Bye-Bye Southeast Asia!

Time to head for new horizons but before that some reflections about the second stage of my round the world trip.

If I was to give a practical description of Southeast Asia I'd present it as a family, being Malaysia and Thailand the parents, Laos and Cambodia the children (note that Vietnam would be the missing child) and Myanmar and Singapore the aunt-uncles. Malaysia, a hard-worker tradition-based man that built himself up from a farmer to a successful businessman (with a squillion-worth oil flooded backyard). Thailand, a beautiful woman who has spent the last 40 years of her life offering all her beauty, kindness and delicious food to anyone dropping by. What can I say, I've got a soft spot for her; I spent most of my time visiting her and I cannot wait to come back! Then Laos and Cambodia, the youngsters of the family. Two different personalities though. Laos would be the naive and funny young boy running around offering some of the most genuine experiences in the continent. Let's hope mother Thailand keeps him out of trouble during these difficult years as a teenager (i.e. drugs widely available everywhere plus lots of greedy self-entrepreneurs eager to drain the national natural resources). Cambodia would be a disheartening sad-eyed grown-up girl. Her childhood was stolen by a bunch of assassins. Luckily for her, numerous people (mostly foreigners) have taken her rehabilitation process as a personal challenge. Their good work is showing early results and I'm confident that one day she will be the shinning star of the family (as she used to). Not much to say about uncle Singapore, he's always been the $mart guy of the family. Always looking for new business, he'll be fine. Finally aunt Myanmar, a tired older replica of Cambodia. Different problems, different manners, same consequence: a suffering population. Some say once she used to be even more beautiful that Thailand, difficult to believe now that she's all covered in cheap governmental make up. Please be aware of this the next time our politicians decide to look somewhere else.

That completes my modest interpretation of Southeast Asia. It shouldn't be taken very seriously after all I've only spent 152 days in this beautiful land. However that's how I felt it and that's how I'll remember my diversion around Southeast Asia. All the best and hope to be back soon!

Interesting things I've learnt during my last weeks in Asia:

• How to build bamboo furniture, always useful.
• How to restrain my desire for killing my-annoying-self after a few days in the solitude of a tropical island.
• That old coconut juice shouldn't be drunk.
• How to dive from high rocks (well there's not much to learn here, just let gravity do the job).
• How to dive underwater rocks (in open waters).
• That Nemo's full name is anemonefish from the subfamily Amphiprioninae.
• What KL stands for.
• That any Malaysian business must be co-owned by at least one Malay person (that excludes the Chinese and Indian citizens).
• That due to a discriminatory quota, Chinese and Indian descendants born in Malaysia have more difficulties to join the Malaysian public universities that Malay students, forcing them to complete their studies overseas.
• That littering the Singaporean streets with chewing gum or cigarette buts can cost you more than 30 euros!

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Es la hora de poner rumbo a nuevos horizontes, pero antes de hacerlo me gustaria hacer balance de la segunda etapa de mi paseo por el mundo. Si alguien me pidiera un resumen practico y pragmatico del sureste asiatico, yo me decantaria por la metafora de una gran familia. En primer lugar encontrariamos a Malasia, un solido cabeza de familia basado en la tradicion y que gracias al duro trabajo (y a una despensa llena de oro negro) ha conseguido pasar de granjero a exitoso hombre de negocios en menos de 30 años. Junto a el mama Tailandia. Que quereis que os diga, a pesar de mi primera impresion esta preciosa mujer se ha ganado mi corazon gracias a su belleza, simpatia y buena comida. He pasado casi 3 meses conociendola y no veo el momento de volver a su encuentro. A las faldas de mama Tailandia encontramos a Laos y Camboya, los pequeños de la familia (junto a Vietnam, la hija prodiga). Laos seria algo asi como Daniel 'El Travieso', un niño revoloso y divertido correteando de aqui para alla regalandonos algunas de las experiencias mas autenticas del contiente. Solo espero que mama Tailandia sea capaz de sacarle adelante durante la dificil edad del pavo (como destino turistico) que se le avecina; drogas y especuladores acechan a la puerta de su instituto. Camboya por su parte seria una adolescente de ojos tristes. Una banda de asesinos le robaron su infancia y ahora trata de salir adelante gracias al buen hacer de cooperantes locales y extranjeros. Para completar la foto de familia los tios Singapur y Birmania. Respecto al primero decir que el siempre fue el tipo li$to de la familia. Serio (aburrido) emprendedor no creo que debamos preocuparnos demasiado por el, es un valor seguro. Por desgracia las cosas pintan de manera muy diferente para tia Birmania. Dicen que en su dia fue tan bella o mas que Tailandia. Es dificil de decir hoy en dia viendo la cubierta de los moratones y heridas inflingidos por un gobierno del todo no-democratico que roba y oprime a su poblacion. Donde esta la justicia!

