DAYS 71-78: GREEN CLIMBERS HOME (LAOS PART 2)
X I A N G L I A B , L A O S
The thing about climbing is…a lot of the time I really hate it. A lot of the time I’m muttering curse words under my breath wondering how in the hell I voluntarily got myself into a position hundreds of feet above the ground, desperately clinging to a quarter inch morsel of sharp rock with sweaty fingers and trembling toes praying to god I have enough strength in my puny little arms to pull myself up to the next hold without falling…
But the other thing about climbing is that I love it. It’s ridiculously exhilarating. It makes you feel alive. It forces you to overcome your fears. To get out of your own head. It works your body into this beautiful exhaustion. And when you conquer something that once scared the shit out of you, the high you get is so tingly and incredible that it makes you dumb enough to want to do it again.
I also love that it’s something Brad and I do together. And that it’s something we’ve been able to take with us as we’ve traveled. Because there are only so many temples you can visit before they get a little boring. And so many markets you can wander through before they all start to look alike. And climbing has given us an escape of sorts - a way to enjoy the ever changing scenery around us - that’s not eating or shopping or looking at old buildings. And we’ve found that if we seek it out…we usually end up in pretty cool spots…which was definitely the case with Green Climbers Home.
Green Climbers Home is unlike any place we had ever been before. Their website uses the term resort. And I guess it was kind of true. But it’s like a resort for people who hate resorts - for those scruffy misfits who can’t sit still on a beach. And who would rather spend their vacation scrambling up stone than lounging with a pína colada by a pool.
Basically in the middle of nowhere Laos, in this gorgeous jungle valley, sit two “camps” - or collections of tiny bunglows surrounded in every direction by miles and miles of breathtakingly beautiful limestone cliffs. There are literally hundreds of routes (321 to be exact) - enough to provide any guest with an ample amount of entertainment.
Pretty much everyone that we met shared the same story. They had come for a few days…stayed for a few weeks…in some cases months. Because they just. couldn’t. leave. Because the rock in this part of Laos is unbelievable. It’s gravitational….three-dimensional and diverse. There are slabby climbs and overhanging climbs. Climbs that have natural “drums” you can play music on. Climbs covered in giant tufas - these crazy stalactite-looking things that jet out at you from all directions and force you to wedge and shimmy and contort your body into these odd positions to get around them. Climbs with huge roofs where people dangle from their finger tendons as they inch their way along the underbelly (certainly not me). And when you’re not climbing there are caves to explore and slack lines to bounce around on and swimming holes to cool off in (provided you can get past the giant water spiders skimming along the surface). It was insanely fun.
We like everyone else, ended up staying longer than we had originally planned. And for just a little while it was nice to not be on the move. To settle into a routine. We spent our mornings climbing. Our afternoons reading in hammocks. Our evenings drinking beers with people from Belgium and France and Japan - who all loved to climb and travel. There was no wifi or distractions from the outside world. Days passed by rather slowly. It was peaceful. And beautiful. And awesome. We were so thankful we had stumbled upon this little paradise hidden in the within the countryside. I think our only regret is that we didn’t stay longer.
Sure, climbing can be difficult and painful and scary as all hell. But it also takes you to the most beautiful places on earth. It teaches you things about yourself. It strengthens the trust you have in your partner. It’s totally worth the scraped knees and jammed fingers and wasted adrenaline. Because the thing is…if you keep both feet on the ground you might stay comfortable, but you’ll never get to see the view from the top…and the view from the top is usually spectacular.
-Kenze
