Clairesj
The Arc of Asia 2009-2010. Bring on the climbing!

tuk tuks, Chapatis and hot hot heat!
Chennai, India
Wow, so i arrived in Chennai at 6am, after various flight delays, and found some English people of the flight who i shared a taxi to the hotel with. the taxi could manage a maximum of 20mph but the roads are so crazy i was glad! it is mega hot here, going up to around 40 degrees in the day and 30 at night. it was a shock seeing so many people sleeping in the middle of pavements and tuk tuks everywhere- the drivers always hassaling for business and ripping us off a lot! there is not much for tourists here, we spent a long time going to a fort which was uninspiring (after a tuk tuk driver had taken us completely the wrong way and still charged us! the beach is really dirty, as are the streets with open sewers you often have to cross to get to restaurants! oh the food is taking some getting used to, especially when i open up a menu and have no idea what anything is! usually i ask what is not spicy and get that! I have met 3 people on the trip who are all easy to get along with- one from uk, one from Holland and one from
Sweden. Danny the trip leader is also from Holland. more people have arrived today so we are meeting them later. tomorrow we are finding out all about the trip and meeting BiRT (the big red truck) for the first time. we are heading to Bangalore on saturday which should take a long day of driving to get to. Im itching to go climbing now and get out of the crazy city!
written by  Clairesj on April 29, 2009 from Chennai, India
from the travel blog: Clairesj's Travel Blog

ready to go
Maidenhead, United Kingdom
Im almost all packed now- thank god i somehow got 46kg luggage allowance! i dont think ill ever find anything i actually need in my bags! Im flying at 9.45 from Heathrow tomorrow morning and getting to Bombay at 11pm (their time), then a connecting flight to Chennai to arrive there at 3 am on wednesday. im hopefully meeting two guys on the trip who arrive an hour after me, then we can sit it out until morning to get a tuk tuk ride to a hotel and meet the trip leader and anyone else that has already arrived.
Im very excited and nervous now. counting down the hours....!
written by  Clairesj on April 27, 2009 from Maidenhead, United Kingdom
from the travel blog: Clairesj's Travel Blog

granite, bolts and bushfires
Bangalore, India
We had a day of traveling on BiRT to get to a village near Bangalore.the humidity is better here but it is still incredibly hot, so climbing starts at 6 or 7 in the morning, with a long break in the afternoon, then sometimes there are a couple of cooler hours before it gets dark. we are camping on a locals land, with rocks 5 mins walk away.
we did some sketchy granite slabs yesterday with very spaced bolts! (we have already had a minor casaulty when ben fell off and sprained his ankle) and some vertical crimpy climbs with awesome moves (i have one climb i need to go back to because i was 2 moves away from finishing the crux!) today we found various boulders and made up some lines and traverses. i am on cook duty tomorrow, so am cooking for 13 people, so im shopping now for rice and veg! there is a great mix of people of the trip from uk, Holland, Spain, america, mexico, Sweden, etc! the evenings have been great, chatting round the fire and exploring a huge well last night- the first time i have washed in a few days!
i have my eye on some great looking pillars of rock for an early start tomorrow, multipitch sport routes. we have 2 more days here then 2 driving days until we arrive in Hampi!!!
written by  Clairesj on May 4, 2009 from Bangalore, India
from the travel blog: Clairesj's Travel Blog

Boulders, boulders, boulders!!!
Hampi, India
I got some more climbing done in Bangalore, and also managed to drop my phone out of my pocket so a local picked it up.
We moved onto Hampi, and found some new roads had been built, so made it in a day (13 hours of driving) but it didnt seem like a long journey as there are lots of seats in BiRT to swap and change, some with a great view, and books, games and bouldering mats in the back which make a comfy bed! it has been ridiculously hot though.
I didnt realise but Hampi is an island, and the main shopping area of hampi is across the river. we drove through ENDLESS boulders and mountains of boulders, until we reached a guesthouse that we were camping within the site. we spent one night there then found a guest house up the road that is the same price but we get rooms and showers and a real toilet! although the power and water seem to get turned off randomly here! there is also a chill out area with a great view, with mattresses on the floor, pillows and low tables. last night was great when pete and jeremy played accoustic guitar there- pretty atmospheric!
so the climbing!!!- well its even hotter here so we have been getting up at 5am to be at the boulders as soon as pos as the sun is rising. we dont have guide books, so we just walked towards some rocks and looked for problems. slopers, crimps and a few that felt pretty high! but the granite is so sharp, that fingers are suffering very quickly. We lasted about 2 hours yesterday, but got lots done, and an hour today. i already have a problem to go back to when my fingers dont hurt so much! A few from the group had a wander today and found Chris Sharmas famous problem, so will prob check that out soon!
we then went and had breakfast at the Happy Buddha Bar which actually has some western food! i had a cheese sandwich, and a nutella pancake yesterday- bliss!
the days when it gets mega hot are spent sitting around in the chill out area, and i might get the boat across to hampi central and do some shopping.
we are here for 8 days, and gaining 2 more people on the trip. the girls are getting outnumbered! it will be 11 guys to 4 girls. so we have invented 'fancy friday' as a day to do girly things like get dressed up and even put some make-up on!
sorry about the lack of photos- the computer wont accept my card so i cant upload any.
written by  Clairesj on May 8, 2009 from Hampi, India

Cobras, Elephants and Monkeys
Hampi, India
I have so much to write, but it feels like the days go by slowly and relaxed here! its so hot in the day that we spend most of it sitting in the shade in the chill out area, sometimes doing some pull-ups and training or Ed teaching us some yoga!
On monday, we went to the double arete problem, which is on the Pilgrimage DVD and the guys tried this problem- its cool, with a scary dyno at the top. i think Danny or Alberto will get it before we go. in the evening we went on a scramble that Pete had already discovered. Me and Lorraine found it so scary! there were steep slabs we had to go up and down with drops either side and balanced rocks in precarious positions. it was much more difficult than i was expecting! we had to resort to lots of help from the others! but i still really enjoyed it. im not going to underestimate a scramble again!
yesterday i went with 4 others to a new area of bouldering and found some hard problems that i really enjoyed. they are still works in progress, but im beginning to feel a bit more confident. although im still a long way off how confident i was at the end of last summer, which is frustrating sometimes. in the afternoon, we went across the river and wandered round some temples. an elephant was inside one, and if you gave her money, she blessed you with her trunk on the top of your head!
we also experienced some good bartering for trousers, which most of the group now have! they are already falling apart but you cant complain when it is so cheap.
Jeremy and i saw a Cobra today near where we were going to climb! we decided to climb somewhere else instead! i want to hire a scooter and go to a lake this afternoon.
ive found the people on HotRock arent as psyched as i expected, but im not either compared to normal. it may be the heat and getting to know everyone. the group seems to be relaxing though.
we are getting used to luxury here with the Laughing Buddha restaurant next door and showers when we want, or at least when the water is working! i think Badami is going to be bush camping again!
written by  Clairesj on May 12, 2009 from Hampi, India

useless motorbikes, lakes, and temples
Hampi, India
I wasnt planning on writing so often, but it has been a busy few days. good and bad. ill start with the bad- most of the guys were trying this really hard boulder with a dyno at the top (i may have mentioned it before). Flavius tried it and nearly touched the top, but fell and landed awkwardly on his knee and was clearly in agony. we had to improvise a splint and Alberto and Garath carried him down to a waiting tuk tuk and took him to hospital. He is back already with a splint on, but it is a torn ligament, and has to rest for 3 weeks, then not sure after that. So im not sure what he will do as he is inly on the trip until Dehli, which is about a month away. He is so frustrated and we can all sympathise, but feel helpless. i think it has made people think about how easy it is to get injured, so we will be extra careful now.
on to a happier note- yesterday was great fun! in the morning we did some really good bouldering, then in the afternoon, Samora and I hired a motorbike and went to find a nearby lake. the bike was the last one left, and the owner said it may struggle up hills! what we didnt realise was he meant any kind of slope would reduce us to getting off and pushing the bike up! we did start to get the hang of picking up momentum on a downward hill to get up the other side, but this was a bit scary when i was sat on the back going over pot-holes and around cows! we found the lake after getting lost and going up unnecessary hills! the first sign we saw said 'no swimming, beware of crocodiles'. so we were a bit tentative to go in the water as it was very murky! but there were locals in other parts of the lake, so we had a swim, which was lovely. we then headed back via the monkey temple. this involved a LOt of steps to reach it! it is pearched on top of a hill and is inhabited by lots of monkeys, who seemed quite friendly. we were invited into the temple and given some dried fruit and red paint on our foreheads (for good luck i think), then as we were leaving, we were invited into a house that was built into a rock and sat down on the floor while the owner started making chai. he spoke little English. then other locals joined us. it was a bit strange! all in all a good day!
I am hoping to have some kind of party tonight for my birthday tomorrow. we were thinking fancy dress as there is a fancy dress box in the truck.
we move on to Badami tomorrow, for sandstone (kinder on the fingers), sports, and trad.
written by  Clairesj on May 15, 2009 from Hampi, India

My Birthday with cake!
Badami, India
So my birthday was on Saturday, and we had a party on the truck, as it was a drive day. we played music and sang along from about 9 in the morning (the journey started at 5am), then all the guys decided to look through the truck fancy dress box and found womens clothes to put on (apparently this is a HotRock tradition Danny and Pete told us and which their dresses were!) it was entertaining when we stopped at a service station for some Chai! when we arrived at Badami, we went though the town, and everyone was covered in orange or pink powder- to do with local elections i think. a local through some orange powder through the window of BiRT so we got covered in orange. Dave got covered in pink in the town later and is still pink after swimming and quite a few showers! We then found a hotel close to our bush camp that has a swimming pool!! So we enjoyed a relaxed afternoon, ordering nice food and using their showers to wash our hair! i need to go back for another shower!in the evening, i found that a few of the group had found a bakery in town that actually sold birthday cakes! that was a good surprise! mum had sent me a singing candle which made it feel quite like a birthday! all in all- a good day!
The climbing- i have found some great sports routes, and have started leading again, even though im not always gertting to the top, it feels like definate progress. the routes are really nice, vertical o slightly overhanging with lots of jugs and crimps.i top roped some brilliant 6bs and 6cs but got very pumped! i also did a 2 pitch trad route close to our camp site. there is no guide book for most of the trad, so i dont know if any one has done it before. startin a route that you dont know what is like is quite unnerving. it felt a bit sketchy especially with big blocks in a crack that i wasnt sure how secure or stable they were!i think it was probably only servere or HS but it felt scarier!
the town here is very hectic, especially the market. it is a bit of a nightmare to buy food, but im getting used to what food is available. Im on cook duty with Suuz today and yesterday, and we found chicken in town-the first meat we have had in quite a while! it was a bit gross though becasue they had cut it all up, including th head and eyes, liver, heart etc! so Suuz had to go though it taking out the bones and other bits we didnt want!it was very tasty though!
Hopefully we have 4 days left here becasue we voted not to go to Mumbai for a day later on in the trip, giving us 2 extra days somewhere. Goa is next on the list- probaby go on Monday. it will be nice to have some time off climbing- let my fingers and muscles recover, and relax on a beach.
oh and Flavius has gone to Goa today to see a specialist about his knee (apparently its a torn ligament), then he will probably go home from there. but HotRock gives him the time he misses to claim on the trip at another time, so we are hoping he will come back for Thailand!
written by  Clairesj on May 20, 2009 from Badami, India

sand, sea and luxury
Anjuna, India
It was sad to leave Badami with so much climbing. I did lots of sport climbing and some trad climbing. we got into a local newspaper in Badami (which we were all given a copy of), its written in the local dialect but there is a picture of us all and i found out which my name is in it! there was also a camera crew that came and videod 2 of the guys climbing, which i think was national. we are getting famous already!
but by the end of the week we were all beginning to feel a bit run down, ready for some time off climbing and some luxury in the form of a hotel room with shower, toilet, bed, fan and fridge! and restaurants on the beach. However, i picked up the bug going round camp, or from something i ate (im not sure), so have been ill for a day now, and the travelling yesterday was a bit grim when your feeling sick. luckily we arrived in Goa in one days travel rather than the expected 2 days and a lot of really bad roads. The hotel rooms are better than we expected, and right on the beach. the beach is a bit dirty, and the current is quite strong, as we discovered when we ran into the sea last night in the dark!
we have hired mopeds to go into town and buy food and use internet. there is actually a supermarket here and it has western food, although its also at western prices. perhaps once a month i can treat myself to a bit of luxury in the form of some good quality ice-cream and proper shampoo and conditioner, to name a few! im surprised im not missing more things from home, but at the moment its not too bad. the other strange thing in Goa is that there are other Westerners around. we have got used to being the only tourists, with all the locals staring at us and asking us our names and country (which i think is the only english most of them know, so it gets very tiring after a while!).
im not sure what plans we have for the next few days are apart from relaxing on the beach and going shopping- there is a market tomorrow that the 4 of us girls are going to go to and hopefully find some bargains.
oh and a new member joined this morning, hes American and called Paul. we are now up to 15 people again.
written by  Clairesj on May 26, 2009 from Anjuna, India

