Crazy Horse Buttress

I arrived in Chiang Mai with a little bit of trepidation. I mean Lao was incredible, and I had heard that Thailand was pretty jam-packed with people, and I wasn't sure I was ready to take that. I don't think I could handle Vietnam right now, that's for sure. Thailand however was kind of the reason for this trip, so I was looking forward to seeing it, but was afraid that I was about 10 years too late, and the Thailand of my dreams was a thing of the past.

After leaving Lao, I took a boat across the Mekong to Chiang Kong, and from there took a bus first to Chiang Rei and then to Chiang Mai. I was traveling with Cat, a girl I had met on The Gibbon Experience, and who was gracious enough to allow me to follow her to Chiang Mai, sine I had no idea what I was doing. She had been in Thailand for awhile working for a Thai non-profit in Chiang Rei. She was working on a Thai citizenship project, working to get Minority Hill-tribes, Thai citizenship. So at this point she was pretty familiar with way Thailand worked, and it was pretty convienient to follow her lead along the way. Turns out that I shouldn't of worried about Thailand. Sure it's full of people, and chain stores (including McDonalds and Starbucks, boooo), but it still has charm and relaxed atmosphere that is unmistakeably SE Asian, and therefore quite a nice place. It's like any other city in some ways, but unique, and quite a place to spend a few days.

The first night we went to the Night Market which was huge, and soooo touristy, but still a sight to see. I just can't sem to get enough of markets no matter what they are. The next day I went sight seeing, and that's when I realised that I still have had it with sights. It's still Wat, Wat, Wat, statue, Wat, Wat, Wat, and I've had enough. Sure they're all nice and beautiful and incredibly serene and such, but I need to DO something. I need to experience things. There are numerous treks available, but they're all so over done, that you're not really seeing the real culture, you're seeing the Epcot center version of Norhtern Thailand. One trek had you riding elephants, rafting, visiting a temple, and two villages all in one day, with lots of other tours, where is the adventure in that? You're supposed to be in a remote hill tribe and ther are more tourists than Thais.

So what should I do? Well, I went climbing again. It was even better this time than in Lao. Me, along with two Americans went in the morning to Crazy Horse Buttres, and proceded to climb some of the most fun and challenging routes I've ever done. The two guides were excellent climbers, and both were on the National Climbing team. They just kept setting up routes until we just couldn't do them anymore. They kept doing harder and harder ones, finishing with a 5.13, which totally kicked my ass. I managed to get up it, but it was hard. Jos and Jen know how much I suck at climbs with a lot of small holds, and this one was full of them. It was still totally amazing though, and a great way to see some of Thailands natural beauty. We finished off the day with a 65 m rappel into a cave that was filled with little stone tower things, they kind of meminded me of Inukshuks (which I obviously have no idea how to spell). I was much more fun then seeing a bunch of Wats again.