Tag: FollowMeTo
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Lost Across Thailand With Will: Part II
In Vang Vieng, Laos we had one of the best days of our lives. The river was lined with platforms to jump from, rope swings, and zip lines. Here my friend Ben throws a gainer from a 30 ft platform. 
Mid-backflip action in Laos. The day starts by renting tubes and floating down the river where locals pull you in to different bars and restaurants where you can eat, drink, and play until the sun goes down. 
Tubers float down the river as I slide down this 200ft long zipline. To make things more interesting we ended up blind folding ourselves so you didn’t know when you would hit the stopper. It made for some pretty funny flips and belly flops. 
In Northern Thailand we visited this interactive zoo. We had the opportunity to hold snakes, get kissed by an elephant, and feed a baby tiger. 
Black and White Ruffed Lemur. These lemurs are on the endangered species list mainly due to deforestation and habitat loss. This zoo breeds these lemurs and releases them into the wild. 
The whole crew celebrates a great day playing in rivers and waterfalls in Northern Thailand. 
This off the beaten path location took us into a small Thai town where the locals spoke very little English but were some of the friendliest people we met during our travels. I’m sipping on some homemade Thai whiskey while wielding a genuine Thai machete. We later are pig intestine soup. Needless to say, this was one of our more interesting experiences. 
A roadside stand sells local dried fruits and other handmade Thai souvenirs. 
Our visit to a Buddhist temple put us is a zen like state as we toured the beautifully manicured grounds and gold Buddha statues. -
Lost Across Thailand With Will: Part I
One of the world’s largest reclining Buddha statues located in the Wat Pho temple in Bangkok. It is 15 meters tall and 43 meters long and is a popular attraction for both locals and tourists. Inside the temple are 108 bowls where people drop coins to bring good fortune and help maintain the wat, which is Thai for temple. 
Many climbers consider the Krabi region of Thailand one of the best rock climbing locations in the world. For the first month of our trip we stayed in Railay, a small peninsula with access to nearly 1,000 sport climbing routes. We climbed everyday and ended up ascending close to 200 routes. 
This picture shows Railay East and West which is home to about 500 local residents and brings in young tourists looking to climb, enjoy the beautiful beaches, and party late into the night. 
It’s not hard to make friends when travelling through Southeast Asia. We took a sunset cruise one night and met people from London, Austria, Canada, Australia, and Czechoslovakia. While our guides cooked up fresh fish we enjoyed a couple Chang beers, one of Thailand’s most popular brews. 
Beautiful sunsets happen every night in Thailand. This one highlights the karst topography, the striking limestone formations that rise straight out of the ocean. They are perfect for deep water soloing, a type of rock climbing that requires no ropes and falls plunge you into the ocean below. 
On Railay Beach West sunset volleyball was a daily occurrence. Locals and tourists play together as the sun dips below the horizon. 
Animah loved to jump and climb all over people. His hands were so strong and looked just like tiny human hands. 
Sending a route in the jungles of Railay. 
Longtail boats line the shore with Happy Island looming in the background. From the boats locals sold fruit smoothies and pad thai while climbers work on topping out several routes on Happy Island. 
My climbing partner works a route while one of the many friends we made belays below. 
This was one of my favorite routes during the trip. Most of the climb went horizontal instead of vertical with about 300 ft of empty air below. Here I’m getting ready to transition onto the hanging stalactite and top out.
