The golden spires of the Thailand’s ubiquitous Buddhist temples juxtaposed with their exotic tropical surroundings and the country’s diverse geography of emerald jungle, aqua waterfalls, white sand beaches, and craggy cliffs, have enchanted visitors tourists who travel to Thailand for decades.

Some prefer to spend their time in the popular destination taking photos of temples and markets, while others tend toward the exciting mix of outdoor adventures available in the country’s mountains, rivers, and oceans such as Thailand hiking and climbing. We, however, prefer a mix of both. The following are our favourite excursions for mixing culture and excitement in the Land of Smiles.

Trekking and Temple Hopping in the North

Chiang Mai is often referred to as the gateway to the North. The city is known for the temples and markets within, and the caves, waterfalls, and trails in the surrounding mountains, which are some of the Himalayas most distant foothills.

Many of the oldest temples were built in the Lanna Thai style, dating back to the 13th century when the Lanna Thai Kingdom existed in northern Thailand. Wat Phra Singh temple in Chiang Mai’s one of our favourites and is a must see when you’re in town and inevitably wandering through the Old City.

Chiang Mai is also a popular jumping off point for multi-day treks through the surrounding mountains, but we prefer to traverse the country’s mountains on the back of a mountain bike. Bikes are readily available in the city, reasonably-priced, and local operators offer several tours that visit waterfalls, lakes, and remote villages and temples.

Elephant tours are also quite popular, but are also considered unethical by many because it’s almost impossible to keep an elephant working all day and also allow it to eat as much as it needs to stay healthy (elephants normally eat basically the whole time they’re awake). So, if you’d like a close encounter with Thailand’s most iconic animal, we recommend heading instead to the nature park, where you get up close and help to clean the tenants.

Climb the Cliffs of Krabi

Limestone cliffs, sheltered beaches, and majestic caves have blessed Krabi with one of the most spectacular skylines in Thailand and created an ideal environment for climbers. Hop aboard a ferry or long boat from Ao Nang Beach in Krabi to Railay, and you’ll find a remote adventure-lovers paradise.

Railey is known for its powder-white beaches and limestone rock formations that attract climbers from around the world. More than 700 rock climbing routes make Railay one of the world’s most varied and picturesque climbing destinations. The deep water free-climb (climbing without ropes safely above the open ocean) is one route everyone has to try at least once.

Then sneak away from East Railay Bay, where development has begun to take over, and head to Phra Nang Bay. Fine flour-like sand, crystal-clear water, and jagged cliffs make this one of the most attractive beaches in the country. It’s also home to Phra Nang Cave and the unique phallus shrine that resides inside of it.

Nearby Tonsai Bay is like something out of a movie — a more hippy version of Railey where climbing remains unspoiled, life is simple, and attachment to civilization is minimal. Electricity is only turned on for a few hours a day, Internet access is limited, and the atmosphere is as laid-back as you’re likely to find. We love the Countryside Resort and it’s affordable tidy bungalows for affordable prices. Their Mountain View King Suite offers one of the best views in Tonsai.

Take in the Sights at Phanom Rung

If you’ve travelled to Angkor Wat, you’ll notice similarities in Thailand’s Phanom Rung Historical Park in the eastern Buriram Province, near the Cambodian border. Sitting atop a 402-metre-tall extinct volcano, the ancient khmer temple is at once remote, historical, and spectacular. The moderate hike to the temple only takes about 15 minutes, but will get your heart pumping.

Phanom Rung was constructed between the 10th and 13th centuries as a shrine dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The structure went through a 17-year-long restoration process and officially opened as a historical park in 1988. The temple is much smaller than Angkor Wat and doesn’t get as crowded, but we recommend arriving early in the morning to experience it when the warm glow of the sunrise and hypnotic sounds of the awakening jungle create a mystical atmosphere. Plan on spending at least two to three hours exploring the park and snapping photos of the paddy fields below.

If you’re lucky enough to visit Phanom Rung in early April, be sure to attend the Phanom Rung Festival. Traditional Brahmin ceremonies and light and sound shows at the temple provide an experience unlike anywhere else in Thailand.

