Tonsai memorial

It was easy to see that Tonsai has passed its golden days as climbers' paradise. Most seafront restaurants have been burnt down to be replaced by a luxury resort, and at the moment their previous area is a smelling garbage dump. Bungalows and few remaining chillout bars are situated by the main street further inland, where it is possible to imagine Tonsai's old glory.

This used to be seafront bars

But no worries, my stay in Tonsai was saved by the company of two awesome Swiss. It was discovered that Chang beer is the recommended choice for good headaches, mushroom shake makes one operate sharply and push-and-pull top roping is the right climbing technique. Then there were characteristic cats; the tree climbing cat and the stoned cat were our favorites. Also, having a shower can be truly appreciated only after getting completely covered in sweat, sand, chalk and mosquito repellent.

Climbing in Tonsai was contradicting. First I could happily lead flash a 6B and then jump to another 6B right next to it, just to badly fail on it with top rope. Yet still I climbed my first clean 6B+ routes there. Luckily there is CROSSFIT! It enables everything and helps to improve in climbing, approximately by one grade per day.

Yes, I am finish.

Crossfit belaying

Stoned cat

Traveling and/or/versus working

"What the fuck am I doing? I have no home. I have no job. Does that mean I have no future?" Sometimes when I am not busy I stop and think about how confused I am. This is the first time in my life that I have not got a set plan to follow. Sure, the rough plan is to keep on traveling until I find a job somewhere and then make myself a home there. But for how long does it take until I find a job? What and where will it be? Essentially, will I ever even find any satisfying work?

Some people expect me to stop traveling and return to normal life. Without asking from me, they assume I would be happy if I just got another well-paying job, stable property and family. Or maybe they do not really think about my happiness, but conservatively want me to be like everyone else. Usually I am able to ignore upsetting comments if I know they are not valid. This time I cannot entirely do it, though, because I am not hundred percent sure about it.

I have had good conversations with other travelers. In general, they seem more relaxed, joyful and open than normal people. I notice less "what-if" and "then-when" type of thinking but they seek to be happy in present moment. I think less travelers will regret their journeys than normal people will regret not having realized their dreams. It is comforting to know that many others have made the same choice as me and they are doing well. It seems that the longer they have traveled the less troubled they are with similar career pressures to mine.

After all, money matters. Not even the cheapest living traveler can survive without sufficient funds. It seems that most travelers do seasonal jobs, which are easy to get and quit. Academic jobs are different. They have demanding application processes and they are expected to last for years. Organizations employing academic professionals require commitment, so having a long travel gap in my CV might decrease my employment chances.

At this stage, I cannot make such a big decision as to abandon my academic career. I enjoy intellectual challenges and I am too ambitious to stop trying to yet achieve new skills. After quitting my IT job I have done research to figure out what kinds of career profiles exist that might interest me. So far my list of key words is the following: impact sector, developing countries, climate change, economic development, consulting, project management. I have applied to interesting sounding jobs in Europe and Asia, but I fear I cannot beat the touch competition for them.

If I could define the optimal plan, I would travel for a few more months and then start a job in some new country (not Finland). For me the content of the work is more important than its location, so I consider the whole world as my job market. Naturally I do not always get exactly what I plan, but I must be flexible to temporarily adapt to less optimal situations until I can change them for better. Maybe I will get a temporary job to refill my CV for a while, and then go on traveling again.

Anyways, I am getting increasingly motivated to spend quiet days with my computer to write job applications. It gives me a sense of control over my life. "Maybe I have some idea about what I am doing; I am partly aimlessly drifting from one thing to another, partly determinedly building my future. Doubtlessly I am doing the right thing for me."

My Chiang Mai office

White water kayaking at Mae Taeng River

Adventure climbing

As much as it is possible to call sport climbing adventurous, I think we did a pretty good job on finding some unexploited crags in Northern Thailand. After climbing some days at Crazy Horse Buttress near the tourist-hub city of Chiang Mai, we decided to go in search for new climbing sectors recently bolted by local people. We were supplied with a hand-drawn map of the area, as well as some rough topos, which we soon found out to be quite incorrect. 

