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Chockstone Forum - Crag & Route Beta

Crag & Route Beta

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 21
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Author
Krabi travel safety
Doro
7-Oct-2012
9:36:22 AM
What are people's views on climbing in Krabi at the moment? DFAT site sounds grim for the southern provinces. Thinking Dec/ January. Any information much appreciated.

Doro
Wendy
7-Oct-2012
10:10:39 AM
I haven't been following what's happening in Thailand at the moment, but have you been to Tonsai before? It's almost like you aren't in Thailand. It's out on a tiny peninsula that has nothing on it but climbing and tourist nonsense that you have to get a boat to. I don't imagine there's any drama there. I've also found over the years that DFAT is very conservative in their issuing of travel warnings. But if travel warnings are keeping people away, that's a great thing for going in Dec/Jan, which would normally be the height of the season and absolutely goddamn awful (if you happen to dislike crowds in general and have tourist nightmare phobia in particular as I do).

You could also check the popular us/uk forums - i'm sure there'll be a thread if there have been any issues on Tonsai.
Reluctant
7-Oct-2012
2:41:29 PM
Just got back from 5 weeks in Thailand. Warnings are for 300 km further south in the border area to Malaysia. Dfat is doing ass cover after the stabbing of the tour guide. Police numbers on the street after dark are huge.
Enjoy
Ps. If going through Bangkok check out the rock@49. Look up the racquet club on net. Indoor wall etc 15 aud for the day. Off sukumvit rd. fun area
widewetandslippery
7-Oct-2012
4:28:40 PM
must admit I have never seen the attraction of crabs and f---it when there are good places with good weather to go to.
argos44
8-Oct-2012
10:10:12 AM
From what I've heard from a mate who has been 'involved' with the issues in the south, I wouldn't be worried going to Krabi.

A mate is trying to get me to come over at the end of january next year. I also have a dislike of crowds and general tourist scenes. I have never been over there before so can someone give me an idea what its going to be like at this time of the year?

Cheers
singersmith
8-Oct-2012
2:34:23 PM
Wendy hit the nail on the head, it's not really Thailand out there. As far as the "troubles" in the South go, yes, all of that is further south and doesn't make it to Krabi. So don't expect any car bombs or utes full of dudes with guns ambushing your taxi. On the other hand, southern Thailand has it's own host of problems that are worth being aware of: shootings, rapes, muggings, break ins, and lots of nasty drugs (yaba) to fuel it all. My partner got lost on his motorbike, stopped at a police station (unattended) for directions, flagged the first bike going slow enough and the two guys looked at each other then pulled out a pistol and fired five shots at him. Ao Nang has had a bunch of rapes, the latest being in the last two weeks. Somebody was hacked in the neck with a machete at Tonsai about 10 years ago over quickdraw theft. Getting away from people and crowds is the same anywhere you go: get on your two feet and start walking, people disappear in five minutes or less. January is hot in the South, crowds don't taper off until March.
sirdogalot
9-Oct-2012
1:01:49 AM
Hi Doro,
All the problems people have mentioned about crowds and tropical beaches and awesome limestone are true. It's hell out there.

I've been to Krabi 3 times and have not experienced any problems related to the insurgency in the south. That is (obviously) not a guarantee of anything, but Thais in general are lovely people and literally thousands* of foreigners go to the Rai Lay peninsula every month.

It's really hot. There's lots of other tourists. You will probably love it.

Tom
* I just made that up
technogeekery
9-Oct-2012
9:27:28 AM
DFAT are in full cover-their-arse mode re Thailand. Krabi is safe enough, you are far more likely to get overcharged at a bar than meet an insurgent. It will be hot and sticky, but if you can handle that, its a great place to climb. If you can climb steep gr20 and above, you'll be able to avoid the tourist routes (which are clogged with tourons and screaming "guides") and get up some extraordinarily beautiful lines in amazing surroundings. Have fun :-)

PS: don't hurt yourself (ie treat all bolts and especially threads as suspect) as it would be no fun to have to get to a hospital from Krabi.
f_abe
9-Oct-2012
10:47:21 AM
I disagree! The long tail boat ride back to the mainland with a broken leg was merely a percusor to the delights of Krabi hospital - sick people lining the corridors as the rooms were overflowing, dogs wandering looking for tasty morsels, blood stained walls, and an x ray machine straight out of some early 40's B grade horror flick. The 'ambulance' ride to Phuket was even better - 3 hours in the back of a van, leg bouncing on the end of a too-short stretcher, the smell of vomit from the chronically car sick nurse, horn blaring...much more memorable than the climb I did!