photos!!
Anjuna, India
Its just taken me an hour to upload these photos! but hopefully they will give you a very brief idea of where i have been. Sorry its only of Badami and Hampi, but i borrowed Gareths memory stick and he only came on the trip at the end of Hampi! I will attempt to put more photos up soon!
written by  Clairesj on May 28, 2009 from Anjuna, India

a long journey!
Goa, India
I should start with my last day in Goa, where i joined half of the group in crashing my scooter. my excuse is that i was following Alberto and Samora on their bike, and a goat was in the road, it was bucking so i was watching it as i went past. when i looked back at the road, i realised that the guys had braked for a speed bump (which dont have any warning or colour on them) so i braked a bit too fast and ended up spraweled across the road! i got a nice graze on the elbow and knees! but i was more embarrassed than anything! the bike was a little scraped, but luckily the owner didnt notice when i gave the bike back! i am now religiously applying savlon so my scratch doesnt get infected. i did get back on the scooter and had a nice drive to the next town for lunch at a seafood restaurant.
We then had a 3 day drive to Mount Abu which is in Rajasthan. it was a long drive but i soon discovered that the back 8 seats which face eachother are a very good bed when you put some bouldering mats on them. although there was a fight for a space on it!
I cooked with Ben for the second and third drive day. we had to eat out on the first of our cook days so had to organise a set menu for everyone at a roadside restaurant. then we had a late meal when we arrived here. we went shopping for food as soon as we arrived, whilst Danny sorted out a hotel. we ended up walking down so many alleyways, it was a miracle we found our way back, as locals kept pointing us down the next street! the food turned out well even though we didnt eat to quite late.
Mount Abu is a tourist destination for Indians and it is quite tacky like our seasides.
the climbing today was dissapointing becasue it is used my local climbers only, so its not developed. its mainly slabs that you either toprope or solo. Me and Gareth went searching for a different area and after walking up lots of steps towards a temple, then cut across lots of brambles and slabs before ending up lost and deciding that trying to solo across a steep slab to get an absail to the bottom of the routes but it was very sketchy! so we then tried to find a way out! some of the group had made it to the routes and said they werent worth it anyway!
tomorrow may be a relaxing day because im not feeling brilliant, i may go to the lake and hire a pedalow! Three days here before we head to Jaipur and the pink city.
written by  Clairesj on June 2, 2009 from Goa, India

tourist attractions and fast food
Jaipur, India
We were ready to leave Mount Abu, i hate to use the word bored, but i think most of us were! it lacked anything to do. the traveling took us a day rather than the predicted 2 days which was good.
Jaipur is the pink city, but it didnt seem very pink. I slightly unenthusiastically decided to join a group of 7 of us to do a sight-seeing day. We hired 2 tuk-tuks which would take us to the places of interest. First stop was a palace (or possibly also a crematorium, translation was a bit lost!) that was built 1600 years ago. it was very beautiful, all white stone with ornate carvings. Next was a factory outlet where they made materials and printed them. we got a short demonstration before being herded into the shop. a few rupees lighter we left for a tower that gave us a view of the city. the last museum was too expensive, so we headed back to the hotel. we failed to see any snake charmers becasue apparently it has now been made illegal which was a disapointment.
Food was pizza hut!! it was very expensive compared to local food but in my opinion definately worth it! although it was worrying how we all struggled to finish our meals, and cheese was a shock to the system! will i ever be able to eat rich western food in any quantity again?!
in the evening, we found a place claiming to be an English pub, so the whole group went. it was air-conditioned and in an expensive hotel, so i felt quite scruffy! back at the hotel, we decided to put some music on on the roof of the hotel, but Peters speakers were a bit quiet, so we went down to BiRT and played music there. we saw the sun rise before going to bed! So the following day was relaxing by the swimming pool of a nearby hotel. I also had a Macdonalds- i know... but i havent had meat for longer than i can remember! although they dont do beef burgers- only chicken. my chicken goujons were as bad as i expected, and my chips were more salt than potato, but somehow it tasted good!
There has been a bit of unrest in our group, as Danny went ahead to Dehli to get our Chinese visas sorted, so Lorraine was put in charge. Our food budget has not been enough, especially when in a big city, so we have had to chip in for our evening meals which soon adds up. it has created a bit of tention, along with most people getting frustrated about the lack of climbing we are doing and being stuck in cities (me included).
We have arrivced in Dehli today, and are here for 7 days which is a long time in an Indian city. But we are getting four newbies this week, which will change the group dynamic and will be a positive thing i think. Next we are going into the mountains to do adventurous trad multipitch and bouldering at Chattru, so i cant really complain! and then Leh after that for trekking and apparently its the most beautiful place! So i am sitting out the lul (as it was bound to happen at some point) and looking ahead to the next place.
written by  Clairesj on June 8, 2009 from Jaipur, India

Bad climbing, good climbing, new adventures!
Delhi, India
I have so much to say, so i need to remember all of it, and i only havea few hours before i am catching a bus to Manali!
On arrival to Delhi, we went to a restaurant for dinner and i got what i thought wouldnt be a spicy meal for a change- chinese style ginger chicken- it was the spiciest food ive eaten for ages! but it was chicken so i ate it! Danny then broke it to me that i would be on truck duty that night with Paul. Truck duty is basically sleeping in BiRT overnight when BiRT is not next to our camp, so if anyone trys to get into the truck (its quite easy to) then we will scare them off. Well id managed to avoid this duty until now, but it was the worst place to have truck duty. BiRT is parked in the train station car park. I felt quite vulnerable going to BiRT at 9 in the evening then being surrounded by the usual locals watching you open your locker and climb into the truck. It was also very noisy, as no one slept around there- they were all loading and unloading items from trains etc. So i managed to sleep a bit, but at 4.30am when it was light we headed back to the hotel to get a few extra hours sleep! I didnt feel too bad later after a bit of sleep. A group of us then decided to search for a local climbing area that was about a 10 min tuk tuk ride away. When we arrived, we had to pay to get in, and it was soo dirty. there was glass and rubbish everywhere. there were lots of easy slab climbs but as we arrived at midday, they were all in the sun. i did a very easy trad lead with Jeremy in the sun, but i could only hold a hand-hold for about 2 seconds before it started to burn! and my feet werent any better! so we resigned to trying the only routes in the shade which were overhanging and really hard- 7a and above. i couldnt get off the ground! the day was saved by finding bottles of frozen Limca (like lemon fanta) and Sprite. Ihave developed an addiction to Limca! i am a bit worried i might not have any teeth left at the end of the trip!
In the evening, i got dinner on my own which was nice, then we watched TV at the hotel.
Wednesday we got up at 4.00am to get a bus to a climbing area that takes about 3 hours to get to. the bus didnt turn up for a further hour and the agent was really difficult, asking for more money, even though Danny had pre-organised it, and we almos walked away. Jeremy (whos an American marine) got angry but took charge and sorted it all out! After getting a bit lost, we arrived feeling unpsyched until we walked up the steps to find some really nice looking rock. I led a route with Marita which was really good, followed by a couple more. i backed off a lead after a lot of attempts to get over an awkward move with no gear to protect it. by the time we finished the route it was 12.30 and 46 degrees! it was very unpleasant! i was drinking a litre of water after each route. we went back to a place that seemed to be some kind of school camp, and found they had a hose for washing blankets and clothes so we jumped in that and felt much better. it then started to rain, so we waited it out and started climbing again in the afternoon when it was a bit cooler. We did a route in the pouring rain, but the rock was dry again 10 minutes later!
after a sucessful daywe drove back. i was starving as i didnt bring any lunch so just ate some bread and bananas as breakfast.
Thursday we went back to the same place so it was another short night sleep, but agqin some really nice climbing. i felt much better about everything after a good days climbing! we also played volleyball with the locals at the camp, which was a very good game, even though we lost! and they gave us tea. the weather was slightly cooler than the day before with a bit of a storm in the afternoon.
Today, Gareth and I are leaving thew group and going to Manali early. Its in the mountains and a nice chilled out place apparently with some hiking and possibly some climbing.Its also only 6 hours bus ride from Chattru- the next climbing destination on the trip- at over 3000m altitude and multipitch trad aswell as bouldering. We will see what to do when in Manali. We booked a bus ticket with the hotel yesterday morning- but with no proof of ticket, lets hope we get on the bus! It arrives at 4pm, so i have a couple of hours to pack everything (including fleece and down jacket!!) and buy food. I am not sure its the best thing to do leaving the group when the new people are arriving and Alberto is leaving, but i have made the decision and im here to climb rather than stay in the city. there will be plenty more parties and time to get to know the newbies. It will be really nice to be organising things independently, becasue until now i have relied completely on Danny and the trip.
Sorry for such an essay! The next blog will be from the mountains!!
written by  Clairesj on June 11, 2009 from Delhi, India

mountains, hippies and crossiants!
Manali, India
So the gamble paid off! After an interesting and slightly nerve-racking bus journey to Manali, we arrived a bit late at 12 midday on saturday. We caught the bus, well waited inj the hotel to be picked up, 20mins late, then followed this man to the bus station, stopping at every hotel on the way. we were ushered to the back of the bus (we found out from another English girl that they send the foreigners to the back of the bus where its most bumpy and hot, so the locals can get the best seats!) then did a huge circle round the city to arrive at the same place as we had started becasue an Indian family had been late! so what should hve been a 30min journey to change buses, was 3 hours! we then got off the bus at this point, unsure whether to change bus, only to find we stayed on the bus, but had then lost our seats! we got seats right at the front which actually paid off becasue they were away from the crying baby and loud kids! We stopped for dinner, and breakfast the next day, and a few other stops in the middle of nowhere. The night driving was scary as it was endless hairpin bends that the driver went at full speed to turn the wheel at the last minute. Sleep seemed the better option, if only so i didnt have to watch! eventually morning came, and brought nice scenery, mountains and a river, and winding roads up to Manali. When we arrived at the bus station, we then got surrounded by tuk tuk drivers asking us where we wanted to go- Old Manali, New Manali? Old Manali is where the Westerners stay and its cheaper, so we got a tuk tuk up the very steep hill (Gareth got out and pushed the tuk tuk at one point!). We went down winding lanes until we found the cheapest hotel (about 1 pound 25 a night each) and met some crazy Israli guys who were staying there.
New Manali is where Indian tourists stay, where there are modern hotels, and a busy market. Old Manali is hippy central, with lots of shops selling crazy clothes and all the typical traveller bits. There are friendly cafes, and everyone is much more laid back than anywhere else we have been in India. you can walk down the street and not be asked to look at every shop as you pass, and tuk tuk drivers go past without asking you if you want a ride! Its very refreshing. The scenery is beautiful too- there are tree covered mountains and snow capped mountains in the distance. It feels slightly like Chamonix.
Yesterday, we went and explored a local climbing area that a guide told us about. Most of the climbing is part of a guided session here that you pay for, but this area was accessible after a bit of a walk. we did 2 routes until it started raining- yes raining!! both routes looked really easy until we got on them and all the jugs were slopers!
The bakeries here are amazing too- they have proper cakes and crossiants and nice bread- its hard to keep walking past them without buying anything!
The nights have been cold here- i slept in my down sleeping bag, even though its probably about the same as england, but im so used to the heat now!
A relaxing day today, then hopefully i will go para-gliding tomorrow if the weather is good.
written by  Clairesj on June 14, 2009 from Manali, India

