comes down to it, it's just you versus the rock. Winner take all.

I am completely addicted, and now am choosing future destinations based on the proximity to good climbing.

...with the exception of my next stop, which has nothing to do with climbing.

I'm currently sitting in an internet cafe in Ao-Nang, waiting to catch a bus to go do a 10 day silent meditation retreat. I know a lot of people who have walked out of these things...I'm really hoping I make it through. 10 days without talking, reading, writing, listening to music (that one's gonna kill me), sleeping on a hard floor with a wooden pillow, eating 2 meals a day, and doing yoga and mediation from sun up to sun down. Woah.

Catch you on the flip side.