Visitors often don’t realize how big the country is before they travel to Thailand. While these some of our favourite highlights from the country, they are just a small sample of activities from a few corners of the jungle-covered, beach-lined nation. Wherever you choose to go, you’ll find no shortage of outdoors adventures and cultural activities.

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Images and text by Mark Whitman

Climbing Kilimanjaro is definitely an adventure, but I’ve never personally looked at it that way.

Thousands flock to Tanzania every year with the sole purpose of attempting to reach what many colloquially call the Roof of Africa. Standing at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters), Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain on the African continent and the tallest non-massif (free-standing) mountain in the world.

The mountain’s popularity among hikers can be attributed to its Seven Summit status and the fact that it’s a non-technical climb. This means that anyone at (nearly) any age can climb Kilimanjaro. Fitness and physical ability are also more flexible than on many other climbs. Canadian couple Esther and Martin Kafer reached the summit at the ripe old ages of 84 and 85, while armless and legless Kyle Maynard crawled to the top of Kilimanjaro unassisted in 2012.

Compared to these extraordinary feats, I’ve never felt that my young, able-bodied experiences on Kilimanjaro were very adventurous.

It then dawned on me, recently, that I had indeed been part of a Kilimanjaro experience similar to those described above.

My first experience on Kilimanjaro was with a childhood mate who had suffered from partial sightedness for most of his life.

When I first met Brad, we were both normal seven year old kids. I took to his adventurous playground antics and we quickly became friends. The first two years of our friendship were like those of any two boys.

Then one day Brad started complaining about his eyesight. He struggled to keep up with us in sports and couldn’t see the whiteboard in class. He soon moved to a new ‘special’ school. Brad had a condition called macular degeneration. His central vision had deteriorated to 10% of a normal person’s eyesight and his peripheral vision was impaired.

He was effectively blind.

His condition never broke his spirit, though, and despite his awful eyesight he continued to play squash, golf, and snooker (and excelled in the latter).

Over the years we went on a number of sailing and climbing adventures.

Brad went pushed himself extra hard to succeed at activities that people with perfect eyesight would struggle to excel in and, over time, this made me forget just how limited his sight was. His determination to be active and ‘normal’ made me discount his disability and assume he could do anything that he wanted to.

So, when Brad told me he wanted to climb Kilimanjaro I was game.

At the time I was living in London and he in South Africa, so we met in Nairobi and flew together to Kilimanjaro International Airport.

In Moshi we got our first glimpse of the awe-inspiring Mount Kilimanjaro. Seeing any great mountain for the first time and realizing that you plan to drag yourself to the top of it is a frightening and seductive feeling.

We began our trek the following day following the popular Mâchame route that sojourns through dense tropical rainforest. The paths on Kilimanjaro are surprisingly good and make for relatively easy going hiking.

The biggest challenge is the altitude. The human body is not meant to function at extreme altitudes and responds to the unfriendly environment in various ways, starting with mild headaches that can turn into severe migraines and nausea.

As you climb in altitude the air pressure drops lowering the air density and reducing the number of oxygen molecules available per breath. At around 12,000 feet (3,600 meters) there are approximately 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath than at sea level. The human body is able to acclimatize to this change, but it does so slowly.

Unfortunately, Kili doesn’t give the average trekker much time to acclimatize. So, the onset of mild or moderate Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is common and summit success rates are relatively low on certain routes. Death from severe AMS and its Edema complications also occur on Kilimanjaro.

Like most sane trekkers, Brad and I had valued our lives more than making it to the summit, but we were prepared ourselves to endure mild headaches and even vomiting (fortunately the latter never happened).

I was the first to come down with AMS symptoms on day four. Brad, despite his eyesight, had been having an easy time on the climb.

We reached the summit base camp, Barafu (which means ice in Swahili). As the name implies, it is not warm on the exposed plateau, which sits at 4,600 meters. Nausea had overcome me and I stopped eating. Brad smugly ate my dinner while all I could do was watch and try not to vomit.
That evening we prepared for the final push. We would be woken at 23:45 to begin our summit assault on the slopes of Kibo. A gale force wind blew all night long, making sleep impossible. We thought that that surely no one in their right mind would try summit in this wind.