En fin, 152 dias que aunque paracen mucho no dan ni para empezar. Ha sido un periplo inolvidable que permanecera para siempre en mi recuerdo. Cuidaros mucho y espero volver a veros pronto!

SEA's Glass Jungles: KL & Singapore

Over the last months this blog has witnessed some of the most precious gems to be found in Southeast Asia. Almost in all cases these beauties referred to the vast nature present in the subcontinent. However during my last week there I got the chance to discover what this continent might be up to in the forthcoming years - these are two of the new "Jungles of Asia": Kuala Lumpur & Singapore.

Kuala Lumpur
The former of the two southern capitals houses nearly 2 million people. This super-modern, super-efficient and super-commercial hub appeared to me even more superlative when compared to the rest of Malaysia I had seen until then - a quiet and rather traditional Muslim country. Despite the limited offer of tourist attractions (basically it sums up to the famous Petronas Twin Towers), I now remember those days in KL with a strange mix of warmth and affection. Perhaps it was the outstanding crew of the fantastic hostel (best of my trip so far) where I spent my three nights in the city, perhaps the conveniences of the city, but the thing is that I really enjoyed my time there.

Singapore
If KL was super-modern, super-efficient and super-commercial, one would need to use a different scale to measure Singapore City. What can you say about a city where the time gap between two consecutive intra-city trains reduces to less than 2 minutes during peak hour? Singapore's state-of-the-art urbanism left me mouth open. I'll omit any further comments about the whooping 1 kilometer-wide avenues and the endless skyscrappers (I guess that what Let Zeppeling were mind-picturing when they wrote Stairway to Heaven) in favour of one picture:


In summary, these two glassy jungles host a fair amount of urban attractions for those concrete-and-steel lovers. As for me, well, I guess I spent to much time in the Island to appretiate the beautiful complexity of the modern world.

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Durante los ultimos meses este blog ha sido testigo de algunas de las piedras preciosas que se pueden encontrar en el sureste asiatico. En la mayoria de los casos estas maravillas estan relacionadas con la naturaleza vasta y salvaje que atesora la region. Para completar el album, en mi ultima semana en el continente visite dos de las nuevas "junglas de cristal" asiaticas: Kuala Lumpur y Singapur.

Kuala Lumpur: La capital de Malasia alberga casi 2 millones de personas en una impresionante malla de calles y avenidas. La oferta turistica no es excesivamente amplia, de hecho se podria resumir en las famosas Torres Petronas. Sin embargo he de reconocer que garcias al maginifico y superamable personal del albergue en el que pernocte las tres noches (el mejor de lo que va de viaje), guardo un calido recuerdo de mi visita a KL.

Singapur: Si KL me parecio moderna, eficiente e impresionantemente comercial, que decir de Singapur, una ciudad donde el intervalo de espera en el metro se reduce a 2 minutos en hora punta! Avenidas que se podrian cruzar en avion, centros comerciales donde uno puede encontrar de todo (literalmente de TODO) y rascacielos tan altos que deben rascarle los w*bos al mismisimo Michael Jackson en las alturas.
En resumen, dos junglas de cristal que hacen las delicias de cualquier amante del acero y hormigon. Por mi parte, que puedo decir, supongo que pase demasiado tiempo en la isla como para apreciar la belleza del mundo moderno.

Pics'n'vids: Kuala Lumpur & Singapore

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Life as a Mermaid

So far during this trip I had been at sea level (e.g. London), well over it (e.g. Pushkar), remarkably past it (e.g. Vang Vieng) and nearly as far as you can get above it (e.g. Annapurnas). However it was yet to be known what if feels like to be in negative elevations, this is under the sea!

