Krabi -> Singapore -> Auckland

One of my favorite bands to see in concert built much of their reputation on brilliantly executed segues between several songs, often across seemingly disparate keys and musical themes. These seemless movements from one song to the next were shown on their setlists with arrows ( -> ), suggesting a journey, a connection of ideas. Thinking back over the last week of our travels, I saw a parallel. I love the idea that traveling is a method for one to draw his own route across the earth joining places of interest, but more importantly, to connect meaningful experiences in his mind.

If I think back across the years, these three places hold much intrigue for me. Krabi is a world class rock climbing destination which has been the subject of more discussions I've had about Thailand than any other place in the country. Singapore's strict but squeaky-clean image was burned into my mind (maybe all of ours?) in high school when a traveler was caned for a petty offense of chewing gum or spitting on the street. Simultaneously frightened and curious, I figured I'd end up here eventually to have a look. Finally, New Zealand (of which Auckland is the gateway) was the initial impetus for my wanderlust as a university student. So, it is with great amusement that I've now threaded these destinations together as a traveler.

We spent five days rock climbing in the paradise of Ton Sai Beach, Krabi in southern Thailand. A friend flew in from Seattle to meet us, and then we unintentionally ran into our hiking companion from Korea on New Years Eve, making for a wonderful crew and a week of fun. The climbing on Ton Sai is amazing, to say the least -- big, juggy limestone, with so much variety. We climbed for five days straight, whipping us both into exhaustion, but leaving us equally elated. Of particular note was the day we spent deep water soloing. Climbers will be familiar with this, but for the benefit of the uninitiated, it is a form of climbing in which you climb unroped on cliffs directly above the water, using the water as your safety net. Obviously, ability and confidence can get you into hairy spots here, but its an amazing way to climb, and released me from a recent fear of falling while roped (That might sound strange; scared to fall while roped, but not scared while not roped high above water, but that's how it played out). For me, discovering deep water soloing was akin to backcountry skiing. That is, a perfect combination of two things I love to do; climb and jump off things into the water. It was pure climbing, and pure fun.

Liz made some wonderful connections during her NOLS course in Alaska, and we've had the pleasure of meeting up with several of her classmates on this trip, two of whom live in Singapore. After the protests at the Bangkok airport in December, and desiring to see her NOLS friends, we booked our flight to Auckland out of Singapore. We traveled overland by bus and a 14 hour train from Krabi through Malaysia to arrive in affluent Singapore two days ago. Its a wonderful city as far as cities go, and with the guidance of her friends Chin Yong and Isky, we have had a great time exploring it a bit. Mostly, we've eaten a lot of good food, stayed in a great hostel, and had our first microbrew beer since leaving Seattle 4 months ago. Phwew.

We leave for Auckland this evening, and arriving there will, for me, represent the fulfillment of a decade long dream of traveling to New Zealand, which has occupied a spot in my mind like Shangri-la for much of my adult life.