We were wrong. Wind or no wind, we were pushing on. The good news was that I was feeling a lot better. Apparently starvation and sleep deprivation help to alleviate altitude sickness (though I wouldn’t recommend trying it).

Brad had taken a turn for the worse. Half way up Kibo started complaining that his heart was beating rapidly. Like a good manly friend, I ignored his complaints and continued to kick his ass up the winding slope, majestically flattened at a crater rim to reveal the sub-summit milestone, Stellar Point.

Many people stop here, exhausted and and defeated when they realise that they have to complete another hour’s trek around the crater to Uhuru Peak and the summit of Kilimanjaro.

Brad nearly joined the ranks of those who pack it in at Stellar, but after a cup of hot chocolate his spirits brightened and, as the morning sun rose out of the African landscape, we continued on toward the summit.

After 5 days of trekking, headaches, long drops. and baby-wipe baths, the feeling of reaching the summit is sublime however short lived. A few congratulatory high fives and customary photos are standard; however, the knowledge of richer air waiting below makes departure from the summit even sweeter.

Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano. The main peak, Uhuru, is adorned with large receding glaciers that have left the slopes covered with fine volcanic glacial scree. Descent on the upper regions can effectively be done by sliding snowboard-style down the scree to base camp where the landscapes becomes rocky again.

The problem with fine glacial scree — as I learned in the worst possible way — is that it becomes easily lodged in one’s eye. By the time I reached Barafu my right eye was partially closed and left eye was completely shut.

I fell asleep exhausted and partially blind. How the tables had turned!

The following morning Brad, with 10% vision, helped me down the final stretches of Mount Kilimanjaro and for the first time in 20 years of knowing him I got a small glimpse of the challenges he faces living with limited eye site.

To climb Kilimanjaro is a great feat, but it was only on our final day as we left the trailhead for of Kilimanjaro l gained a deep respect the extraordinary determination and spirit that my friend had to develop to overcome his limited vision and a life that I, with normal vision, take for granted.

Have any questions about climbing Kilimanjaro? Just comment comment below and Mark will  be happy answer them.

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Quite the opposite is true. It’s often the trips that happen spontaneously — the ones where expectations are low that are taken with good friends just for the hell of it — that turn out best.

I’m an outdoors and travel writer, so I’ve spent a lot of time hopping around the globe searching for ‘best’ experiences to write about (we journalists strangely feel that if something isn’t the biggest, best, or longest, it’s not worth writing about). I can’t claim to be hard core climber, but when I climb mountains, I try to go big. I climbed Jade Mountain in Taiwan (said to be the tallest in East Asia) and Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park and those were great experiences.

They don’t compare, however, to the time that I climbed Fisher’s Peak, near my home in Cranbrook B.C.

It was a trip planned on whim, the evening before the ascent. I was home visiting my family between trips to the Philippines and Utah. The conversation turned to Fisher’s Peak, a well-known local climb that I had, for some reason, never done. So, my girlfriend Emilie, my brother, and I decided that we would do it the next day. If we left early, we’d be able to be back before dark.

Emilie didn’t know my family well, and I hadn’t seen my brother in over a year. As we climbed toward the peak, my brother and I caught up on old news, and he got to know Emilie.

All day, we saw just one other hiker on the trail, a woman with her dogs.

That is what hiking is meant to be — quality time with people you enjoy in a beautiful place.

When I climbed Jade Mountain, we were in a rush to stay ahead of the pack of climbers we knew was behind us. We were on a one-day permit, so we didn’t have time to meander around, explore, and simply enjoy the experience.

When I climbed Angel’s Landing I was on a trail with hundreds of others, having to stop ever few minutes to edge by somebody on their way down.

Although they were great experiences, they can’t compare to what I experienced that day on Fisher’s Peak.