For the sake of completeness my loyal travel mate -Linda- and I crossed the Thai-Malaysian border to visit the Perhentian islands. The two small islands -Perhentian Kecil and Perhentian Besar- are becoming increasingly popular among Southeast Asia trotters. Nonetheless the exorbitant price of alcohol in Malaysia (heavily taxed by the Islamic government) and the better accessibility of the Thai islands has kept the levels of development and trashy tourism fairly low. Thanks to this the Perhentian archipelago remains an underwater paradise where one can easily spot lovely creatures such as turtles, sharks and sting rays mingling with schools of tropical fish.

We worked our ticket to this spectacle by learning step-by-step all the necessary theory (books and everything!) to become an open water diver. Thanks to Ravi, Nic and Benita -the professional and friendly instructors of Matahari Divers- we managed to get our licenses in a short and enjoyable time.

It was then time to put our skills to practice starting with the James Bond's back roll, a classic. Once we rid ourselves of the initial bubbles a whole new world unveiled to our eyes. First stop: Nemo's quarters. Hilarious fellow. The seafari continued through the pits and valleys of coral reef where millions of fish traveled in opposite directions emulating an Asian city in rush hour. Although our camera missed most of them (we only took it with us to one of the dives) the list of underwater highlights included a blue dotted stingray, a box fish, some little sharks and a turtle among other delights.

I know this is going to sound familiar to the readers of this blog but those days under the water embodied some of the most unforgettable sights of my trip. Somewhere sometime I read that one can see more wildlife in ten minutes by a coral reef than in ten hours in a jungle forest. Having done both myself, I do agree. Perhaps it is due to a (fake) sense of self-confidence but most of the fish wont hide from scuba divers. On the contrary the carry on with their daily routines and in some cases they might even show as much interest in us -the outsiders- as we do. An example this was an amazing underwater trip escorted by a school of barracudas that engraved forever in my memory.

PS: Thanks to Geraldine for some of the pictures!

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A lo largo de mi viaje me habeis visto a nivel del mar (p.ej. en Londres), algunos cientos de metros sobre el (p.ej. en Pushkar), varios cientos de metros sobre el mismo (p.ej. en Vang Vieng) e incluso miles de metros por encima de el (p.ej. en los Annapurnas). Lo que todavia no habia experimentado es lo que se siente al estar algunos metros bajo el mar!

Para resolver esta incertidumbre mi compañera de aventuras Linda y yo cruzamos la frontera entre Tailandia y Malasia para embarcarnos en un viaje a las islas Perhentian. Estas diminutas islas del mar del Sur de China ganan mas y mas adeptos cada dia, especialmente entre buceadores de todo el mundo que llegan atraidos por los fondos virgenes lejos de sus hipertransitados vecinos del norte (p.ej. Kho Tao, Kho Phi Phi en Tailandia).

Tras una semana de preparacion teorica y practica en la escuela de buceo Matahari por fin conseguimos nuestras licencias PADI y con ellas el billete a un viaje inolvidable. Primera parada: la guarida de Nemo (sisi, el de la peli). De ahi en adelante mantas, pequeños tiburones y la perla del dia: una tortuga! Se que os va a sonar a topico pero mi viaje submarino ha sido una de las actividades mas especiales que he hecho hasta ahora. En algun lugar lei que es posible ver mas vida animal en 10 minutos en un arrecife de coral que en 10 horas en medio de la selva. Mi experiencia corrobora esta afirmacion. Es dificil de explicar lo que se siente al ser aceptado como invitado especial en un banco de barracudas atravesando los fondos avisales... los colores, los movimientos, el silencio sepulcral unicamente roto por tu propia respiracion. En fin, inolvidable.

Pics'n'vids: Perhentian Islands

Deep Water Soloing

A few days ago I intentionally posted a picture of a skinny Spaniard glued to a rock some 15 meters high by no other means than his bare hands and feet. Reckless? insane? idiotic? maybe, but wait for the second half of the story.