I hate packing!
Manali, India
This will be my last post for 3 weeks. tomorrow we head to Chattru- the mountains, wild camping in a valley that has a village of about 3 people apparently! and it has no communications there. I have decided to stay there for the whole 3 weeks along with about half the group, instead of going to Leh where there is trekking and a 6000m peak. In Chattru there is multipitch trad (very adventurous apparently) and lots of boulders, with over 400 problems. I also recon that we will bump into Chris Sharma there becasue apparently he was in Manali a month ago..... well i can dream!!
today has been stressful as we are leaving BiRT in Manali and hiring 4x4s to take us to Chattru. the path can be a bit dodgy, so Pete isnt comfortable driving BiRT there. The bus service isnt working at the moment, but we should be able to hitch a lift back to Manali quite easily if nessecery, for more food etc. I am taking almost everything i bought to India, which seems a bit excessive, but its gonig to be cold and isolated. We also bought 3 weeks of food, or tried to anyway, because there may not be any shops there. we are cooking in groups this time, and im in a 5 with Ben, Paul, Dave, and Roscoe. we have Split peoples stoves to one each group- but our group ended up without one, so we have bought a local one- lets hope it works! Today has been a mad rush, and im feeling quite ill as Delhi belly has caught up with me. I just hope it doesnt rain or snow the whole time we are there!
Bring on the climbing!!
written by  Clairesj on June 18, 2009 from Manali, India

mountains, endless bouldering, hiking, sleeping in caves, eating in dabbas, what more could a girl want!
Manali, India
i apologise in advance as this is about 3 blogs that i wrote at the time accumulated into one- and there is so much to write!!
Chattru
Saturday 21st June
WOW WOW WOW, Chattru is stunning! A slightly nerve-racking drive out of Manali and up the surrounding mountains on dirt roads was fun, even when the mini bus driver insisted on overtaking every car and truck he could on the single track road! it took us 6 hours with a breakfast stop. the view is of mountains in every direction, snow caps in the distance, rock and glaciers. Chattru consists of a few tents the locals live in and a couple of bigger tents which are cafes (known locally as dabbas). we found a nice spot to camp, near the river which runs through the valley. the altitude is 3200m and a combination of dehydration from being ill and the altitude, i have been feeling a bit strange with a headache.
the bouldering is great. Walk a couple of minutes from camp and pick a boulder and find a problem. Most have already become projects becasue they are too hard for me?! the boulders spread for 17km either side of the river. today me and Jill walked a bit further along the boulders crossing a glacier which felt scary as we made footprints and inched our way across trying not to look down at the drop one slip would casue us to hurtle 20 metres down into the river. im bringing a walking pole noext time! then across a rickety bridge! a little further on and we hit the best bouldering area yet- Crytal Ship. There are so many nice problems here.
It is an amazing place to be bouldering in- with mountains, snow, springs and sunshine. the weather is great- it gets warm/hot in the day then cools right down at night (to being too cold in my opinion! thermals and down jacket are needed!).
i went hiking the other day with Gareth, Jeremy, Veronica and Jill. We walked up a snow patch as it was the easiest way up until it got steeper and steeper and we were in need of crampons and axes. Jill and i moved onto the grass and rocks and ascended a bit further to just over 3700m so we climbed a total of 600m. to my surprise i really enjoyed the hiking. the altitude seems to mean that the others slow down to walk at a pace that my asthma can stay under control. the amazing setting helps too! when i came back down to camp 4 1/2 hours later, the mountains seemed smaller and less imposing after having been half way up one.
Here in Chattru we are cooking in teams with normal camping stoves- i am with Ben, Paul, Roscoe and Dave. We bought lots of tinned food in Manali, so the food has been basic- not too exciting yet! but the dabbas also sell somne basic meals. i have discovered aloo paranthas- which are like chapatis but with potato, onion, garlic, chili and probably other things inside. Veg fried rice is also a treat for a night off cooking.
Some of the group have been exploring trad lines, but with mostly at least a 2 hour vertical walk in at altitude to unknown rock, it is a committment to finding a good do-able line. then there ius the risk of finding a good absail off the route too! so i am going to leave trad for the moment becasue there is so much hiking and bouldering at my fingertips.
I just have to say i am writing this blog in an internet cafe where the owner has been playing Backstreet Boys for the last hour and singing along- its pretty distracting!!
Monday 29th June
What a week! Things have got even better! i went hiking- this time up a grass hill- with Veronica and Jill. Veronica is now nick-named the mountain goat as she is so fast, so i soon found myself way behind Veronica and ahead of Jill. i paused for some 'Hide and Seek' (the best chocolate biscuits in India with chocolate chips!) and to see where Jill was. i could no longer see Veronica. as i approached the bottom of the crag, i started to feel a bit vulnerable as i had lost both girls! i think i reached around 4000m but couldnt be accurate. i decided to descend- to find Jill and becasue i didnt know how altitude would affect me higher up- or how to getdown! and not surprisingly i got completely lost on the way down! nearer the bottom i tried crossing a field on a path, and got scared off by an aggressive guard dog! i retreated quickly thinking about my lack of rabies vaccinations! i reached the cafe after a total of 4 hours and found some otyher hot rockers playing cards there. i want to go back up the mountain and reach the summit before i leave Chattru, i think its about 300 metres higher than where i reached.
Since enjoying the trekking so much i have been concidering going to Leh and up Stok
Kangri. I hate decisions! So when Samora asked if i wanted to join him, Ed, Shaggy and Jon to go to Crystal Ship and tehn walk the 14 km to Chota Dara on the side of the river with no road, but plenty of bouldering according to the guide, i thought why not!
the first night we found a nice cave in the area, put the bouldering mats down as sleeping mats and layered up for what could be a cold night. the guys had bought a feast with them- tinned ham, spaghetti, real pasta sauce with olives in it! fresh tomatos, onions, and peppers that we ate as a salad, and plenty of pasckets of Hide and Seek! we even had music from an ipod and mini speakers. the cave was completely open on one side, so the sky and stars were above me as i fell asleep. why have i been sleeping in a tent for so long?! it was even warm in my thick sleeping bag!
to be continued tomorrow as its dinner time and there is a film showing at the restaurant!........
written by  Clairesj on July 9, 2009 from Manali, India

Chattru continued....
the meal last nigth was great- chicken lasagne and the film was X-men original Wolverine- it was definately a DVD rip becasue half the graphics were missing from the second half- you could see the strings on Wolverine when he jumped in the air, and the explosions hadnt been created!
To continue... An early start the next day, we set off towards Chota Dara, knowing there was at least one river we had to cross, so the earlier the better. an hour or so later and we found the river! apparently the snow melt over the last couple of days has been much higher than normal. the river was wide and very fast. the current here is scary! after exploring, we accepted there was no way to cross, as one slip would send you hurtling into the main river and you wouldnt get out of that. we turned back, then saw a local shepherd walk past us from the direction of the river. using some sign language, we asked him to show us how to cross- the answer was to wade straight across with his walking stick as guidance on what stone to step on under the water. as the guys put it- it was a bit too 'Rambo' for us! the locals are tough here!
after a stop for everyones favourite breakfast- porridge, we headed back to Crystal Ship and bouldered there defeated. we met the girls there and had a relaxed day bouldering.
I have found much more psyche back recently. i have bouldered a lot with Jill, who is better than me but closer to my style than most of the guys. we have found good problems together and got on well. jill has been climbing for 26 years and used to climb with the British team and onsight 7b, redpoint 7c+. very close to my ambition of one day climbing 8a. its inspired me to believe its possible again. so back to bouldering hard!
Samora, jon and i camped another night in the cave and i had a good day bouldering with them the following day, finding 'easy' problems (their idea of easy is very different from mine!). i should also say that jon is a French guy that we met in Manali, so is not a Hot Rocker, but is a free spirit- staying on his own in a cave most of the time and a good climber, so he has fitted in with the group. a final night in the cave with a minor worry of rain that luckily passed quickly, and a morning bouldering where i found more projects rather than completing any of my existing ones! we returned to camp in time for lunch after running out of food. the snow field is melting so an unpleasant crossing may be the last for a while.
i am finally having a rest day. i weven managed to wash my hair in a stream (not very successfully but better than nothing). the Leh team left yesterday- 7 went and left 11 of us in Chattru. we may move camp to Chota Dara tomorrow by hitch hiking a lift there- for more bouldering.
Saturday 4th July
Things just get better and better- can you believe it! I love bouldering!! the first time ever that i actually love it! i moved from Chattru a couple of days ago with Ed and Jon. we got the bus- had to put all our bags on the roof, then stand in a very small space for most of the bumpy journey. we stopped the bus at Kyara which isnt a village but a boulderfield! it felt great to be dropped off in the middle of nowhere, so isolated! we searched around for a cave to sleep in. we found a nice one with a sand floor, so levelled out some good sleepig space!
it rained so we wanderwed around the boulders getting lost. the next day i tried some awesome problems. they were all quite hard- the guys warned me they were doing hard problems when i joined them. i tried a problem over and over so many times- it had a great toe hook move to a crimp just out of reach. eventually i did it, then Ed said do it again for photographic evidence- it took me 10 more goes to repeat it! another problem started with a sit start on 2 crimps and a heel hoook to a long reach to the right to get a mono (2 finger pocket for me!). i thought there was no way i could make the move, but after a lot of attempts i stuck the sloper as the mono was just out of reach. thats as far as i got but i was very happy! the guys tried a nails 7b+ before doing some 'girl' problems to finish (girl problems are balancy slabs!).
Jon left in the afternoon to go back to Manali then Thailand. Ed suggested we move to Chota Dara- 4 km up the road where everyone else was moving camp too, that evening. we set off in nice weather, but it soon turned and the rain started chasing us up the valley. no trucks or cars came past to hitch a lift so we walked the whole way up hill with way too much gear- perhaps my pillow wasnt really neccessary!
3 tents were set up in Chota Dara, and we found Pete, Lorraine and Peter in the Dabba (much more basic than the others- it was the guys house, consisting of one room, and he only made Chai, coffee and omlette chapatis!). Here we met Pil who is an old English guy who has lived in the area (going to Hampi for the winter) in caves on and off for 7 years developing the bouldering. he climbs font 8a. he also produced a basic guide to the boulders which is what we have been following. he was a little strange but friendly and full of stories. i slept in the Dabba- not a comfortable night sleep but better than finding somewhere in the dark!
Chota Dara has a lot of boulders too so some more exploring and some easy problems made for a rest day. some boulders have no friction which leads to slippery climbing. the area is at 3800 metres so we have increased 600m and it is noticable. im always hungry for a start! and walking around means getting out of breath, even boulder problems leave me sounding like i have just done a sprint!
regular trips to the dabba have become the norm. i am drinking a lot of Chai when its cold and eating omlette and chapati everyday (i actually like it!) plus chocolate! we have had some rain and sun but the wind makes it really bitter, especially at night when i have to wear all my layers to cook in. Tibet could be bad!!
i wanted some new projects here, and the first boulder we went to today is perfect! its a traverse so i broke it down to 2 parts. the crux is the move before the mantle. its font 6c+ so a bit hard for me but im going to give it a good go!
Friday 10th July
we had a party on the 4th as it was Gareth and Lorraines birthdays. the dabba was a unique party place! we did have fireworks as Paul had brougfht them for American Independence day, so we set them off outside and tehy were really good ones. im not sure what the locals thought!
the rest of the time in Chota Dara was the same- i wont bore you with more bouldering details! i didnt complete my project but got closer- with more time...! i started feeling tired aswell as i hadnt had enough rest days- actually im not sure if i had any proper rest days! and the other boulders were so frictionless they werent so inspiring. so it was the right time to return to Chattru on the morning of the 8th. we hitch hiked in groups of 2, and evetually all arrived by lunchtime. i got a lift in a decorated truck, which to my surprise had a CD/MP3 player with USB insert- i havent even seen those in England! it was a bone shattering ride back but food awaited us at the Chattru dabba. countless card games and chess were played that afternoon, and we slept in the dabba, before our prearranged lift came the following morning for Manali.
it was sad to leave Chattru, but a shower, good food, a real toilet and bed were all calling! and my fingertips could do with growing new skin- i have holes within holes!
im impressed if you have red the whole blog! i just wanted to record everything from Chattru becasue it was such a cool experience!
written by  Clairesj on July 10, 2009 from Manali, India

finishing India- awesome!
Amritsar, India
Amritsar was our last stop in India, camping in a nice guest house with a swimming pool. the water quickly turned black when we all got in there on arrival! We spent $ days there relaxing and waiting to go to Pakistan. i visited the golden temple- the only touristy thing i gave in to, and actually found it really nice. we went at 9pm, in time for the 10pm service. the water surrounding the temple made it very tranquil with the lights reflected in it. the temple itself is exactly as it says on the tin- gold! and it is covered in gold! with shanderliers inside. we had to remove our shoes and cover our heads, but could enter the temple. people were praying and the service had music in the form of accordian type instruments and a drum that accompanied the man saying/singing prayers.
other than the temple, we ventured into the town for pizza hut, and buying a few things. n border crossing day, we set off for Wagah early and got there with a few hours to wait for the border to open but first in the queue. it was a very hot nightmare getting the documents to get out of India, but we made it, and Pakistan was plesantly easy to get into! the difference in the two countries was obvious immediately- Pakistan felt cleaner and even wealthier than India. it was a breath of fresh air. Im glad to leave India- its an amazing place but also a difficult and dirty place. 2 and a half months is plenty of time before you feel ready to leave India behind in search of something new....
written by  Clairesj on July 19, 2009 from Amritsar, India