shortman
9-Oct-2012
11:26:40 AM
On 9/10/2012 f_abe wrote:
>I disagree! The long tail boat ride back to the mainland with a broken
>leg was merely a percusor to the delights of Krabi hospital - sick people
>lining the corridors as the rooms were overflowing, dogs wandering looking
>for tasty morsels, blood stained walls, and an x ray machine straight out
>of some early 40's B grade horror flick. The 'ambulance' ride to Phuket
>was even better - 3 hours in the back of a van, leg bouncing on the end
>of a too-short stretcher, the smell of vomit from the chronically car sick
>nurse, horn blaring...much more memorable than the climb I did!

Best TR I've read in ages.
yenwongdvm
9-Oct-2012
12:52:23 PM
I've been to Tonsai 3 times, including once just after Thai elections and it has been fine. Two mates of mine have returned from Tonsai in the last few weeks and they reported no trouble at all. Yes, Tonsai being a peninsula is relatively isolated from most political troubles, theft and tourist attacks. It is a unique location only accessible by long tail boat. It is safe to wander around by yourself at night, the only trouble would be from drunk or stoned visitors. Unlike other parts of Thailand, prices of food and goods are very transparent and clearly displayed, nobody hassles you to book a tour/buy souvenirs/eat at their restaurant unless you go inside their establishment voluntarily. Yes, it is a strategy of the local business people to run things this way to encourage people to come and chill out! The locals are very friendly, peaceful and genuinely helpful. Many times I have misplaced stuff and the locals have hung on to the stuff and returned it to me. Clothes and climbing gear that I hang on the balcony to dry stay where they are.

One word of caution: if this is your first time going to Tonsai, take the bus (instead of taxi) from Krabi airport to Nopparat Thara pier for the long tail boats. Last time I took a taxi the driver tried to take us to another pier with more expensive "speed boats", and we had to firmly ask him to load our stuff back on the taxi and drive us to the right place. Once you arrive in Tonsai these things don't happen.

If you get injured, medical evacuation is only by long tail boat. Best to be careful not to get a serious injury. Boats tend to come quickly when needed. I would recommend bringing a medical kit with essential medications (including manuka honey for dressing wounds) as there is no hospital or pharmacy in Tonsai. Due to the humid weather wounds tend to get infected easily and take a long time to heal. When I was there I dressed a lot of climbers wounds with manuka honey and sugar, worked like a charm.

I would highly recommend going to Tonsai. January is high season, so things will be a bit more expensive and you will have to queue up for popular climbs in the lower grades. Higher grades are relatively quiet though. Enjoy!
technogeekery
9-Oct-2012
2:45:24 PM
On 9/10/2012 f_abe wrote:
>I disagree! The long tail boat ride back to the mainland with a broken
>leg was merely a percusor to the delights of Krabi hospital - sick people
>lining the corridors as the rooms were overflowing, dogs wandering looking
>for tasty morsels, blood stained walls, and an x ray machine straight out
>of some early 40's B grade horror flick. The 'ambulance' ride to Phuket
>was even better - 3 hours in the back of a van, leg bouncing on the end
>of a too-short stretcher, the smell of vomit from the chronically car sick
>nurse, horn blaring...much more memorable than the climb I did!

