Quick Stint in Koh Lanta & on to Full Moon Koh Pangan

So we have met up with some buddies from Vancouver, Mr. Franky (Steve) and Dave Barkwell. We showed them all the great sights in Railay, and then Tonsai for a few days. We introduced them to Climbing in one of the best climbing destinations in the world & all the sights around Krabi Town. We have now made our way to the Full Moon. Leela Beach Bungalows if anyone plans to meet up with us.

Sorry for the lack of updates, we are just rancho relaxo, and haven't found to many places with internet. Next stop Koh Tao, and then up north to Changmai. We have to leave the country around the 14th of Dec. Maybe a dip into Myanmar for a week to renew our visa and then into Vietnam. North first and making our way south. Pictures will be updated soon so be prepared for some hot shots. The drinking and crazy times will commense for the next 3-4 days, as we will be meeting up with many friends that we have met. And that's why people come here from all over the world.

Merry Christmas to all, and have a safe happy New Year. Our Christmas was combined with beach volleyball, hiking to the lagoon, then a great buffet dinner for 150 Baht, ($5). Christmas day climbing up about 120 feet off the beach and just hanging out swimming and taking it easy followed up by a night of buckets, and dancing. So many experiences everyday it's hard to keep you all updated.

Back To Thailand, Railay Beach

The first place we had to go was Railay Beach in Krabi. We have been so excited to climb as we did not find any in the Phillipines. So here we are, we have already been here for a week. There is so much to do and I just love the vibe. There are no vehicles here. It's a land locked area on the mainland but you have to take a boat to get here. We have done so much. Today I took Larisa up the mountain, 1267 steps to the Buddist Temple in the Sky. So relaxing, so peaceful and we decided that the difficult accent makes it much better as it is a deterant to turns most tourists away. But we feel that the Buddah is testing us. At around 1/3 of the way the steps get so steep, each one about 2 ft. vertical. We saw so many eager beavers turn around at that point. We feel this also might be a good lesson. All great things may be difficult to aquire, and most never acheive them, as they quit at the first road bump. But little do they realize that with a little perseverance, some of the most special, amazing experiences will follow.

Yesterday we encounter this very situation. We heard of a great climb by some fellow travellers, but that it was very difficult to find. The climbing guide did'nt say much about it except that it was very difficult climb just to find the beginning of the climb. A little difficult to navigate, but we persevered and finally found it. The climb was a 60M vertical climb off the beach, all bush whacking. Very difficult with sandals. But well worth it. We eventually found it. One of the climbs was a multipitch 200M off the beach where we started. The views up there are so great, and very few people will ever get to enjoy them while hanging off a rope from the side of the mountain. One of the climbs was about 20M up the cliff into a cave, which we heard you can explore with your headlights and go threw the mountain and then rappel down the other side of the mountain onto one of the most beautiful beaches. We happen to give it a shot at sunset, with one headlamp and it turned out to be an amazing adventure.

It been new adventures everyday. Climbing another mountain into a lagoon surrounded completly by 200M cliff walls. Larisa and I are enjoying the food so much, and wish you could all be here to enjoy the experiences with us. I am so excited to show you all the photo's but presently having difficulty uploading them. We are planning to head to Full Moon Party in a few days to celebrate one of the biggest parties on earth at New Years on the Beach.

El Nido, Palawan, La Isla Bonita

Yes we are having so much fun here. So many great activities. Sea Kayaking to the thousands of jagged islands. We decided to make a bamboo raft and a shelter, just to see if we could survive on one of these uninhabited islands. Day two Island hopping to the beautiful lagoons, secluded beaches, great snorkling, and reef. All the mountains are super sharp jagged rocks formed from the torential rain in the wet monsoon season. Today we climbed up the moutain to see the spectacular views from the top. Very difficult, dangerous terrain, amazing to see.

Palawan Perfect

Sabang, Palawan (8km Underground River)

This is one of the only islands that tourism hasn' t real hit yet. It could be the difficult travelling over through the mountains on only dirt roads. (Much like Skookemchuk Hot Springs but more up and down like the rockies.) The roads are all just in the process of being paved as we speak. First stop Sabang. Thinking that this would actually be a big city we arrive without doing much pre planning as far as the cash situation. We find out that there are no banks, atm's, use of credit cards or travellers checks anywhere on the island except for the big capital of Puerto Princessa. To bad we to already have been on the road for nine hours on a Jeepney before we find this out.

Sabang is acutally one road no more then a city block. Power on comes on between 6pm- 9pm every day. Maybe only 200 people living in the village, but we found a great place, Sabang Beach Backpackers 200 Pesos. Thats $5 Canadian, or $2.50 each per night, comes complete with a needed mosquito net, and the shower is a bucket of water that you pour over your head after pumping it from the town well. We got luckey and met someone here who would buy our US money for a decent price.

Here in the photo's you will see the place we stayed for 3 days, the opening of the 8 km underground river, which was just nominated today to possible be one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World by UNESCO. There was a hugh celebration on Dec. 4 Celebrating this occasion, and we were lucky enough to be there for the Event. The last picture is of all the little children bathing in the Ocean. There are many children here.