Pakistan, after driving driving driving and AK47s
Gilgit, Pakistan
four days of driving and i feel like i am still moving in motion. we had a couple of long days to get through the 'dodgy' parts as quickly as possible, but we actually had no trouble. there were plenty of police check points and police escorts along the way. we had a couple of men with AK47s riding in the cab of BiRT at various points on the journey. one of them sat on the roof of the cab and posed for pictures whilst we were driving along. he then fired a shot as demonstration! the first night we had beef for diner!! it tasted amazing, and was very exciting after so long living mainly as a vegetarian with the odd bit of chicken. we had an uncomfortable night sleeping on BiRT as it got too late and we couldnt find a hotel. this was made up for the next night, wih a nice hotel. the bouldering wall on the back of BiRT has also been completed while we were in Amritsar so we had a go and added some holds. a long next day- driving from 5am- 8pm to a smelly hotel, and finally arriving after lunch today in Gilgit. its not that nicer town, but we are heading straight to Skardu tomorrow- another 6 hours drive but this time without the truck as BiRT will meet us in Passu. Its unclear at the moment what is at Skardu as hot rock hasnt previously been there, but there are roomers of scary loose trad, bouldering and trekking. we shall see!
written by  Clairesj on July 19, 2009 from Gilgit, Pakistan

trad on loose dirty rock or bouldering...mmn
Skardu, Pakistan
I was going to upload photos as i have a good internet speed but i have lost my SD card with the photos i had selected on. i think i am jinxed against uploading photos!
ill have to get another card and get the photos again so it could be a while.
So we had a complicated journey to Skardu, that took about 10 hours, becasue of all the check points along the way. when we got to Skardu, we couldnt see the bouldering area which is supposedly obvious, so everyone thought we should continue to Kaplu where there is a 13 pitch trad route with 6b grade pitches. i wanted to stay in Skardu and spend a bit longer looking for the boulders. but we swapped taxis after they tried to rip us off, and we evetually made it to Kaplu at about midnight. we camped in a nice hotel and the rock is a couple of minutes walk away, through apricot farms. however we soon discovered the rock was very dirty and loose. it was hard to find any gear placements you could actually trust. on the second day, i started up a route but backed off at an awkward move. Jill took over the lead and just as she stepped up, the foothold broke, and she fell, ripping out what we both thought was good gear. she hit the ground, but luckily just had a painful shoulder that evening- nothing serious. it was scary though as it reminded me of my accident and seeing her on the ground. it was not nice. So after that i thought i would give the trad climbing here a miss! When a couple of the guys said they were going back to Skardu early to find the bouldering- i jumped at the chance. It has been me and the 2 mexicans, so its been frustrating when they speak in Spanish all the time, but the bouldering has been great. we have camped in the boulderfield- very dusty, and a long way from water or food! but the stars at night have been amazing! today we have come back to Skardu for a nice meal, and becasue we ran out of food. then we are going to another area the other side of the town that looked like it had good bouldering potential. hopefully we will then meet up with the rest of the group on their way through Skardu, to Passu.
Kaplu and here have both been really freindly. i have started wearing a head scarf and covering my shoulders as is expected here. we met a lot of friendly people in the town, who would ask if we wanted a cup of tea or needed help. i got my head scarf for free when the shop keeper said i was beautiful and could have it! i was a bit worried accepting it would mean i was accepting a marriage proposal! but luckily not!!We had some visitors to our camp site here and when we were climbing- people stop by the side of the road and come over for a chat! a lot of them just came to chekc we were ok- we must be a strange site, a couple of westerners in the middle of nowhere, when there are so few tourists here anyway! i find the men less threatening than India too, they still stare but keep their distance more. so all in all, im enjoying Pakistan!
time to go and get a luxury chicken burger i think!
written by  Clairesj on July 26, 2009 from Skardu, Pakistan

photos!
Skardu, Pakistan
Shock horror- i have new photos up! i just put the SD card in a different bag! enjoy!
written by  Clairesj on July 26, 2009 from Skardu, Pakistan

glaciers and apricots
Pasu, Pakistan
Along drive along the KKH and we arrived at Pasu, a small village surrounded my mountains. we are staying in a campsite with a nice restaurant attached to it, and a friendly owner. Hot Rock previously developed 3 sports routes on a crag nearby the campsite, which is the only developed climbing in the area. they are slab climbs that are plesant. others in the group have now put up 3 more routes, well they all have anchors at least, but the drilling has been taking 45 mins per bolt hole, and after that the battery dies, so it is slow progress. there is also only electricity every other night here so recharging is difficult! a nice 6c has been put up with bouldery moves, which im working. its a shock to be getting pumped again as its been such a long time since i climbed a route!
we have received more newbies, hannahs mum (who is officially called 'mum' becasue her name is also Clare!) and her partner Daj are on the trip and Daj is an experienced mountaineer. so a group of us went up to the glacier so he could teach us cravass rescue and the basics. 5 of us then thought we would go higher up the glacier to join a path for a longer way back. it turned into a bit of an epic, taking all day and the glacier got more steep and cravassy! daj got a rope out for me when we had to cross vertical walls, and learning how to front point on crampons, feeling like i was almost ice climbing! it was exciting and scary having big drops below us! then we had to go up a steep scree slope to join a path. the glacier was amazing- it was huge and dramatic- like what you see in national geographic! lots of fun.
I think i am jinxed though, as the next trad route i do after Jill fell off- i climb with Hannah and we find a nice easy looking V Diff. Hannah leads and gets over half way up then pulls a block (about 25cm squared ish!) off and takes a fall onto her gear, and this block whistles past me! we were both a little shaky! I seem to be being a bit unlucky at the moment as far as trad goes! its like im being tested. For the rest of the days i am going to do a river walk- crossing a couple of scary looking bridges, some more sport climbing.
In 5 days we are going into the next country which i have been warned not to use its name as they control internet and can block webpages if you use specific names! im not sure on the details yet. we also may not be able to access the internet becasue in Kashgar they have cut all internet off to clamp down, and currently have a strong police pressence in the town. it all seems quite strict. we are going to Shiptons arch- which is taller than the empire state building, but is a natural arch. its apparently climbable but is very loose conglomerate rock, and sounds quite sketchy so im not sure how many people will climb it.
written by  Clairesj on August 3, 2009 from Pasu, Pakistan

indiana jones, karaoke and dog meat
Pasu, Pakistan
We had a spontaneous party one night when some of the guys found some Chinese firewater (a spirit), as alcohol is illegal in Pakistan, this seems to be the alcohol that crosses the border. We all went down to BiRT and put some loud music on and danced on the roof! The following day I tried the 6c making some progress- I linked the first 2/3rds in one go- it had great cruxs with wicked moves.
I joined Suuz, Danny, Hannahj and Sebastian on a bridge walk- this involved crossing the river on 2 bridges that were Indiana Jones style! They were pretty scary- consisting of steel cables (lots of broken strands) and random planks of wood that weren’t really planks- more strips of wood, often broken and spaced far apart, pushed through the cables. It took over 10 mins to cross too. We managed to turn it into a mini adventure by taking the lower road to the bridge which Khan told us not to take! It was steep with scree heading into the river. But the real reason was the path had collapsed at one point. Dannys idea was to wade into the swampy river to rejoin the path! We ended up in waist deep freezing water but made it to thew bridge. We met a lady from Malaysia who joined us on the walk but decided to turn back at the wading, but met us on the otherside after finding an easy path not far back!
In the small village on the otherside of the river wemet a local called Abraham who showed us the was to the next bridge and when we crossed, he offered us tea at his house. (the 2nd bridge was worse and next to it was the remains of the new bridge- blown away in a hurricane!) Abraham was into fine art and we discovered his father used to be a porter back in the 50s and 60s on some expeditions to summit virgin peaks. He went with Brits, Germans and Japanese up 8000m peaks and had letters of recommendation from the teams on his wall. Unfortunately he didn’t speak English but seemed a character! We were given tea and apricots and salt for our tea- apparently a northern Pakistani thing- we presumed it was sugar until Sebastian put a teaspoon full in and found he was drinking sea water! The family were far from offended when we found it funny- they joined in! we hitched a ride with the first car that passed. One last day in Passu and we tried the sports routes again. Then it was goodbye to Paul and off along the KKH towards the border. We got through Pakistan Immigration in the morning and drove the rest of the day through no mans land. We camped overnight in no mans land then drove to the Chinese immigration, passing the official border at 4800m altitude.
We were struck immediatel by changes- all the men in army uniform- the smooth tarmac road with lines on it and 2 lanes! And the toilets- a building with 4 holes and small dividers that us girls had to use at the same time. The boys had a guard watching them too!
They examined all our luggage- taking everything out all our lockers, then we had to do it all again at the official immigration a few hours drive later in Tashkirgan. Here we had our temperature taken, bags x-rayed and BiRT had to be thoroughly checked so we checked into a hotel- a nice hotel with free shampoo, TV and 2 to a room! We met our first liason officer- we have to have one all the time with us traveling through China to keep an eye on us! His name was Abdul, and was a nice guy and useful when sorting out bills etc!
At dinner, the group discovered beer for the equivalent of 30p and it soon turned into a party, where we went to a karaoke bar which looked like someones house and the soundsystem was really bad!
We explored the town finding fresh fruit- grapes and apples! And really good ice-cream for 10p. we ended up staying for an extra day as BiRT had to have certain forms to get into the country which didn’t arrive. We walked round the old fort and saw nomads on the grasslands. We were ready to get driving again to Kashgar.
also the food- we have a meal called '4 Disc Pure Speculation'. I think the meat in it was exactly that! we havent seen any dogs around and had meat in every meal- including what they call the vegetarian meals! so im fairly sure we have eaten dog or other random animals!
written by  Clairesj on August 22, 2009 from Pasu, Pakistan

the 4th ascent of the worlds biggest rock arch!!
Tashkurgan, China
As soon as BiRT was free, we drove to Kashgar- that was 8pm so we arrived at 2.45am. everyone sung along to cheesy music sitting on the bouldering mats at the back of BiRT as it got dark. We had a brief stop at Lake Karakul which was near Mustagh Ata (7000m peak that is quite accessible). Again we got a nice hotel and Hannah and I woke up at 12 the next day just in time to catch the end of breakfast- pancakes! We are in Beijing time here which is 2 hours ahead of Pakistan time, so a lot of people use local time, but businesses use Beijing time. It’s a bit strange but means we have light until 10pm. Kashgar is a busy city but has good pavements and is clean but very busy and smoggy. The people here have Turgistan influence so most don’t look typically Chinese. The womens dress is aweful- sequines and frills and bad colours- like children dressing up!
We had a brief day to sort ourselves out before getting taxis- modern jeeps- luxury!- to Shiptons Arch.
I now officially have the title of 4th ascent of the biggest natural rock arch in the world! It still sounds so cool! So after hearing from Duncan all the details about the climb, as he did it last year (the first ascent was by the National Geographic 10 years before). The arch is made of loose conglomerate rock so its not going to be world class climbing as every step you have to check the pebbles wont break off! Duncan explained his route as ascending a gully solo to a scary traverse with bolts spaced 8-9 metres apart, then a 60m abseil to the beginning of the route- this ment leaving static lines on the ab to jumar back up again to get off the route. After was a 3 pitch climb to the top of about Severe/HS grade. He described the bolts as probably ok- but they are essentially drilled into mud and pebbles!
The whole thing sounded scary but I was sort of intrigued! I casually agreed to climb with Graham but depending on what it looked like and how Danny got on on the first day.
Team 1 was Danny, Hannah and Seb and Veroni. Graham and I got up with them at 7am when it was still dark (after I slept just in my sleeping bag under the stars!) and set off along the half hour walk to the arch. The surprise at the archwas universal- ‘wow’ was all we could say as we looked up to the top of the arch and down into the depths of the valley. The guys decided to look at a different gully that the National Geographic took and found it cut out the scary traverse and abseil. At that point I decided I was climbing it!
The four reached the top at lunchtime- much quicker than expected so we decided to go for the summit that day. Roscoe joined us as a 3 and we started up the gully. I found this really scary as parts were so steep you had to bridge up with a long drop below you, having to trust the pebbles. At the top (about 100m) we had a terrifying traverse of 5 metres or so on loose stone over a massive drop- it felt so exposed! I was glad to reach a bolt and start using ropes! We met the other 4 at their last abseil point considering how to do the traverse pitch, so Graham led the pitch- I bolt in 20m with a second rope that could be fixed both ends and used as a static rope to clip into when abseiling.
The great thing about this is I could clip into the rope while climbing and avoid having to worry about the possibility of a 10+ m swing into nowhere and having to jumar up. The next pitch Roscoe led and it had no bolts until the belay, and the last pitch was longer with 3 bolts. The climbing was fine and not as loose as I was expecting. We went up the ridge line so could see miles in both directions with an amazing view on top down into the slot canyon and over the other mountains. The top was about 2m wide, so we enjoyed the view but were quickly ready to start abseiling down which Danny had said was he scariest bit. This was because it was down the ridge so if you slipped you would take a massive swing (possibly cutting the rope on sharp pebbles, worst case scenario) or hang in mid air in the arch and have to jumar up the rope. I didn’t want to test the bolts that well either! Roscoe wanted to go down first, which ment he then held the rope at the next belay to hopefully stop me from swinging if I slipped. We had no trouble though and got down to the top of the gully. As I had found the gully so scary, we used a bolt left by the NG (10 years earlier and no hanger so we tied some tat round it) and used it to ab off- it moved so not ideal! the ab finished just before the worst part of the gully- typical! about 7 hours later we were back on the ground and very pleased/ relieved with ourselves. back to reheat leftover dinner. the rest of the group had moaned so much about going to Shiptons arch becasue there is nothing else to do there- its in the middle of nowhere, that Danny walked all the way back to the road to ring the taxis to pick us up. so at 11.30 that evening we had to quickly pack up and again arrive at Kashgar at 2am.
just around the corner is a western restaurant owned by a new zealander and it sells proper cheese burgers- hurrah!! and it has chinese monopoly and pool. weve spent the last couple of days there including a party there which ended in the early morning. the owner produced a spicy vodka shot with a dead scorpian in the bottom- there was no way i was trying it, but a few oif the guys did, eating the scorpian- yuk! we visited the sunday market which was full of all sorts including a lot of fur, w saw a whole tiger fur, and i finally found a musical instrument. we go on to t!bet as soon as our liason officer turns up.
written by  Clairesj on August 22, 2009 from Tashkurgan, China

