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.

First Thailand incidents

Moments of terror
Since I had not had time to go to the hairdresser prior to my departure, I decided to get it done on my first day in Bangkok. Trip Advisor suggested a hair salon in Siam Paragon mall, the home of luxury brands, so I went there. Just like normally they bleached the overgrown roots of my blonded hair. As it was being washed off, several hairdressers started talking in concerned voices while they kept putting more stuff onto my hair. Finally they gave me a mirror. I almost cried out when I saw my white and purple hair. It looked awful! In Thailand "loosing your face" in disputes between people is a serious matter, but despite that I could not let them try to fix their mistake. I thanked them and walked out without paying. I went straight to the next hair salon, where a regular Dutch customer assured me that they know how to handle Western people hair. To my relief, my hair got anti-damage treatment and new color. Five hours later I left the mall with a decent hair color and almost 200€ poorer.

Friendly local help
In order to get to my first actual destination, a rural camp North-East from Bangkok, I was supposed to take a train to a small city called Chang Khoi and from there continue on by taxi. After a three-hour-long sweaty trip in an uncomfortable 3rd class car I arrived in town. I had been walking for less than five minutes when I ran into a super helpful and talkative young man, Arni. He told there are no taxis there and he would not suggest a 20km-long motorcycle trip in the dark with two heavy backpacks. Instead he took me to a fancy resort, negotiated me a discount price there and promised to drive me to the camp the following day. So I enjoyed the evening sitting on my own deck by a pool and slept well in an air-conditioned villa. The next day Arni, his wife, son and friend offered me a delicious Thai lunch with numerous shared dishes, followed by special Vietnamese coffee. During my stay at the camp Arni visited me one day to see around and bring me supplies from a supermarket.

The plan is no plans

"It's a mystery to me
We have a greed with which we have agreed
You think you have to want more than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you have
You think you need
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place
'Cause when you have more than you think
You need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy indeed
I hope you're not lonely without me

There's those thinking more or less, less is more
But if less is more how're you keeping score?
Means for every point you make your level drops
Kinda like you're starting from the top, you can't do that

Society, you're a crazy breed
I hope you're not lonely without me
Society, crazy indeed
I hope you're not lonely without me

Society, have mercy on me
I hope you're not angry if I disagree
Society, crazy indeed
I hope you're not lonely without me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOBlr0OUfD0

This is a quote of my all-time favorite soundtrack from the movie "Into the Wild". Right now its message is especially current for me. Some months ago I quit my secure, well-paying job in order to go after my "real passion". If I just knew what my passion is... When I returned home after traveling for two months, I did not feel like unpacking anything. Now I feel like it is time to get rid of everything, even my beloved apartment. I feel that I may have the courage to let go of society as I know it, at least for a while.

My society emphasizes possessing things, progressing on careers, engaging in trendy activities and being popularly busy. When people like me are thriving for this "standard happiness", we are over-consuming the world's natural resources and encouraging unfair distribution of wealth between industrialized and developing countries. As individuals, how many of us are questioning whether we are truly doing what makes us happy or if we are just going along with the society's norm of happiness?

My society provides me with accessible health care, free education, functioning infrastructure and a variety of other services. I know that even in cases of illness or unemployment I have its safety net to catch me. Because of my society I have become the privileged person, who is able to travel around the world in search of fortunes. After having benefited so much of its offering, is it right to just take off without barely giving back into it? Would it be my duty to live according to its rules - to keep paying high taxes and consuming?

I am spending lots of time on selling my appliances at maximal revenue, on deciding what to store and on determining what to take with me - to the detail of single items such as wine glasses. I am surprised at being so attached to the little property I have. After having being surrounded by everything I owe, it will be annoying not having a full selection of hiking gear or neat outfits for every occasion.

In my backpack I will have climbing stuff, laptop, bikinis, down jacket... and a one-way ticket to Bangkok. Please do not ask about my specific plans or time schedule. Roughly speaking, I will travel around Thailand/Cambodia/Laos/Vietnam/Malaysia doing hiking/climbing/sightseeing/job hunting/professional networking/nothing. Even though I will travel mostly alone, I dearly hope I will not be lonely but run into friendly people to do exciting things with.

PS. Right now I am damn happy!! I am also somewhat nervous, unbelieving and excited, but mostly happy!

(My old Uganda blog got an updated look, since I just kept writing on it. Lacking artistic literary skills, I renamed it as "My General Blog" so that it is no longer restricted to any given places or subjects.)

1,5 days before departure

Farewell afterclimbs