Don’t forget your backyard. That’s where you play the most. That’s where you don’t have to worry about planning, budgets, and time limits. That’s where you end up with friends, exploring and discovering.

And, sometimes, you end up someplace just as beautiful as those considered the ‘biggest’ and ‘best’.

If you don’t believe me, check out more of the photos I took on Fisher’s Peak.

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I was just doing some lazy Sunday googling around the interweb, reading about the unfortunate premature death of Adam Yauch and his influence on his hometown, and I ended up finding three really sweet-looking adventures all in New York. Two are in the city, and one is just a few hours away.

If you are in New York, these are all convenient, reasonably priced, and fully worth checking out.

1) Take a Zipline Adventure Tour

Photo by youngrocky

I think ziplines are great. They’re accessible to everyone, even those who aren’t in super shape. They’re very environmentally friendly. They provide a nice little adrenaline boost to go with an epic view. And, they’re the cheapest flights you’re ever going to find (unless, that is, you check out my flight hacking tips).

New York Zipline Adventure Tours, about a 2.5 – 3 hour drive from the city in the Catskill Mountains, offers two zipline packages. Their Mid-Mountain Tour is a light family-friendly tour that includes six zippiness, four rope bridges, nine aerial tree platforms, and one rappel. The tour lasts about three hours and costs $89 USD per person.

Their more exciting tour is called the SkyRider, and they market it as the “longest, fastest, and highest zipline tour in the North America.”  It includes over 4.6 miles of zippiness, which they require you attend a training school to ride. This includes one cable that spans 3200 feet 600 feet above the valley floor. This tour is also three hours, and costs $119 USD per person.

2) Check Out Discover Outdoors Adventures

Photo by slagheap

If you want to get out, get fit, and get into some new adventure activities in New York, Discover Outdoors is definitely a company you should check out.  They have a variety of programs from backpacking lessons (free), to sunrise photography ($59 USD), to multi-sport adventures ($39 USD). They even have extreme indoor rock wall climbing ($29 USD). It’s not exactly Wharepapa, New Zealand, but hey, what did you expect.

The most gruesome looking calss is their mountain fitness training class ($39 USD). These classes are “non-traditional, fitness-oriented adventures,” but from the looks of the pictures they are seriously taxing. There is no specific training routine given, but its implied that the instructor chooses terrain and activities with a mind to wrenching your muscles in ways they’ve never experienced. Yes, they even lift logs. They have pictures of it on the website (though the one I have above is not of an actual class. I just picked it to scare you).

3) The Annual Adventures NYC Event

Photo by Ed Yourdon

Every summer the City of New York Parks and Rec team board teams up with sponsors like Backpacker Magazine, The North Face, and Pentax to put on Adventures NYC, a free outdoors event in Central Park. This year (2012) it will be held on June 25th and will include free bicycle rentals, climbing walls, health and fitness clinics, gear exhibits, yoga, and live entertainment. The price is right, and so are the activities.

Lead photo by Stuck in Customs

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Considering the time of day and severity of the avalanche, it’s a miracle that only one person was badly hurt. The only person on the trail, which will have more than 50 hikers on it at at certain times of day, was Nima Sherpa, a Nepalese cook who was swept into crevasse.

Immediately after the avalanche a head count of all Everest teams was done, which required communication in five languages. It was determined that the man was missing, and all Everest teams pitched in to search for him. He was found in the crevasse, was hoisted out, and was evacuated by helicopter. Nima Sherpa had three broken ribs, two broken vertebrae, and had almost bitten right through his tongue.

That sounds pretty awful, but given that this avalanche could have potentially killed dozens, the climbers on Everest are counting their blessings.

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In 1963 Will Unsoeld and Tom Hornbein’s made a historic traverse of Mount Everest, the first traverse (climbing and descending by different routes) of any Himalayan peak. To do this they had to ascend Everest’s treacherous West Ridge. This year North Face athletes Conrad Anker and Corey Williams plan to recreate that expedition.  In this video Mark Jenkins, climber and award-winning author, gives the pair a “50:50 and chance of summiting or dying”.

