It’s been raining every day here, which makes rock climbing difficult. You need (mostly) dry rock to climb. However, there are so many routes to choose from in this area that some are protected even in the most horrific downpours. The cliffs here are so high and the rock formations so spectacular that it’s reallyContinue reading “Climbing in the rain”
Author Archives: Katie Botkin
Finding climbing partners in Tonsai
Everywhere you look here in Tonsai there are the shirtless, smooth-skinned, compact bodies of climbers, the men short with overdeveloped lats, or lanky and stringy, the women with well-muscled shoulders. Some have aged like leather, pliable, rugged, striated, brown. I gather my climbing gear together and I set out to see if I can meetContinue reading “Finding climbing partners in Tonsai”
The dangers of Tonsai
In the Northwestern US, when you go out into the forest, you bear-proof your camp by hanging up your food in a tree. Here in Thailand, it’s a little different. Here, you’ve got to worry about the monkeys. The very first person I ask about lodging says that monkeys broke into his bungalow and wentContinue reading “The dangers of Tonsai”
Arrival in Tonsai
There are two Tonsai bays near Krabi, or rather there’s Ton sai and Tonsai, often spelled interchangeably. Ton sai is the place on Phi Phi island where everyone goes to party, and Tonsai next to Ralay bay is where the rock climbers hang out. So, when you arrive at the bus station or the airportContinue reading “Arrival in Tonsai”
People of Bangkok
Flo et les nanas
It’s a good thing I’ve been practicing my French, because I found out just a couple of days ago, from Facebook, that a French friend of mine will be in Bangkok the same time as me. I gave him the name of my hostel and, being perfectly located for his purposes, he booked the sameContinue reading “Flo et les nanas”
One night in Paris
It’s costing me 20 euros to ride in from the airport and back for a few hours in Paris and I don’t even care. If New York is laid out in a grid, Paris is laid out like a splatter painting. To wander through Paris is therefore to be lost in Paris, and this isContinue reading “One night in Paris”
CouchSurfing vs hostel
Is CouchSurfing cheaper than staying in a hostel? Actually, this depends somewhat. If you’re going to an area where the hostels are inexpensive, as in around $10 a night or less, it may end up costing you just as much to CouchSurf. For one thing, you tend to pay more in transportation costs getting toContinue reading “CouchSurfing vs hostel”
Nine tips for CouchSurfing
Using the CouchSurfing website, particularly in more expensive places such as New York or Paris, can save you a lot of money. So far on this trip around the world, it’s saved me at least a few hundred dollars in lodging costs, and it’s introduced me to interesting people from the places I’ve visited in theContinue reading “Nine tips for CouchSurfing”
Tourists of Lisbon
Often when I travel, I end up at the spots where a hundred or so other foreigners have congregated also — in fact, this seems nearly impossible to avoid, unless you stick to the ugly parts of town. So I end up trying to find the beauty in the tourists themselves, in the postcards, inContinue reading “Tourists of Lisbon”
Botkin Creative 