blogs will come soon!!
Lhasa, China
just to let you know i have put loads of photos up and i have various blogs to upload, but i wrote them on Suuz's laptop on the journey here and they are on a modern version of word so not compatibule ojn this computer! it would take me ages to write it all out again so i will hopefully save it in a different way then post them up soon. there is a lot to tell- be warned!
im off to Yangshuo tomorrow so sohuld have lots of regualr internet access again-yey!!
updates to follow....
written by  Clairesj on September 3, 2009 from Lhasa, China

drive days and 5400m
Lhasa, China
Ali, 23rd
I updated all my blog yesterday then came to a different internet cafe today and found that blogabond is blocked. dave couldnt get onto his blog either so i presume its the government controlling it. very annoying! so i am writing this in my email to transfer when i can. at least email is still accessible.
we are now onto our 6th drive day in a row which is hard work! it has been early starts and driving all day until dinner and sometimes beyond. the scenery changed quickly and dramatically into high altitude mountainous desert. its quite stunning, with sand for miles, then colourful mountains and the odd lake in the distance all around us. we come across small villages with restaurants for lunch and dinner, big distances apart. i finally got a shower this morning, which was something after 5 days without sitting in the truck getting covered in sand and dust! we have now been upto 5400m twice in a day and havent been below 4300 for the last few days. so not surprisingly most of the group have been getting altitude sickness symptoms, including me- head ache, tiredness, feeling energyless and sick. hannah has it quite bad and feels really dizzy and not with it. it is a bit scary because usually you could just go back down the mountain and be ok again, but we cant go down! we are driving to mount Kailash today so going back up to 5000m and camping at this height. i am a bit nervous about it, and potentially want to do the 3 day trek around mount Kailash which clenses all your sins aparently and gets upto 5600m so it will prob be quite hard to breath!! i think i will be relieved to get down to normal air! we have been camping by the side of the road, which is actually not allowed by the police for tourists to stop there, so we have been pretenting BiRT has broken down to do this, and we stayed in a little house that had lots of beds crowded into one room- but it was warm! the temperature has got freezing. mostly we sit in BiRT in our down jackets and sleeping bags just to keep warm. when we stop for breakfast- which is porridge made on a small portable stove, it has been particularly bad- when i washed my plate and left it for 5 mins- the remaining water had frozen! it cooled my porridge down a bit!
We found an unknown crag on the way yesterday, so stopped and had the afternoon exploring. i did a nice easy 2 pitch climb with Jill that had the potential to do at least 5 further pitches to reach the top if we had more time. i gear was run out though! we then drove onto Ali that evening and were planning to have a vote whether to miss a trek to have more days at the crag, but then found out we couldnt go back there because there is a check point inbetween Ali and the crag, so we could not explain why we were changing our schedule to the guards, as they are sooooo strict here! so it is onwards with our original plan. we are also not allowed to split from the group, so that limits us all to doing exactly what is on the schedule.
after Kailash is 4 driving days then Mount Everest basecamp trek, then onto Lhasa. So far, i dont feel like we are in T!bet, but i think perhaps tomorrow when i see monks and prayer flags, etc. then it will be how i imagined it here.
written by  Clairesj on September 3, 2009 from Lhasa, China

tattoos and limestone karsts
Yangshuo, China
im afraid that my Mount Kailash blog will have to come in a couple of weeks, because as usual i forgot to sort it out before i left, and i left my notebook with it in on BiRT!
Lhasa was a lovely city, very relaxed and nicely touristy. more to come in the other blog.
i got a tattoo while i was in Lhasa. some of the other guys wanted to get one, and having wanted one for a long time, i thought i would go with them to get ideas, but not to get one! the tattoo artist didnt seem amazing so i left it and went off shopping to the barhkor. at 7 in the evening, i bumped into Hannah's mum who told me she had found a really nice tattoo parlor where Danny was getting a tattoo done at that minute. so i went along to talk to the girl for ideas of a design, and she was an amazing artist who ended up spending over 2 hours designing me a tattoo based on chinese art that all related to nature, and she altered it so it had mountains in. i was very fussy but she was also a perfectionist! i was so pleased with it that i had to get it done! its on my leg, just above my ankle. ill put up a photo of it soon. what a great souvineer from T!bet!
I am now in Yangshuo after buying a flight from Lhasa, first to chonqing (not sure if spelling is right), then another flight to Guillin, then a bus to the centre of the town and a further bus to Yangshuo! the trip went quite smoothly- we almost missed our second flight becasue the first was delayed and we had to recheck our luggage in. we just managed to in time, then the second flight was a bit delayed! i have gone ahead of the truck and will join them later, either in Chengdu, or just wait until they reach Yangshuo in just over 2 weeks time. Veronica, Jill, Sebastian and Gareth came with me.
we got a shock when we arrived in Yangshuo- expecting a nice relaxed touristy town, we found a big busy city full of Chinese tourists and crowds. but we searched out the couple of climbing centres that exist right in the middle of the caos! 'Ch!naclimb' is a centre that organises sessions for groups all over Ch!na, and there is a restaurant that is climber freindly called 'Karst Cafe' and also a really small climbing shop called 'Spiderman Climbing'. we found the guys at Ch!naclimb could give us some advice on places to climb and how to get to the crags. we are staying in a youth hostel which is actually pretty nice, even though its on a street with lots of shops full of girls- a bit bizarre!
the limestone karsts are amazing. its about a 15 min taxi ride to the crags, where you are surrounded by karsts as far as you can see, (which isnt really that far becasue of the humid haze!). most are covered with trees and greenery, but some have huge rock faces exposed. this means all the climbing is overhanging becasue it is the areas that cant grow trees that are exposed! so far i have found the climbing hard- i am really out of shape, physically and mentally, and it doesnt help that thuggy overhanging climbing is not really my style! im ashamed to say i have been getting pumped on 5's and failing on 6b's. im hoping my strength and confidence will make a fast reappearance as it is very frustrating at the moment. as i potentially have 5 weeks here, im sure its just a matter of time! the rock is generally very sharp and mottled, some areas have tufas (i tried my first tufa climb today- very strange! and this huge tufa sounded hollow inside!), and some areas are getting polished, especially footholds. but the routes so far have been really nice, with good variety. we have already checked out 5 crags, as it works well to go to one which is in the shade in the morning, then as the sun comes round, move to a different one in the shade in the afternoon. its imposible to climb in the sun as it is so hot and SO humid, that drinking enough water in the shade is almost impossible!
a couple of days ago, it was Sebe's birthday so we went out for a western meal at Karst cafe and had awesome pizza and lasagne. we are now back to cheap chinese noodles and rice and veg, which we have found extra cheap at a restaurant nearby.
Zamora, Shaggy and Ed got the train to Yangshuo which took about 3 days, so they should be arriving tonight.
written by  Clairesj on September 6, 2009 from Yangshuo, China

bolt clipping and slack lining
Yangshuo, China
not much to update apart from more climbing, and a rest day today after only 2 days of climbing, but finger tips have lost a lot of skin and muscles are hurting! we are planning to put a slack line up in the park, then go and get a chinese massage (im a bit scared of what it will be like!). the heat and humidity is still incessant, but i think i am beginning to get used to it a bit. i have done a few more leads on 5s but im hoping to get leading more, even if im falling off the routes, as im finding it so frustrating not leading or having the confidence too. we found some crimpy routes yesterday (rather than thuggy overhanging routes) and i worked my way up a 6c which wasnt too bad, but still feels a long way off until i could climb it in one- especially when all the routes here are 25m +!
Jills birthday was a couple of days ago and we went back to the Karst cafe for pizza and cake!
we also went to the river in between climbing, where traditional hot rock style- the hot rockers got into trouble! the others (i wasnt swimming becasue of my tattoo) found an abandoned bamboo raft and pushed it down the river over a small waterfall- apparently this was not allowed and the security guard told them off and told us all to stay where we were. so we made a quick exit and hid in a cafe incase he had called the police! luckily nothing more happened! so we went to the next crag!!
there are still plenty of crags to explore, and most of them only go into the shade in the afternoon, so we may start going climbing just in the afternoon for most days, im not sure yet. and there is great debate whether climbing 2 days on, 1 day off or 3 days on, or 4+ days on is best! im aiming at 3 days on, 1 day off mainly becasue i dont like staying in the city all day which is what you end up doing on rest days!
written by  Clairesj on September 11, 2009 from Yangshuo, China

is that a bird, a plane? no its BiRT in Yangshuo!!
Yangshuo, China
yes, thats what i thought when we were sitting in the bus after a good day climbing and 2 climbers get on at the next stop. The guy, called Eban, asks us if we are from Hot Rock, and we reply that yes we are. Oh i met the Hot Rockers when they were here last year, he says, and i saw your truck go past earlier heading to the same bush camp. We looked at him questioningly, becasue no, Hot Rock couldnt possibly be here- they are miles away in Siguniang Shan climbing big walls for 8 days. But Eban is sure he saw BiRT, big red truck with a bouldering wall on the back. well you cant argue with that! so then we started to think, well they had 6 days driving to the climbing then about 3 to Chengdu, so if they missed the climbing and drove straight here, then it has been 10 days since we left them, perhaps it is possible....
when we got back we met Shaggy and Ed who had a rest day and they confirmed our suspicions. they had seen some other Hot Rockers in town. The reason was that Siguniang Shan required a permit that had to be paid 2 months in advance, and in typical Hot Rock style, this had been overlooked, so the consensus on the truck was to just drive strasight to Yangshuo. i didnt envy their 10 days straight of driving, but perhaps i wouldnt have spent the extra money on a flight here just to arrive 10 days early. there were a lot of people not happy with Hot Rock yet again. there are too many unhappy customers at the moment and quite a lot of moaning about Hot Rock amoungst us. im hoping that this half of the trip, as it has all been done before, will be better organised and leave all of us still on the truck pleased with the outcome of the trip.
the one story the guys on the truck did have from their drive was going to watch a sky burial. i think it is such a unique, once-in-a-lifetime thing to see that im quite gelous i missed it, but having said that, im not sure i could have watched! so a sky burial is the most popular burial in Tibet, where a body is brought to a holy area and a skilled man makes cuts in the body. the vultures then fly in and eat the body, leaving sinue and bones. the man then grinds the bone with sugar and something else so they are more appitising and the birds come back to eat this. nothing then remains. it sounds quite grusome, but apparently the family of the old woman whose burial it was, were very relaxed, chatting and smoking, rather than the grief you would expect. earleir, they had had 300 monks chant prayers for the old woman and that is when her soul left her body, so they then looked at her body as just esentially meat- it was no longer her. apparently, the quicker the body is eaten by the vultures, the better life the woman had had on earth. the guys saw everything, from the woman being caried from the car boot naked and rapped in plastic, to being cut up, and the vultures.
the other hot rockers camped for the first couple of nights- when it was raining- we didnt envy them! but when a couple of them thought it was worth paying extra to stay in our hostel, everyone moved here. so we are together as a group again, but still climbing as the 2 groups we became. its a slightly strange feeling of us and them, but as the newbies arrive in 5 days, and a coulpe of people leave, im sure everything will change and we will become a group again.
Jill left yesterday to Chengdu, then home, so we went and had a nice meal of burgers and chips in one of the western restaurants- it was really good, and banana cake with chocolate syrup and ice cream for desert. i thought i was spending way too much compared to normal, then thought about the fact i had had a 2 course meal and drink for 4 pound 50! im going to have such a shock with English prices when i go home!
the weather has cooled a little, with rain over the last few days and finally the fog/mist/smog (dont really know what it is) has cleared and you can see beyond the first couple of karsts. the landscape looks much more beautiful now, with the lush green vibrant against the blue sky. i hope it continues like this. i may bike upto Moon Hill, which is a karst that has a perfect hole forming an arch. its a tourist attraction but there is also hard climbing on it, and you can walk easily to the top, getting a great view of the area.
Maria has joined our group climbing recently, and she is an Argentinan who is staying in Yangshuo for a coulpe of months, and has got a job at an English school for 2 hours a day, which gives her free accomodation and food.
rest day today, as i did 2 routes yesterday and was exhausted! even climbing 2 days on, one day off seems to be too much at the moment!
written by  Clairesj on September 17, 2009 from Yangshuo, China

Gong Bao Chicken or Sweet and Sour Pork? place your orders!
I think im beginning to make small gains in my climbing- i led 3 routes yesterday, and one was a 6a that i did by hanging on a few bolts and at one point i climbed up until i could just reach the bolt, but the the last one was below my feet and i was in an unbalanced position to place the quickdraw and clip, so i backed down to the bolt. after doing this about 5 times, i eventually clipped the bolt! i have found some routes quite run out- 5s often have 3 metres or more between bolts so it doesnt make it easy to get confidence!
i took 2 days off in a row a few days ago now, and enjoyed sitting in a restaurant that was on the river, watching the bamboo rafts go past in the comfort of air conditioning, drinking a big pot of ginger and mint tea and reading my book! i realised i couldnt remember the last time i was on my own, so a break from the group was nice. i also went on a chinese cooking course. this was brilliant! there was a group of 8 of us, people from England, Switzerland and Finland, all in their 20s. we had to decide on 3 dishes to make as a group- after resorting to writting our decision down on paper after discusions didnt get anywhere- we decided on sweet and sour pork, Gong Bao Chicken and Braised aubergine with garlic and chili paste. we stood 4 facing 4 with a gas burner and wok infront of us each, various sauces and spices on the table, and our raw ingredients. it was just how i imagined a cookery course would be like! this set up was on the roof of the hotel so we got a great view while we cooked. we donned an apron and chef hat and set to work. cutting all the ingredients involved a huge knife (the square one, like a butcher uses- not sure its name!). we cooked the first 2 meals using a very hot wok, then went down stairs to the restaurant to eat our food, before returning to cook the remaining dish and then eating that too! all the dishes came out really well, apart from my aubergine had too much soy sauce in it so was a bit too salty.
i have the recipes so will test them out if i can remember how to cook them in 4 months time when i return to England! i now have the chopsticks so no excuse!
we had a goodbye party for Dave who has now left, and Hannah is leaving tomorrow so we will have a party tonight. the newbies arrive tomorrow afternoon which is quite exciting!