Ow. This calls for a longer TR :-)
f_abe
9-Oct-2012
3:23:10 PM
Alas, as it happened on the first morning (and 2nd climb) of a planned 3 week stay not a lot to add...though I would be interested to know if it's only me that found it incredibly difficult to piss in a bottle lying in a hopsital bed?
As I hadn't relieved myself all day, I was busting after they screwed my leg together. But I just couldn't. Years of "thou must not piss thyself in bed" led to a rather uncomfortable bladder come 10pm. Two smiling nurses appeared with a towel and about 2m of thin tubing. I may have been in pain, but I still had my dignity. They said they'd give me till midnight, then it was going in, regardless. I relaxed. I focused. I tried to meditate as best I could. I had the bottle ready. It was about to come. Then in burst a cleaner (at 11pm??? only in Thailand) who seemed to interpret my loud abuse as enthusiastic appreciation of her duties. With my focus interupted I resigned myself to the inevitable (much to the mirth of my travelling companion who was pissing himself laughing in the passage outside at what I was to shortly endure). I may not be a god faring man, but a miracle occured that night, and as the smiling nurses entered my room with that dreadful tube I held aloft my full pee bottle with all the pride of a world champion hoisting their trophy.
Credit where its due though - the Phuket hospital did a great job, though there's a vast discrepancy between my image of two cute Thai nurses giving me a sponge bath and the reality...they only did the bits I couldn't reach...
kieranl
9-Oct-2012
3:41:46 PM
On 9/10/2012 f_abe wrote:
>Alas, as it happened on the first morning (and 2nd climb) of a planned
>3 week stay not a lot to add...though I would be interested to know if
>it's only me that found it incredibly difficult to piss in a bottle lying
>in a hopsital bed?
Yeah, I had that problem in Timaru hospital many years back. The doctor (who was the NZ climber Dick Price) had told me that the xray had cleared me of spinal damage but somehow the nurses hadn't got the message so they wouldn't let me move from the bed. This was one of those old-fashioned wards, one long room with a line of beds either side. It was all male so the nurses didn't see any reason to draw the curtains round the bed for me to take a pee. Finally managed to go under cover of darkness the second night and somehow managed to stop before overfilling the bottle. The nurse who removed the bottle seemed somewhat disgusted for some reason.
Will_P
9-Oct-2012
3:45:20 PM
I second everything yenwongdvm said - as a climber, you gotta go at least once. I spent a couple of 5-6 week trips there about 10 years ago, and had a great time. No, it's not a 'cultural experience', but like John Safran said, everywhere is pretty much the same except for the Ivory Coast. And f_abe - damn, impressed you have a sense of humour about it all now. I helped a couple of people who broke legs/ankles and didn't envy them the rest of their journey once they were loaded into the longtail. As for using a pee bottle - it's an aquired skill, and once you break that barrier, it gets easier until it's second nature. Mine now accompanies me on every trip.
Wendy
9-Oct-2012
9:25:41 PM
I love the tangents in this thread. Why do people want threads to stay on track and miss all this?

I did enjoy the climbing in Thailand once I got over my complete horror at the place. There's a lot of horror, but the actual climbing is good. It's like an over commercialised, over populatated, totally kitsch hippy festival. When you get up at 5 am to get some climbing done before the heat and the crowds, the only people around are Thai's cleaning up the rubbish left by lazy tourists. The tip and the rubbish bins are piles on the side of the paths. Petrol floating in the water, constant smell of burning diesal. No shortage of polished within inches of your toilet bowl routes. No shortage of bodgy bolts. And I was not climbing sub 20. And I was not there in peak season. But it is simple to avoid the queue by just getting up early. We'd be leaving the crag to have mango smoothies, a swim and a nap just as the hoards arrived each day.

If I went back, I'd go back in the middle of the off season. A little tropical rain is a small price to pay to avoid the worst of Tonsai. Take note of when people went when they reccommend it. It has been going steadily downhill for a long time.

Lao Liang was worth the extra expense. They limit the number of people, it's quiet, clean water with beautiful snorkelling, and the climbs are a long way off polished. It's in no way a cultural experience either, but it is a much more pleasant place.
technogeekery
9-Oct-2012
9:54:00 PM
Good story f_abe :-) Reinforces my decision to be (particularly) chickenshit when climbing in Krabi...

shortman
9-Oct-2012
10:42:37 PM
The worst thing with pee bottles is when the nurse has to put the little fella in for ya. I can remember twice being totally aware and able to communicate that I needed to pee, with no physical means of being able to do so.

Ah gawd....male nurses....I've gone each way so far.

It's not as bad whippin it out for the doc though when that red rash just wont go away.

That shit takes the Men Should Not Touch Other Mens Penis's cake for sure.

Unless your gay or just into that thing.

And for all those whom might be concerned it was to do with fabric quality and not an STD or STI or whatever they call the things now. I repeat.....just puttin it out there.

:-)
Doro
13-Oct-2012
1:41:12 PM
Thanks Chockies for all the info and amusing anecdotes. Off season is not an option because I am a teacher. I was looking for something semi half-way between here and Europe so I can escape the heat and my friends can escape winter. Not too inspired after reading all this. I've climbed a bit in Laos but found whatever protection was left really scary. Not too keen on going back there either. They might just have to come to Tassie with me.
technogeekery
13-Oct-2012
7:40:37 PM
Thought about Yangshuo?

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