I’m looking forward to following the expedition on NatGeo. Good luck boys!

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London Urban Adventure 5: Skateboarding, Scooting, BMXing, and Rollerblading

Image by James Alby

Often overlooked as adventure sports, these forms of two- to eight-wheeled self propelled urban transportation are among the graceful, skillful, and potentially painful of outdoors sports.  Most large urban centres have several parks where young death-driven maniacs can hurl themselves off of large concrete edifices, and London is no exception. London is home to several world-class skate parks including the One Minet Park in Essex (free), Bay Sixty6 (£6/$9.50 USD) on Acklam Road, and Mount Hawke (£3.5/$5.50 USD) in the southwest.

All you have to do is grab your toy of choice, strap on your helmet, and try to avoid high-speed interaction with the pavement.

London Urban Adventure 4: The Rat Race

Image by oobrien

Organized by Rat Race Events, the Rat Race is an extreme urban adventure race that takes place several times a year. Sometimes the race requires a team. Sometimes you can go solo. Only one thing is certain–it’s going to be f$%#ng hard.

Coming up in 2012 is the Soldier Challenge, in which teams of 2-4 will  be given four hours “to bag as many of the 35 military checkpoints” as possible. You won’t be told where the checkpoints are until an hour before the race begins. There’s no route. There’s no guide. It’s up to you to figure out where to go when, and how to get there. It’s basically free-for-all.

That is followed by the Survival of the fittest on November 17th in which thousands of contestants will struggle across a 10km obstacle course. There are two options run the course during the day or, for those who really like to punish themselves, run it at night under floodlights.

London Urban Adventure 3: Kayaking the Thames

Image by Lukr

Have you ever dreamed of kayaking in a smoggy city on one of the most polluted rivers in Britain? Me neither. But, if there was nowhere else to go, I’d be willing to give it a try.

Actually, kayaking on the Thames doesn’t sound too bad. Kayaking London offers several different paddles on the Thames including beginner classes (£120/$190 USD for four three-hour sessions), a four-hour discover London tour (£60/$95 USD), and a two-and-a-half-hour Big Ben by night trip (£29/$45 USD).

London Urban Adventure 2: Climbing the Castle

Image by Aleksi Aaltonen

The Castle Climbing Centre is a huge climbing centre located in northern London inside of, yep, you guessed it, a castle.  Aside from the coolness of climbing in a 200-foot tall castle, there are a lot of reasons to go get your climb on here. Accessible by public transportation, the Castle is easy for out-of-towners to get to. With over 450 routes and 250 bouldering problems, the Castle has a challenge for every climber. There are always pros onsite offering varying levels of courses. And, starting at £12 ($19 USD) per visit (after a £5/$8 USD registration fee) the Castle is something pretty much anybody can afford.

Yes, I’d rather be on a mountain, but, in the absence of a nice sheer cliff, the Castle is as good a facility as you will find.

London Urban Adventure 1: Parkour at the L.E.A.P. Park

Image by JB London

Parkour, the art of running awesomely over, across, through, and sometimes spinning around, urban obstacles with has been gaining in popularity quickly in recent years thanks to its adaptation to Hollywood chase scenes, like the epic chase at the beginning of Casino Royale. Now parkour lessons and parkour parks have been springing up in urban centres around the world. I placed this activity at number one because it’s something that I’d really like to try.

The L.E.A.P.  (London Experience of Art du depacement and Parkour) Park is the world’s first parkour park. Unlike a skate park, you can’t just show up and start trying to do backflips off of buildings. To use the park you must first pass an induction with a trained parkour instructor. You must also run with a buddy–running alone is not allowed. For more information about lessons and the park, check out the Parkour Generations website.

If you don’t believe that parkour looks like fun, just check out this video of parkour in London.

If you’re looking for top notch accommodations while in London, but aren’t into fancy hotels, you may want to check out these home rentals.