Kailash and naked Everest!
Lhasa, China
Finally i have the old Mount Kailash and Everest blog. sorry for the delay!
Mount Kailash 22nd August
We arrived in Darchen- a bit of a grotty village next to the holy mountain. The amount of people wanting to do the trek got smaller to 7 people. Gareth soon went off ahead of us and ended up doing the trek in one day which was very impressive. The rest of us were Jill, Anna, Chris, ‘Mum’ (Hannahs mum who is also called Claire so she is nicknamed mum!), DAJ and me. Tensing (also known as Tintin!) came with us as our guide. Hannah really wanted to come but was still hallucinating from altitude sickness!
I was very nervous about the trek as I didn’t know how I would cope with all the uphills and my asthma. We set off at 8am with backpacks as light as possible. The first day was nice- the path meandered up and down for around 22km, past a fewtents and pilgrims who were going to do the whole circuit prostrating every few steps- it must take them weeks and be exhausting and painful, especially as the paths get worse. for each prostration the pilgrims put their hands in a prayer position then raised them above their head, which represented body, lowered them to infront of their face, which was mind, and then infront of their chest, which represented soul. Then they got on their hands and knees to lie flat on the floor. Then start again..
We stopped at an area that was covered in prayer flags attached to a pole. There were also regular piles of stones with engravings on them that were holy although im not sure how. We took regular breaks on the first day including a stop at a dabba for lunch- pot noodles. We took 8 hours and reached the camp spot at 4pm. I found the last bit really hard and collapsed into the tent with no energy to move at all and a head-ache. Im not sure if it was altitude or dehydration or both! I felt better after eating more packaged noodles but none of us had the energy to cross the river to the monastery as it involved a hill! We had reached about 4700m, and the south side of Kailash was infront of us- stunning!
A good night sleep and we got up at 7 as it was still dark. The second day we knew was the hardest- it involved the 5660m highpass (cant remember its name!). the day started up the hill and didn’t stop until we reached the top. It was a long old slog, and I really struggled as it got steeper towards the top, until I was taking one step and thinking about the next one, just to keep going! Thanks to DAJ who took my thermarest and sleepingbag for the accent, I had virtually nothing in my bag, which made a huge difference to my getting to the top. Although Tintin is usually quite irritating and not popular in the group, he did well helping me reach the summit. There were loads of prayer flags again at the top of the pass. As the Buddists and Hindus believe- you die half way up and are reborn at the top, shedding all your sins. It certainly felt like it! Most people leave clothes or a lock of hair at the top, so as we only had dirty knickers as an item of clothing we could leave, we thought this perhaps wouldn’t pleased the gods, and left a lock of hair instead!
There were a lot of Indian pilgrims who took horses around the mountain- which I think is cheating!, so we constantly passed horses. At the top we were surrounded by snowy peaks. 400m steep descent was a relief- to the bottom were more tents and we got more noodles! The remaining 4 hours of walking was straightforward, along the river. It was still a relief to get to the next camp area as it was a long day. Potatos and rice were very welcome dinner and we sat in the dabba hoping time would pass quickly so we could go to bed! 8pm in the end! The monastery there was pretty with loads of candles and statues.
The final day was just 3 hours walk back to the town. A total of 52km and all our sins removed! At one point the rock was stunning- it was blue, dark purple and orange going into the bright blue river. The scenery changed so much on the trek, it felt unique and such an experience to see it all. Mount Kailash stood out a mile from its surrounding mountains- its easy to see why it is believed to be so holy.
31st , Lhasa
We have had some epic few days of travelling since Kailash- the truck has got stuck, broken down numerous times, and we had a horrendous journey on the bad roads! The road is being built in sections so it is constantly diverting the truck around an area onto mud then back onto the road, making it very bumpy and likely to getstuck. We had to pay a digger to tow us out eventually after trying to use boards and dig BiRT out with no success! Then we broke down because the brakes weren’t working properly. A bosh job in one town ment it wasn’t long until they stopped working again (especially with the quality of the roads that made BiRT vibrate). It ment some wasted days and lots of hanging around. Because of the time delay, we then got to a long stretch of road that was being built- over 100km, which they closed from 8am-8pm so they would do this work, forcing trucks to drive it through the night. This ment we had to wait until 8pm to drive it, and then started possibly my scariest night in a long time! It sounds exaggerated, but the roads were so bad and BiRT isn’t very balanced, that the truck swung violently from side to side so we had to cling onto the chair and hope BiRT wouldn’t tip over. It would seem that we had gone further to one side, until the next bump in the road when it would go further. Pete had to keep driving through the night to complete the stretch of road before they closed it in the morning. One scary part was when Pete went the wrong way up a steep hill (apparently the steepest hill he had taken BiRT up) only to discover he had to go back down and couldn’t turn round. So he had to reverse not seeing anything, using Dannys guidance, and we stopped mid hill at such an angle- prop about 45 degrees. I heard afterwards that pete made a comment about how he would tell Duncan he had knocked BiRT over and therefore ruined his business! I was hopeing he had more confidence at the time. Needless to say I couldn’t sleep at all and a few of us who didn’t sleep, watched back-to-back films on Suuz’s laptop as a distraction. It was 4.30am when we finally reached tarmac, and I fell asleep instantly after being on edge for so long! We stopped at 6am to throw up tents and get some sleep.
We cooked scrambled eggs and bread for breakfast which improved everyones mood the following day as everyone is so bored of porridge now. We set off for Everest basecamp. The roads were back to normal again, and it was a nice drive up towards Everest. We stopped on the way at some street sellers and bought prayer flags, then up to a village for food and truck repairs to the petrol tank that was leaking. We reached the next village just before Everest basecamp in the evening, and slept in their big tents that had a stove in the room and blanket type mattresses to sleep on. It was the comfiest bed in a long time, so when we were woken at 6am it took everyone a long time to move, especially in the cold and dark! We walked up to basecamp, which is only a half hour walk or so, upto 5100m-ish as it got light. Unfortunately it was so cloudy we couldn’t see any mountains. So after waiting around in the cold for a couple of hours, the sun slowly burnt off the clouds and revealed Everest. It was impressive, but I wasn’t really wowed by it.
One of the guys then had the good idea of posing infront of Everest in nothing but their boxer shorts! Suddenly most of the guys had joined in for the photo! The officials at the military camp then came up and told us all to come down. We all got very told off and he went through everyones cameras to delete the offending photos! Quite a few people were crafty so still have the photos! Tintin, our guide who should have been with us the whole time, but had gone to get breakfast, was then summoned by the officlas and told off because he should have told us not to do it! Whoops! Hotrock does like to get itself into trouble! But I think we were lucky the official wasn’t more brutal because he could have been if he wanted to.
We left soon after to head to Lhasa- yey!
written by  Clairesj on September 25, 2009 from Lhasa, China

cycling, beaches and moon hill
The newbies have arrived- all 12 of them. it was a surprise when they all turned up a day before we expected them. their first night was Hannahs last night, sao we all went to a western restaurant, then a roof top bar for the rest of the night. it was a great place to get to know everyone, and the night ended going back to the hostel via macdonalds! not that i wanted any! i had a rest day the following day, then went6 climbing with the new guys the following day. they are all very relaxed and a bit crazy- a perfect climbing combination! they are also mostly climbing 5s and easy routes which makes a nice change from climbing with the others who all climb harder than me. im not the worst climber now but one of the better ones! it also helps take the pressure off needing to lead immediately becasue its not a big deal if i do back off the odd 5!
we had a rest day yesterday and cycled down to the river to an area that had a beach. me and cat swam in the river but the boys thought it looked a bit suspect- they may have had a point but i havent grown any extra arms yet so it couldnt have been that bad! we also watched a 2 Japanese tourists take out a bamboo raft and almost fall in quite a lot! they tried to paddle backwards so all the water was going into the bamboo sinking the raft!
today i persuaded the guys to hire bikes and cycle to moon hill. we all regretted this when we had to walk up millions of steps to get to the climbing, climbed some really hard routes then had to go all the way down the steps and cycle back again! all that and a party tonight!! i got on a 7a on toprope there and actually got on ok on it. it got frustrating when i kept swinging right out when i fell off (it was quite overhanging, and we forgot to put any quickdraws in when putting the toprope on) then had to try and swing back to the rock and grab the really bad holds to get back on again!
tonight is an official HotRock party at the bar we have been going to a lot- Bar 98. i think some of the guys may be dressing up in dresses as is traditional hotrock style! only a couple o0f days until we will be bush camping so making thew most of it!!

Goodbye air conditioning, goodbye hot shower.. i will miss you!
I have just come back from an interesting experience at the local private hospital. its nothing serious, although im glad i decided not to take a hot air balloon ride in Yangshuo as a westerner did not look too good as he was wheeled into another ambulance with a neck brace on- the result of a crash according to Jimmy. I have had stomach issues for quite a long time now, and when it stopped me climbing the other day because i had no energy, i thought i should get it checked out while Jimmy could act as my interpretor and i was near a good hospital.
we walked in there yesterday morning and jimmy walked into a partitioned room and started talking to the doctor even though he appeared to be dealing with another patient. the patient left however and i relayed my symptoms through jimmy to the doctor. the doctor suggested a blood test and stool test and gave me various receipts which i then took to a desk to pay for this delight in advance. jimmy then ushered me into the blood room which was full of patients sitting there in rows with drips in their hands, the drips hanging on metal hooks from the ceiling. the hooks reminded me of a butchers, but i shook that thought from my mind as the nurse told me to sit down right there and got her needles ready- in front of everyone! luckily i didnt embarrass myself and faint! i was handed the tubes of blood and then had to go to the labratory (as they spelt it!) to hand them over. lots more of jimmy running around like a headless chicken and shouting at various desks and we were done! (its often hard to tell if the Ch!nese are having an argument or just a friendly chat becasue of the intonations they use!). the stool test i put off until today, and we went there first thing. i was pointed towards a little plastic cup and a stick. the normal squat toilet with no lock on the door, no soap or toilet paper did not feel the most hygenic. neither did walking out of the toilet with the stick in my hand for the man behind the desk! the whole thing felt very embarrassing!! the verdict was that im eating too much oily, fatty food. which doesnt solve a lot! but i got to have a nosy around a Ch!nese hospital which was facinating!
Chinaclimb opened their bar yesterday after a revamp they worked flat out on for 4 days. it was nicely done, and we went along for their opening to celebrate Sarahs birthday.
we are moving to bush camp tomorrow as Yangshuo suddenly gets very expensive becasue there is a national festival- 60 years of the peoples republic of Ch!na, and another festival of some kind. lots of flowers and decorations have appeared around the streets and in the park. we are moving near the river to camp, in the centre of most of the climbing. danny has been feeling generous and aloud us to not cook for the rest of yangshuo. there is a nearby restaurant so we have been given normal food money to eat where we want. we will have regular trips into town anyway i expect and its only for 6 days. im off climbing when the guys get back from their big breakfast.
P.S. anyone who has messaged me on facebook- facebook is blocked throughout Ch!na so i cant access it until we move on to Laos in a couple of weeks time.

