#8 Climbathon Krabi December 2018

This trip was quite sentimental for me, as it was the first time I saw WonderMama after her surgery. It was a hard mental process when I knew Mum was having a minor operation in Hong Kong and I couldn't be there to be with her.

They were due to arrive around noon on Day 3, and I remember I was endlessly checking my phone that morning and my mind was not really with my climbing despite I was on the wall. Despite applying my obsessive compulsive disorder on my mobile, I can't believe I still missed their message and I didn't get to pick them up at the pier!!! I was so upset, then I ran back to the hotel and saw them at the lobby. I gave Mum the biggest, longest, hug, but not so hard as I feared the squeeze would make her feel comfortable with her wound. The rest of the trip I had my arms around hers like two inseparable girlfriends seeing each other at the start of a school term, after a long lonely summer break.

Shang and I, and the Khoo's family of 4, had arrive first from KL. We went for nine days this time, and turned out that it was a tad too long. There are two major problems with Krabi these days: accommodation during peak season (December) is very expensive, I think more than what we have paid for in Kalymnos for a longer stay. The second is the severe lack of good food option. If you think this can't be true given the reputation of food option in Thailand, then almost all climbers who'd been to Krabi would say the same: phad thai, any form of fried rice, just any wok-fried food, tasted the same, from every single restaurant. There are pizza options, but climbers who take their climbing a bit seriously won't want to eat pizza everyday.

We concluded, rice cooker will be an essential item on the list for next trip, and will have to stock up on things you can store and cook in the hotel room: just like how we all survived at Uni.

We met up with a Thai climber who we met previously at our local gym in KL. We spent early mornings projecting together during his off days. Watching them climbing hard screaming loud on this classic 7b+ Tidal Wave was very enjoyable. We also witnessed another European climber working on it and how the collective "allez" from the spectators had really propelled him to pass the crux and eventually sending this project. Sometimes, it is the climbing vibe that we get merry with, not necessarily the climbing routes.

The girls also did our fun climb. Again, Krabi offers such beautiful tufas on its routes, making the climb so much more interesting exposing us to very different types of movements. One really has to climb more with the head than with your limbs.

Since the previous visits to Krabi, I've had my eye on the classic 6c+ on Tonsai beach, the Lion King. Anyone who has climbed in Krabi would know this route. It is a beautiful line with a very interesting flake, like a scapula, at the first crux. The crux involves a series of underclings along the bottom of the flake using the not often used biceps. The hard part is also the limited foothold making this a solid 6c+. With this classic piece gaining so much popularity, the high traffic has meant those non-existing footholds are so polished, you take a few looks and still won't want to use it. That time round, I didn't have the skill, the strength and the fighting courage to conquer this crux, alas. But I am really eager to go back to Krabi, just to try send this beauty.

With WonderMama out of action for this trip, UP naturally also did not climb much so that he would spend more time with her. They are the sweetest. Despite that, the Rockers.4 were still able to have some fun family time together: when you have the right companions, that is all it takes to create magical memories.

Although I have been saying to people, Krabi might have been the climbers' paradise in SEA, but given the price, the weather, the lack of food option, it is not amongst my top destination choice anymore. However, I think it is still a place worthy of visiting (maybe during the low season in June) purely because of the experience and the beauty of the island.