Lead image by JB London

London Vacations

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One of the places you often find in a list of late holiday deals is Norway, a country famous for its fjords. A fjord is a glacier formed valley with steep cliffs on three sides and a narrow, elongated inlet of sea. The word “fjord” comes from the Norse word fjǫrðr, which means, on the most basic level, ‘where you travel through’. Norway is home to the second and third largest fjords in the world Sognefjord (203 km), and the Hardanger Fjord (179 km).

There are a number of places near Norway’s fjords that are perfect for climbing. It is important to remember, however, that Norway has its own grading system for climbing, which rates pitches from 1-10 in a manner similar to that used by International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation’s (UIAA) system. Also, many of climbing guidebooks about the area are written in Norwegian, so you might want to climb with a Norwegian friend. Norwegians, like most Scandinavians, tend to speak good English, so you ought to be able to sit down with locals in the area you decide to climb and spend an hour or so mapping out your route and creating your own guide before setting out.

Stavanger has steep walls 100-500m high and Kjerag is one of the world’s best base-jumping sites. Bergen is brilliant for athletic climbers and there is a 600m granite wall in Uskedalen. Hurrungane (which literally means ‘the noisemakers’) that’s good not only for climbing, but in the winter, for ice climbing too. The starting point for hiking is the village of Turtagrø along the Sognefjellsvegen road. The mountain range has a total of 24 peaks over 2000m tall.

The Romsdal area has been popular among climbers for more than a hundred years. Romsdalen is a valley and Romsdal is the larger area. It is advisable to stay in Åndalsnes if you want to climb in Romsdalen. Åndalsnes can be easily accessed via the train, which also stops at the Oslo Airport in Gardermoen. One of the popular walls here is called the ‘Troll Wall’.

Innerdalen is a 16 hour drive from Stockholm. Bear in mind that there are no bolts, so you’ll need the appropriate equipment. The emergency number is 112.

June is a good time of year for fjord climbing, particularly if it’s your first time. There is less wind and rain and you have benefit from 22 hours of daylight.

In winter, the ice climbing is fantastic and you can go out with an instructor. But for those seeking a greater level of safety, the skiing in the area is also awesome.

Of course, the valleys make not only for great climbs, but for fantastic kayaking opportunities too.

There are narrow shallow bits and a plethora of reefs and islets, which make kayaking a challenging adventure. Because in fjords you are never too far from the water’s edge, if the weather takes a turn for the worse it’s always easy to paddle to the side, hop out of the kayak, and take shelter for a little while. In the fjords the scenery is never dull.

Sophie Collard (@QunoSpotter) is a travel writer who you’ll find writing about the many elements of travel in various different places. She writes the blog qunospotter.co.uk which spotlights overland travel. She’s travelled over rails in the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.

Lead photo by photo.andersson.es on Flickr

More Og Romsdal Vacations

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ExWeb reported today that a Russian expedition is stuck at the Kangchenjunga base camp, because their gear has gone missing. The team of nine climbers have been stuck at base camp with only the gear that the brought themselves. The porters were not only carrying climbing gear, but also tents and warm sleeping bags, among other items. According to Lena Laletina from Russian Climb, because food is running out and the team needs warmer clothing, the situation is becoming critical.

The disappearance of the equipment is more than mildly suspicious. The situation is not clear, but, the Adventure Blog reported, “the porters they hired misplaced the gear while en route, and turned back at some point, leaving the team stranded without their supplies.”  Call me paranoid, but is it not more than a little bit difficult to misplace nine peoples’ giant bags of gear on a trailside?

If you happen to run into a dozen or so bags of climbing gear (or the porters for that matter) on your way up Kangchenjunga, the Russians would greatly appreciate it if you would contact Lena at info@russianclimb.com.

The missing gear is not only a loss for the team, but for all serious climbers. Kangchenjunga, which is located on the border between Inda and Nepal, is the third highest mountain in the world. The Russians had planned to work with in tandem with two other teams to fix ropes and build three high camps on the mountain. Now, that project may be in jeopardy.

However dire the situation may sound, at least everyone is safe. The worst case scenario for the Russians is that they will not complete their climb, and will have to hike back down and call their insurance company.

And, of course, go looking for those porters.

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