the good and the bad and a random naked man!
A good day following a bad day- i climbed a total of one route yesterday and felt quite rubbish becasue it wasnt going my way! but today we got up early- left the camp by 7.30 to get to a crag that comes into the sun at 1pm. when i had cycled there i discovered i had no rock shoes- so i cycled to the crag we were at yesterday, but they werent there. i eventually got back to the campsite and found one of the other guys had picked them up from the last crag. few! they woulod not be easy to replace here! then i cycled back to the first crag and started climbing! i led a 2 pitch climb with a 6a pitch that i top roped on my first day in Yangshuo and had found it really hard and sustained. i did take on the rope but got up it no problem. so i thought i would try a 6b+ as it had bolts only about 2 metres apart for a lot of it. i got two thirds up but got stuck on a scary move on small crimps that i eventually backed off. i was really happy to get that far so i want to go back and try leading to the top before we leave Yangshuo. this afternoon we did 3 pitches of a 5 pitch multipitch before it got dark. on the way to the crag we saw a man completely naked walking towards us down the side of the road, which was a bit of a shock. he didnt seem embarrassed that he was naked, so was a little odd! rich thuoght he was covered in melon juice..? you never know what you will see next here!
we have ventured into town which is very epic. the bad drivers/cyclists,pedestrians who never look when pulling out or overtaking or crossing the road are even worse than usual and there is much more traffic. it feels like a victory whenever you arrive at a destination unscathed! cycling back in the dark is good too, at least i have remembered my headtorch tonight! the festival has made the town very busy but doesnt seem to have any particular event on so we have come to the bar (i am writting this in the bar on their internet!).
i am venturing to the river tomorrow for a 'shower', but bush camping has been fine otherwise. it actually gets cold in the early hours of the morning which is refreshing and stays in the shade so its ok to sleep in without waking up at 7 sweating!
i have security duty tomorrow afternoon, then Matts birthday the next day. he wants to get a group of us to do a 5 pitch 4+ multipitch which is easy but gets you to the top of the crag and has a nice freehanging absail back down. hes never done a multipitch before. we will take cake for the top!
only 3 days left in Yangshuo so i am trying to climb lots! then a couple of drive days to Kunming and more climbing!! i have been in Yangshuo for a month now which has been great to relax and be ready to keep travelling again. i would like to come back here when i climb in the 7s and do some awesome looking routes...but so many places to explore!!...
written by  Clairesj on October 3, 2009 from Yangshuo, China

i cracked a 6b+ !
What a successful day! I led the 6b+ today (that i mentioned in my last blog, getting half way up it). i did take on the rope at a few quickdraws but i got up it. i did the crux first time when i just committed to the move and was very releived to find a hidden crimp hold next to the next bolt! the route was 27 metres and pretty strenuous so im probably quite far from leading it clean. shame i cant try it again in a week! then in the afternoon we did the 5 pitch multipitch, with 6 of us. we got there just after a chinese pair had started on the first pitch. they didnt really know what they were doing and took ages. the climbing was nice and easy apart from the last pitch that felt exposed a you moved over a vertical drop. we all met on the last belay point after i had sorted out the chinese guys prussik so it actually worked! they also only had one rope when you needed 2 ropes for a 50 m free hanging absail! so we untyed their rope for them! eventually we got to abseil but it got dark as we did so. the abseil was awesome. really wicked views of all the limestone karsts in the distance, the sky red behind them, and the river with bamboo rafts going up and down. next we walked through a cave to the other side of the karst and abseiled from there to the ground. it was now pitch dark and again i had forgotten my headtorch so a good cycle back to camp! its matts birthday today so the multipitch was a big thing for him, especially as he is scared of heights and looked very pale on a free-hanging belay point!
one day left of climbing and i have 2 projects for tomorrow. lets hope my confidence lasts! perhaps i am finally making a bit of progress!!
written by  Clairesj on October 5, 2009 from Yangshuo, China

ducks and broken waterpipes
Kunming, China
After 2 drive days we arrived in the centre of Kunming having got lost for 2 hours until almost 3am in the morning. We checked into a hostel and enjoyed a comfy nights sleep before driving about 2 hours out of the city to a village and all the climbing. we found a beach area near the river and road and set up tents here, racing to get the flat spots! It had the usual Chinese litter, but after I had pitched my tent I lent into the porch of it and suddenly saw a needle and syringe sticking out of the sand a few inches from my knee. It was a little scary.
The first day climbing we walked up a track to the right of our campsite, (you could see the crag above the campground), and searched for a dirt track to walk left to reach the climbing. 3 hours later and we guessed we may be on top of the crag because we couldn’t see it anywhere! Deciding to give up after eating lunch at a really nice spot with awesome views, we finally found an obvious path further down that led to the crag. I actually enjoyed the unexpected hike. The scenery is lush green hills, with some farmed land cut into the sides of the hills, and the river running through the valley. It reminds me of Italy if there were olive trees! I managed 2 climbs that day, one a good 6a lead.
The climbing is more underdeveloped here, although there is a guide book. We found some routes were loose with flakes falling off, and when trying a pumpy 5 for ages and eventually giving up as it seemed ridiculously hard, we stepped back and looked at the rock and saw the remains of where a massive tufa must have been once. We weren’t as bad as we thought we were! I also did a really nice 5 pitch multipitch route with Betina. The first 2 pitches were each 40 metres so feltvery long, and also fairly hard, followed by shorter easier pitches. At one point I pulled off a big hold and fell off- luckily on second! I started tapping the holds after that to check they weren’t hollow!the way down was a walk off and covered with spiders webs the whole way down. There are some big spiders and colourful ones too. The walk to camp we passed a spider that was almost 2 inches big and its body was green and yellow zig zags with red and black. It was actually quite pretty from a distance!
I got cook duty on 2 days of climbing- which was a big pain. But our second dinner was a big success. Spencer (whos actually from Maidenhead!) and I went to the market searching for chicken. When after doing embarrassing impersonassions of chickens, we were shown the live chickens, I then tried to demonstrate a dead chicken and even drew a bad picture! Instead the helpful Chinese lady showed us to some cooked ducks. Why not, we thought! So after buying 5 ducks for equivalent to 10 pounds, the butcher then got his butchers knife and cut all down the neck, body and legs. He then got the head and was going to slice down the centre of the head and beak before we stopped him and signaled that we didn’t need the head! It was a very successful meal with hoisin sauce and fresh noodles.
on the way to the hostel, we drove up a side road to park and got to a metal pipe that crossed the road that was a bit low, so danny lifted it up over the roof of BiRT and we drove as it clunked along the roof. as it came off the end of the roof it collapsed in the middle and started a flood all over the road! we had broken the mains water! some o fthe locals got a bit upset and the police were called. everyone walked to the hostel as it was just around the corner while pete, danny and jimmy delt with the police! im not sure what the outcome is yet! hotrock cant help but get into trouble!!
We are now on the truck to Kunming for the night before an early start towards the Laos border tomorrow. We have said goodbye to more people, a lot who were only briefly HotRockers and have 3 more people join yesterday. Im excited to leave China as im ready to leave and Laos sounds like a great place with great people. Im also looking forward to a week off climbing as I feel tired from the non-stop climbing of the last 5 or 6 weeks. Then I will be refreshed and ready to tackle Laos limestone and its soft grading- yes!
written by  Clairesj on October 13, 2009 from Kunming, China

rolling hills, reed houses and nutella!
Luang Prabang, Laos
Im in Laos! and my first impression is that its great!! We had to wait an extra day on the Chinese border as usual because paperwork wasnt orgaised. then a day driving to get to Luang Prabang, and the scenery is beautiful- rolling hills covered in greenery and reed houses on the side of the road, some on precarious looking stilts. the kids are all pretty and their expressions when they saw the big red truck go past was pure amazment! the city itself is laid back and quite touristy. when we got here in the evening last night, we immediately found a cheap market buffet with potatoes, noodles, pasta, and lots of different vegetables. barbequed meat was nextdoor- and its quality meat rather than chunks of bone and fat, like in China! then there are real french bagettes everywhere, cake and fresh fruit juices. i got a juice with dragon fruit in it which was very tasty. we also wandered along the night market that had so many nice touristy bags, pictures, shoes, etc that i may be spending some money here! Laos was a french colony and you can see the french influence in buildings and food, and perhaps thats why it feels friendly here because it has Western (and therefore familiar) influence.
we are staying by the river in a little hostel. and tonight going up to a temple with a great view. we will then decide whether to stay here a day longer or carry on to the next climbing destination.
written by  Clairesj on October 17, 2009 from Luang Prabang, Laos

police, leaches and torential rain!
Vang Vieng, Laos
Bush camping 20 minutes to the north of Vang Vieng did not go well! We arrived and set up camp in a sort of forest area by the side of the road and cooked dinner successfully. It wasn’t until most of us had gone to bed after a camp fire that it started to go wrong! The police turned up with quite a few villagers, and talked to Graham, (who was covering as leader for Danny as Danny had to pick up a new guy whos 75 years old!) saying that we couldn’t stay here. They said it wasn’t safe for us and wanted us to move immediately. Eventually Graham reasoned with them to come to the police station the next day and talk to their boss. As I was falling aslepp it then started to pour with rain. The rain got worse and worse through the night, and some of the brightest and loudest thunder and lightening I have ever heard. I actually woke up to what I was convinced was a bomb or explosion of some kind in a nearby town, as the thunder crashed and echoed. It was not a good night sleep and I woke up in a puddle inmy tent. I soon realized my whole floor was soaked. My tent is quite a disappointment- boo MSR. I managed to hang it from a tree to try and dry it out! That morning we went climbing and got very lost- nowhere in the guidebook did it mention having to cross a river- we had to wade through it- and eventually got to the climbing area. I then had to pull off about 6 leaches from my legs and feet. Yuck! The climbing was ok- a bit dirty and not too easy- I got stuck on the crux of a 5, but could do the crux of the 6c next to it! I think the grading is a bit odd!
Luckily even though Graham fought the police hard to let us stay- they refused and we had to move to a hostel in Vang Vieng- it was a happy moment!
The hostel is nice- the owners are lovely- they have free tea and coffee, and the older lady brought us hot potatoes and pumpkin when we were sitting in the communal area.
Vang Vieng is a real gap-year tourist hot spot. The normal town abruptly turns into a row of Western cafes and bars then back to normal laos again. It’s a bit strange and tacky.
The climbing again is not brilliant- it took us ages of jungle trekking to eventually turn back and try to reach it from the other side- again getting lost- we then got a boat across to the area. Most of the rock was dripping wet, but there were some nice overhanging routes with only a few slimy holds!
Unfortunately this is the next climbing area on the trip so we will be here for about 2 weeks. I took a day off today while the others search out another crag. Every bar plays endless ‘Friends’, or ‘Family Guy’ on TV, for everyone that really wants to get into the local culture…mm!
written by  Clairesj on October 22, 2009 from Vang Vieng, Laos

The jungle adventure: ants, river wading, bushwacking, oh and some climbing!
Vang Vieng, Laos
i have finally uploaded some photos from Yangshuo, hope you like them.
Vang Vieng is still not that exciting, but i did have an awesome day yesterday!
I was gonig to go climbing to one of the normal climbing areas, until Danny came and asked me if i fancied climbing the 6c+ multipitch (Graham had pulled out), so i thought why not?! We went with Shaggy and Pete, as there are 2 routes that go up the face next to eachother, and as Pete had been here last year, he would be very useful in the bushwacking up to the beginning of the route.
it started with a walk to the river, then a short boat ride across the river to the otherside. then it was dense jungle, where a path used to be to get to the crag. Pete brought his mashette and tried to clear a path, but we struggled to find evidence of any path from the previous year. we kept going through all sorts of plants and insects- including standing on a ants nest- they had painful bits that made me jump around until i could flick the ants off! after probably about an hour of this, or maybe 2, we got to a river which was a few metres down. we had to climb down the muddy side into the river, then cross and climb up the other side. it was slippery so Danny tied a bit of string to a tree to help. then on the other side the path turned more rockyso that sharp broken rocks mad up the path, and it was a case of climbing and balancing from one to the other without falling between them. 20 mins later and we saw the rock face! it was now about 2pm so we needed to get moving if we wanted to get up the climb and out of the jungle in the day light- there was no way i was going througfh the jungle at night- we would get lost and who knows what extra and possibly worse creepy crawlies came out in the dark!
Danny quickly led up the first pitch which was really nice, if a bit steep when i was carrying a backpack with 3 litres of water in it! then i led the next. the bolts were nicely close together. the 3rd pitch traversed slightly, and we presumed this was the 6c+ pitch, even though it felt like a nice 6b. so i was up to led the next pitch. i looked around the corner at another traverse and after clipping a few bolts, decidedthis looked far too hard! so backed down to the belay and danny led it- this was actually the 6c+ pitch! 2 more wicked pitches after this and we reached the top. we passed a snake skin on a ledge on the last pitch which made me more cautious of putting my hands in pockets!
2 abseils later and we reached the ground. it was 4.30, so time to make a move on getting out of the jungle. the other 2 had gone back earlier becasue their route was unfortunately wet. we walked back to the river, then decided that it would be easier and quicker to walk up the river to get to the main river where we could easily get a boat to our hotel. we were going to climb down into the river using the rope we had left from before but it was completely covered with ants- the white rope was now black!so it was harder to climb down. we then waded up the river, which came up to our waists (still with full harness, quickdraws and chalkbag on! occationally slipping in the mud! it was brilliant. the river was about 3 metres wide and covered with trees and low branches. it went on for a good 20 minutes as we got more anxious that it might not lead to the main river! but eventually we emerged from the jungle and hauled ourselves out of the water. we found a boat to take us straight back to the hostel.
straight in the shower, was bliss! what an adventure!
unfortunately it didnt end there- i got so many stings and bites from the jungle, and one was particularly bad- i think it must be some kind of plant or bush. i cant see much on my leg but it is incredibly itchy and has stabbing pains. this contiunued through the night and today- so i didnt get much sleep!
therefore an easy day today uploading photos and watching family guy!
written by  Clairesj on October 27, 2009 from Vang Vieng, Laos