My partner-in-crime was Jedy, with whom we used to be colleagues before leaving the company. (Yep, once we even talked about our previous work projects between climbs.) We rented a motorbike and drove up to Chiang Dao, an ordinary small town surrounded by beautiful mountains. Having picked the cheapest guesthouse available, we slept on the floor and were served by its charismatic owner when ever she felt like being serviceable.

Guest house terrace evening view

The climbing sectors are located right next to crop fields, so local farmers helpfully pointed us to paths leading to the cliffs. Had we had machetes to cut off sticky spiky plants from our way, would we have ended up with less scratches and torn pants. However, the stunning scenery and excellent routes made it worth the trip! Having very little information about the rarely climbed routes, Jedy set out to explore them; estimate grades and safety, look out for wasps/spiders/lizards/flying ants (found all of them!), and on one route to drop down a plate-sized stone right next to my head.

Dense approach path

My star moment was climbing my first clean 6B. For the first time at outdoor leading I dared to climb at my true skill level, which was a mental victory for me. I would not have done without Jedy, who kept on encouraging me. Having a reliable and committed belayer has a notable part in successful climbing, as at all times the climber must feel that s/he is there for you. For me it is especially important to build a good relationship with my belayer and take test falls on him/her. Taken that, it is a bit frustrating to keep changing belayers as I travel to new places.

The long and technical 6B route

(Expensive) sparkling wine to celebrate!

One day we were joined by three more friends to hike up to Doi Luang Chiang Dao, which is Thailand's third highest peak at 2225m. We managed to avoid hiring a guide, so we simply followed this clean path revealing us lush views over the mountains, colorful butterflies and rare flowers. It was enjoyable times indeed, and the next day we visited Chiang Dao caves, that form long tunnels with narrow bottlenecks and wide chambers underground. There we got to see animals of darkness, such as pats and spiders.

Pre-hike hotpot dinner

Nap at the top

Buddhist cave decorations

Nam Pha Pay Ai

I spent a week at rural Nam Pha Pay Ai camp, in the middle of jungle forests and high cliffs. It was very sympathetic and relaxed; cute little tents for sleeping, hammocks for quiet resting, slacklines and fingerboards for training. The centre of the camp was an open-air lounge, where people gathered for tasty homemade meals and evening hang-arounds. My favorite time there was weekdays, when it was less than ten of us. Everyone got to know each other and the atmosphere was family-like.

Ben, the French founder of the camp, has good ideology. Instead of trying to grow his camp into a commercial money-making source, he prefers to keep it a down-to-earth place for like minded people. Volunteers work in the garden to grow food and help to build and repair things. One morning we opened up a new path through the dense jungle to get to the top of a nearby peak. Ben also gives good thought to climbing route naming, since he hopes that the politically stating names make people to consider issues.

Machete kills

Ben's carefully balanced kern

Quite quickly we climbers developed a set day program. Right after breakfast we took a zip line across a big river to the main crags, where we climbed until lunch. In the afternoons we either returned to climbing or took it easy with slacklining, reading and napping. After it got dark we sat down together to play different card games, which all were named 'Asshole'.

Cool approach to crags

Bat cave

Climbing wise I was left with mixed feelings. Before my departure I had done lots of indoor lead fall practice to get mentally stronger, and it somehow helped also outdoors, where bolts are further apart and wall structures sometimes make falling dangerous. I led all 6As out there and my best climb was a 6A+ onsight. Still I did not dare to climb even near my real skill limit, leaving lots of room for improvement both grade and braveness wise.

I also climbed  a tree!

After having teamed up with the camp people, I felt a bit sad to leave it behind. But that is traveling; you see places and meet people for a while, and then say goodbye in order to go for yet new experiences. I anticipate I will get tired of it at some point, but right now I enjoy it. At home I always do the same things, whereas by traveling I can get as much change as I wish. I know that I will never meet again with most of these people, but I will have learnt different life lessons from them. I believe that spending just a few days in the company of a person with whom you really clique with can be more fruitful than spending months with people you have little in common with. Then in the end, the most significant path-crossings will stay in my memories for a long time.