In my previous post I already introduced the epic climbs of Krabi. However what I did not mention is that Krabi is also a one-of-a-kind place in the world to engage in the Deep Water Soloing experience. DWS is a pretty fancy name for something that kids all over the world have been doing for ages: climbing up a rock to jump into the ocean. While this children's game is absolutely unacceptable (provided the potential risk involved), under controlled conditions it represents one of the most exciting climbing challenges ever imagined. Watch the movie!

Neither me nor my climbing buddies wanted to miss the chance and so we joined the professional crew of Mr. Wee Climbing School for a full day of sweat, adrenaline pumping and -needless to say- fun! Early in the morning a longtail boat picked us up at Rai Leh West on its way to the cliffs especially selected for the activity (ie safe). The 20 minutes ride ended by a gorgeous 80+ m limestone wall where one could spot what seemed (difficult to believe though) white stains of magnesium left by some climbers. The level of excitement pushed us into the water and onto the rock. A German guy started the show climbing up to a 15 m high stalactite from where he jumped off. The awkward position of the jumper refreshed old memories of a nasty fall while canyoning in the Pyrenees, thus I opened my personal account with a 8 m free fall. Linda followed with surprising determination. The hours passed and the climbers moved on to new sections of rock. Touché to a French fellow who almost achieved the 'Pile of Pancakes' in his first attempt. Unbelievable.

With a bite of local cuisine safe in our tummies we proceeded to the second climbing site: a massive rock lying right in front of the 'Chicken Island' (inside a national park). Perhaps it was the post-lunch laziness or maybe the deficit of adrenaline but the truth is that nobody stood up to face the new challenge. Alright, I'll give it a try- said chicken Iñaki playing the big boy. A kayak dropped me at the foot of a 6A, sandy-paper wall with tiny cutting edges. Driven by the excitement and the unawareness of what I was leaving below me (more and more meters of free fall) I worked my way up until I couldn't reach anything to hold on. So, I guess this is it, isn't it? - I shouted to the audience down on the boats. Then I received the confirmation and further instructions commanding me to turn around. Sh*t! how am I supposed to turn around, man? No answer to that. Extremely carefully I descended a couple of meters where the wall grew slightly concave. I turned 180º resting on my toes like a ballerina only to discover that the sea was 16 m below me. Legs shaking. F*ck me! And then the thrill, an electric rush traveling from my toes to the head. Time's up, off we go! Too short to scream, too long to go unnoticed. And then the crash. To my surprise I penetrated the sea quite smoothly. Finally the glory. Back on the surface my friends cheering up like crazy.

Another experience to remember, another item down from my list, God bless this diversion!

Chicken Iñaki	Way To Pancakes

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Dias atras subi una foto de un diminuto servidor adherido a una roca gigante con la unica ayuda de sus manos y pies (sin cuerda alguna). No di mas explicaciones deliberadamente. Locura? excentricidad? estupidez? Tal vez, pero esperar a leer la segunda parte de esta historia.

En mi anterior post ya explique las bondades de Krabi como meca de la escalada mundial. Lo que no comente entonces es que este pequeño itsmo ofrece ademas una oportunidad unica a nivel mundial para practicar la Escalada Libre en Aguas Profundas (en ingles, Open Water Soloing). Este es el nombre rimbonmante para algo que todos hemos hecho de niños, subirse a una roca para saltar al mar. Aunque dicho 'juego de niños' ha de ser desaprobado (dado el riego implicado), en circunstancias bajo control se convierte en una de las experiencias de escalada mas excitantes que uno pueda imaginar. Ver video!

Ninguno de los que estabamos en Rai Leh queriamos perdernos la oportunidad y tras esperar dos dias a que la mar acompañase por fin nos embarcamos camino de las rocas cuidadosamente seleccionadas para la actividad (por el equipo de profesionales de la escuela de escalada de Mr. Wee). Veinte minutos en barca que nos transportaron a una impresionante roca de mas de 80 metros donde se podian ver (aunque con dificultades para creerselo) manchas de magnesio dejadas por los escaladores. El nivel de excitacion nos propulso al agua de ahi a la roca. El primer valiente fue un aleman que se encaramo a una estalactita a 15 metros de altura antes de soltarse. La postura inverosimil del compañero trajo a mi mente viejos recuerdos de una caida un tanto 'desacertada' años atras en los cañones de Guara. Por ello decidi estrenarme con un salto de 8 m. Nada mal para abrir boca. Tras esto la tribu de treparocas se lanzaron a nuevos desafios, con mencion especial para un frances que casi culmino la 'Pila de Talos' en su primer intento. Increible.

