well, seeings as myfooteprints.com is out of service until september when the server is put back online, i figured i'd continue my journal writing here.
i left ton sai last week on the 12th and flew up from krabi to bangkok, bangkok to chiang mai. jenn greeted me at the airport and we quickly caught up while going through the motions of putting in a missing bag claim at the lost and found. my rope and climbing gear had somehow been misplaced during the flight transfer in bangkok, but my other bag with the few items of clothing, my toilitries and a few other odds and ends, had thankfully came through. not that it would have been such a huge hassle. my missing bag was wiating outside the door of my guesthouse room when i woke the next morning.
after getting settled into the chedi view, i walked jenn to the nearby yoga studio, wild rose, where she worked. she was teaching a class from 6 to 7 and i intended to return to my room and sleep. my last nite in ton sai had been a late one and i was feeling wiped out after catching no sleep on the flight. despite fatigue, i decided, upon some urging, to join in the class. it was great to see jenn in form (though she was suffering from a head cold and was probably more wiped than myself). my only experience doing yoga has been with jenn, but her growth from the ashtanga teacher from years ago back in japan to the anusara teacher she is now is impressive. with a studio room full of students on yellow mats and the soft purring of the fan overhead, she guided everyone through the motions. i stretched and sweat the fatigue out of me. sleep came easily afterwards.
the following two day's were pretty relaxed. cruising around chiang mai on jenn's scooter, checking out the markets and getting the layout of the town. old chiang mai is lain out in a perfect square bordered by a moat with various gates and crossings to the outer city. inside old chiang mai rests an array of shops, markets, guesthouses, restaurants and buddhist temples (wats) glimmering in gold and coloured glass.
i attended another yoga class with jenn on friday nite, followed by a very hot steam room session. rose, the vibrant and peppy owner of wild rose, has set up a steam room in the back which she sets up from time to time when enough people show up to hang out at the studio.
on saturday, jenn and i took breakfast at the blue diamond breakfast club restaurant and then made our way to crazy horse, a 45 minute scooter ride southeast of the city. i rented a scooter of my own, since our gear and two of us on jenn's scooter would have taken twice as long. the sporty little 110cc honda click has been a fun way to get around.
crazy horse was fun, but i lamented that it was no ton sai. where ton sai has steep pumpy routes with jugs and pockets, crazy horse is typically vertical to overhung with thin crimpy face moves. still fun, save for the nest of wasps that stung me on my very first climb, <i>the gatekeeper</i>. we met up with some of jenn's climbing friends; laurence and gaston from belgium and the netherlands. sean from oz. jeff and mindy from the states. unfortunately the sky would periodically piss down rain and leave most of the rock unclimbable. i only managed to get up three routes the entire days. granted, we didn't show up until noon. :/
tomorrow i'll leave chiang mai for sukuthai and then on to ayuthaya before reaching bangkok to fly out on the 22nd. though i've visited these places before, i'm excited to head back to rephotograph the beautiful ancient cities with their massive stone wats and old structures. should be fun.
