Rai-lay from 28 meters high….

The rasta dude points us up the winding dirt path where we grab a simple native bungalow for 3 bucks/person. Rai-lay is tiny, but it has character. One side has a few upscale resorts, while the other (Railay East) is like another world… rock climbing shops, reggae bars, kayaks, caves, and unlimited cliffs to climb. We choose Highland Climbers, which also doubles as the best old school coffee and tea house in the world, run by a bunch of awesome Thai rasta men. Mark is our instructor, and we jump right into day one of rock climbing and belaying. A few things I learned on day one: # 1- Rock climbing is much harder than it looks. #2- I can actually push my entire body up a wall using only 1 finger and 1 toe. #3-Always watch out for monkey poop. #4- Never give up, just try until you fall, the rope will catch you. #5- “No pain, no gain!” AND, #6- I LOVE rock climbing.

Day two of rock climbing is at a site right on the beach. This day I tackle some climbs that I thought were impossible!!! I was sore from the first day, and convinced myself that I could not make it up the last climb of the day… 30 meters high (99 feet)!!! The last 5 meters of which is basically a flat wall that we are told to “just shimmy” on up! (When it looks hard as my instructor lead climbs to attach the rope, then it must be hard!) I make it up to about 20 meters, where I am stuck in a little cave, thinking “how in the hell am I going to get up and out of this cave?!?” Somehow I defy gravity and manage to get over, pushing onward, determined to do this. At 25 meters the wall is flat, with tiny little holes, and I am already in an unnatural straddling position, placing my foot up to my ear level, then pushing up, stunned that my toehold and my muscles actually came through for me. I make it to 28 meters (92 feet), take a good look around at the view of the bays to my left and right, realize that I just climbed 28 meters, and a few weeks ago I was 30 meters below the sea scuba diving…. I now have a 58 meter personal range of this earth!!!

So anyway, I’m 2 meters from the top, stuck in this crazy position, holding on by my fingertips, and balancing on 1 toe… Mark is belaying me and yelling “just shimmy straight up!”, and I’m like, “oh really? yea, ok, sure thing, thanks for the great advice.” HAhahahaha. I yell down that I’m about to fall, make my best effort to reach the top, and then fall backwards, rappelling quickly back to the ground! I almost cry when I realize that I just did something that I did not think I could physically do. My body and mind came through for me, and the adrenaline rush was crazy! Too often I stick to my comfort zones, and even though I am very adventurous in my life, none of it ever seems impossible. It always seems fun and exhilarating, but the rush and the feeling that I got from doing something that I thought I couldn’t do… that feeling cannot be beat. So, watch out world, here comes a girl that is ready to tackle the hard stuff, and never again will I say “I can’t,” until I at least try!!

We are dead tired after all the climbing and all the sheer adrenaline that rushed through our veins, but head out for a fun filled night at our favorite bars with our friends anyway. We listened to the same singers playing the same songs, sat at the same table and played one round of Yanif as usual, watched the same out of this world fire show, danced to the same music, and ended the night with our favorite people in our favorite bar, just as we had done every night in Railay… and it NEVER got old!!!!

Our last night in Railay was not just our last night in Railay, but it was the last night that just Leah and I would be together on this trip. (The next day we were due to pick up her mom for a few days in Phuket, then they were heading to Indonesia, while I was heading for Vietnam). So, in celebration of our last night together, we did it up right… all the way until sunrise of course!!! :)