Tras un picnic en una playa aledaña procedimos a la segunda escuela del dia. Seria la pereza tras la comida o el deficit de adrenalina pero el caso es que nadie se atrevia con la nueva pared. Entonces desperto el hombre que NO hay en mi. Venga va, a ver como respira! Y alli que me fui, o mejor dicho, me llevaron en kayak. Emprendi mi asalto a un 6A de piedra porosa con determinacion. Metro a metro ganaba altura impulsado por la adrenalina y por el desinteres sobre lo que dejaba tras de mi (mas metros de caida). Asi hasta que no encontre nada mas a lo que adherirme (y creerme que NO habia nada mas). Pues hasta aqui hemos 'llegao' grite a la audiencia que observaba desde las barcazas. Uno de los monitores insistio en que debia darme la vuelta antes de saltar. Como si eso fuera posible! Cual elefante pisando huevos (los mios no estaban bajo la suela de mis pies de gato precisamente) baje hasta una seccion ligeramente concava de la pared. Alli, cual bailarina de ballet rote sobre la punta de mis dedos de los pies para descubrir el panorama: 16 metros de vacio que acababan en el mar turquesa. El sudor de mis manos (posadas) sobre las rocas me hizo comprender que no habia otro camino. Con dos p*lotas! Shhhhhhhhhh plaaaasssh! Abro los ojos. Negro, verde y finalmente azul celeste. Aplausos y gritos de animo desde las barcas. Gracias una vez mas por esta fiesta en la que vivo!

Where Climbers Go After They Die

Back in Thailand's mainland Linda (24, Dutch) -one of the volunteers I met in Paksong- and me took a bus heading south, destination: Krabi. If there was a competition to chose the most beautiful place on planet Earth, Krabi would be a forerunner. Think of countless white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, only-in-your-dreams inaccessible lagoons, and rocks, rocks and yet more rocks. Dramatic limestone rocks blasting off the ocean that make of Krabi a lengendary venue for climbers since the 1970s, a climbers' paradise.

When I think of the 7 days that we spent in Rai Leh and Ton Sai (action's hotspots) I can only think of some of the best climbs I'll probably see in my whole life. Yes, beach time was good and so were the rides on the longtail boats and the long open-mic nights with Ondrei and Martina (29 & 23, Czech) at the Bamboo bar. But let's be honest, when someone has the opportunity to catch the turquoise, green and blue colours all in one while hanging from a 25 m anchor why would you waste any space in your memories?

I hope you enjoy the pictures but before then I would like to send a warm greeting and a big thank you to the above-mentioned Czech couple and to Samuel and Linda for those unbeliable days at the crags!

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De vuelta en tierra firme y en compañia de Linda -una de mis amigas del campo de trabajo en Paksong- emprendi un viaje en autobus con destino Krabi. Si se diese una competicion para elegir el lugar mas bonito del mundo Krabi estaria entre los firmes candidatos (despues de Vitoria, claro esta). Playas de arena blanca, aguas turquesas, lagunas de ensueño y rocas, mucha rocas. Impresionantes macizos de roca caliza que convierten a Krabi en un lugar de leyenda dificil de superar para escaladores de todo el mundo.

Cuando echo la vista atras y pienso en la semana que pasamos en Krabi solo puedo acordarme de algunas de las escuelas (de escalada) mas impresionantes que vere en toda mi vida. Cierto es que las horas de sol y playa estuvieron bien, como tambien lo estubieron las noches de musica en vivo en el Bamboo bar, pero cuando se tiene la oportunidad de mezclar el turquesa del mar, el verde de las palmeras y el azul del cielo en una misma foto colgado a 25 metros de altura, porque malgastar espacio en la memoria?

Os dejo con las fotos no sin antes mandar un cariñoso saludo a mis amigos Martina y Ondrei (23 y 29, Checos), Samuel (23, Frances) y Linda (24, Holandesa) para agradecerles aqueños maravillosos dias a pie de ruta.

Pics'n'vids: Krabi

Pic of the Week: Solo

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