tubing paradise
Vang Vieng, Laos
Yesterday was halloween so we joined the rest of the tourists in Vang Vieng by going tubing. tubing is what this town is known for. it has evolved from taking a blown up tube (like a dougnut) down the river on the current, to end up in town, to a bar crawl. all the hotrockers dressed up in the fancy dress box clothes (ie all the guys wore dresses!) then we set off to get a tuk tuk to town with a few strange looks! the first 5 bars of the tubing were right next to eachother, on the edge of the river. the first bar had a swing where you grab the bar and jump off the platform, wizzing over the water until you let go. it was a bit scary and it took me a few swings before i eventually let go and fell a good 6-10 metres into the water (it was hard to judge how high it was but it felt really high!!). it was a good day as the whole of hotrock came and tubed, apart from Jerry. it was a nice way to bond with everyone again, and great to be in a big group. we got the 3rd bar to play some hotrock tunes which got everyone singing along. we saw a few other people dressed up as super heros and a blue smurf. most of the bars had a swing, or later on they had mud pools and volleyball etc. it was great to watch people hitting the water in bad positions as they let go of the swing-constant entertainment, or the risk of being pushed off the side into the river when you were least expecting! danny hung upside down on the swing then jumped off doing a backflip! and the first casualty was when danny and Mustard jumped together then fell off really awkwardly and mustard got a nose bleed. by about 5pm we decided to float down the rest of the river to return the tubes in town, and get our deposit back before 6. the rest of the way was quite slow and it got cold really quickly. we eventually arrived at a bridge we recognised at 6.40. we soon met up with most of the hotrockers again in a bar in town that played really bad music. but it was a good end to the day.
we now have 2 more days after today before heading to Vientiane, which is the capital of Laos. im hoping to rent a kayake and go down the river rather than have a drive day sitting on BiRT. the river has a good current so it shouldnt be too hard work, but im not sure if there are any rapids!
climbing wise, i completed a 6b lead eventually, which i had backed off the other day, and tried to lead a really scary 6b+ that involved going around tufas and out of a cave, and was so awkward. so getting half way up i was quite happy with! it was one of those climbs i hated when i was climbing it but as soon as i was safely on the group again, it suddenly seemed like an awesome climb! perhaps my leading head is getting better and im remembering how much fun it can be to feel exposed and scared on a climb!
written by  Clairesj on October 31, 2009 from Vang Vieng, Laos

beetle spirits, and capsizing!
Vientiane, Laos
Kayaking was awesome! to start at the beginning of the day- we woke up for a special breakfast at 8, put on by the owners of the hostel. they wanted to thank us for staying with them, and send us off in a traditional Laos style. this meant that they cooked us a rice pudding type dish with pork in it. it was delicious. we then had to gather in a circle on the floor while the man said a few words of luck to us. then cme the surprise- we were each given shots of locally made alcohol- in fact one of the bottles was full of crushed beetles on the bottom and we had seen the girl catching the beetles the day before! unfortunately there was no way of refusing as they came round giving us blessings and each family member tying a bit of white cotton around our wrists while saying a prayer. the older lady had a great chuckle and found everything hilerious. she then kept giving some of the guys more shots that htey couldnt refuse!! the alcohol was strong, and i escaped after 3 shots feeling a bit drunk! it was not a good way to meet the kayake tuk tuks!!
we drove for an hour in the tuk tuks to reach a section of the river where we put the kayakes in the water and had a very bad description of what to do down the rapids and if we capsize. we were also assured that we probably would capsize as all 11 of the last group had!! the kayakes were tourist ones that sit above the water and so are quite wobbly. they were also 2 person. i went with Dan as he is normally a raft instructor and pretents he knows what hes doing! so i wouldnt need to worry about capsizing! the first rapid was quite fast with very strange currents. i got excited and forgot to paddle! but luckily i started again, only to fnd we had gone too far right and quickly capsized! we got back on the boat without too much trouble and followed the others round the courner, almost going over again when we headed straight for a rock! 2 other kayakes capsized too. i was glad to capsize as it seemed all part of the fun! the next rapid was easier and we made it through fine. after that we stopped for a great lunch- barbequed chicken kebabs, fried rice and bagettes that the guides prepared on the river bank. then a short stretch of easy water to meet a taxi to take us the rest of the way to Vientiane. it was too short asnd i was just getting into the rapids when we finished them, but it was great fun.
Vientiane is nothing special- its a capital city. they have a lot of western food but unfortunately at western prices if not even more. we will see a temple today to do the touristy bit. we relaxed at a waterpark yesterday. next is bushcamp which i am looking forward too.
written by  Clairesj on November 5, 2009 from Vientiane, Laos

sunsets, soldiers, and a belated bonfire night
Vientiane, Laos
we had a beautiful bushcamp in a small village somewhere in Laos, which was very picturesque. we camped on a small part of a locals field that was about 20 mins walk from the climbing area. we were surrounded by fields and a river not too far away with water buffalo bathing in it, mountains framing the area. the stars were awesome, and so were the sunsets. the climbing however was not so hot! there was one route at 6b, a couple of scary 6cs and everything else was much harder. so i tried a 6c a few times, which was a thuggy climb with an awkward roof in it. i took the opportunity to relax and enjoy the area. there was a huge cave we found on the last day, which we think went miles into the mountain. i would have liked to swim right into it if it wasnt getting dark.
we had some nice bonfires, one we made a guy falkes as we had missed bonfire night while we were in Vientiane. Ed added some petrol and guy falkes disappeared very quickly!
we were all ready to move on after 4 days, and get back on the road. we stopped by the side of the road on the first day as it got dark and set up tents and cooked. just as a few of us started going to bed, a car pulled up and 3 guys got out telling us we shouldnt stay here- it wasnt safe. we tried to communicate with them that we were fine, but they hung around trying to persuade us to move. then another car stopped and more people were saying the same. we eventually found out that Laos is hosting the South East Asia Games soon and they were worried about bad publisity if anything happened to us. the cars went away but soon the first one came back and 2 more stopped. in the end, one man told us there were 200 soldiers around, and he sent 7 soldiers to come and stand around in the road and protect us. they had guns, and some of the unofficial men had guns- one was a machine gun. it all felt very intimidating becasue you didnt know who we could actually trust, when we were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by men with guns! i tried to sleep, then moved into the truck and slept their. it was a relief to wake up in the morning and see an awesome sunset. the soldiers left us as we woke up.
we are now in an area called 4 thousand islands, known as Si Phan Don, so yes we are currently on an island! we picked an island and got a boat across- Don Det. its small with lots of cheap guesthouses and restaurants. we sat and watched the sun set over the water last night, went to a few bars before they closed with curfew and found some other people with a bonfire on the beach. today we will do some relaxed exploring before crossing back to the mainland and on to the border to Cambodia.
written by  Clairesj on November 13, 2009 from Vientiane, Laos

corrupt border guards, granite climbing and off-putting locals!
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
I have arrived in Cambodia! we set off from the islands in the morning and arrived at a very unofficial border! it was a tin house and a wooden barrier! the offical then charged us $2 for an exit stamp from Laos which was probably corrupt, but the Cambodians did it too on the other side of the border! it all went surprisingly smoothly and off we drove into a new country. it felt quite similar to Laos if not quite as pretty and a bit more dirty. the first night we stopped by the side of the road to camp, infront of a half built house that was relatively expensive by Cambodian standards, and had a fence around it. as we started setting tents up infront of the gates, the owner appeared, and rather than getting cross, he invited us to set our tents up inside the house (it was currently a concrete shell), then helped bring us fire wood for our cook team! it was quite a comfortable nights sleep a bit away from the road. next it was on to the climbing destination, which was in the province Kampong Cham. we camped by the road, by a poor village and right next to the rocks. the climbing area was small but a pleasant change as it was slabby, crimpy granite rather than limestone. some routes had only had anchors bolted so you had to top rope them but they were nice easy climbs. i found a 6c that i toproped, which had a boldery start, then gradually got easier as you went up. it took me quite a few goes of holding lots of different horrible crimps until i found a nice sidepull and suddenly the move felt easy. i came back to the route this morning and led it which i was pleased about.
the weather here is rediculously hot, so we ended up climbing at 6am until 10 then having breakfast and sitting around until 3 or 4 as it started to cool down. the locals surrounded us, especially the school kids, so it was noisy and a bit intense, when we were being stared at by 20 people when we were just trying to eat our lunch! we quickly ran out of routes at this crag so voted to leave the area early and come to the capital city today after a mornings climbing.
the city is not bad for a city. i went into a pharmacy today and it was actually like going into Boots! it had make-up by known brands, Olay moisturisers, hair dye, etc etc! i was not expecting to find the most Westernized shop so far on the trip in Cambodia! a small area by the river is a westerners haven with the usual hippy restaurants and bars that sell pizzas and burgers and play american music. the killing fields are on tomorrows agenda which should be interesting.
written by  Clairesj on November 18, 2009 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

the shocking history of Cambodia
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Our hostel in Phnom Penh is really nice, by the river, or i should say on the river as it is built on stilts. we headed out to the killing fields, getting a tuk tuk between 6 of us and first going to the area where there were lots of mass graves uncovered. it was shocking to see so many skulls together, especially when therewere childrens skulls amoungst them. 300 people would be brought there in a day and they would all be executed then buried in one grave. they were all innocent people, killed becasue they were educated or someone in their family was.
we then went to the school which was turned into a prison camp when Pol Pot took control of Phnom Penh. there were rooms and rooms of mug shots of the prisoners, of all ages, and some photos of dead men laid on stretchers. all this was so recent, which makes it more shocking. anyone above the age of 30 in the city, lived through the period and have probably lost friends and family becasue of it. apparently there is an age gap of Cambodians in their 30s becasue the conditions were so harsh 30 years ago, and there was so much starvation that it took women a while to recover enough after the revelution to be able to have children again. it was surprising how well Phnom Penh had recovered in a relatively short time. there was no evidence of the suffering that had existed, in fact it came across as a modern and thriving city.
two hours was enough time to look at the school before it became a bit intense. it is scary how such radicals can take over a country and empty a capital city.
to lift our moods, we went back to find a western restaurant and i had the best beef burger in a long time.
written by  Clairesj on November 18, 2009 from Phnom Penh, Cambodia

the ruins of Angkor Wat
Siem Reap, Cambodia
the next stop was Siem Reap which is home to Angkor Wat. we were told theseold ruins from about the 9th century (i think) were really impressive and needed at least 2 full days to look around them all. they cover 25 km. so we set of at 6.30 in the morning to make the most of the day, and it was expensive to get in! the first temple was very impressive, intricate carvings were still in tact, showing battles that happened and depicting religious myths. we got a tuk tuk for the day, which drove us around a standard circuit, visiting about 10 ruins. some were temples, there was a royal palace, and other buildings. to be honest, without a guide we were guessing! and unfortunately by the 4th building, they started to look the same, a collection of stones. there were so many tourists there that they took any magic away from it, and the touts were aweful, continuously trying to get us to buy drinks or clothes or scarfs. however one of the last buildings was really nice, as it was further into the trees, and had a pond infront of it. some trees were growing out of the rock in amazing positions, with their roots melting around the stones. it looked quite mystical.
we had finished by 3.30 and went back to get a late lunch at a local restaurant. a bit of shopping in the night bazarre was successful. the Cambodians are friendly people with more English than the Laos. I have also been surprised with how developed the country is, and have enjoyed our brief visit. next we are looking on to Thailand!
written by  Clairesj on November 20, 2009 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

boy scouts, bad leads and being locked out of my room!
Chiang Mai, Thailand
one drive day to the border of Cambodia, and a sigh of relief when we got across (as we got there 2 days early and BiRT was permitted to enter and leave Cambodia on pre-decided dates) but luckily the Cambodians are laid back enough to let us through and into Thailand. we slept by the road again in Thailand before continuing another full drive day to reach Chiang Mai. we are camping about 30km outside the city, in a campsite- yes it is camping but with toilets and showers! however (because there is always a 'however'!) we were told to camp away from the nice grass,on the rocky ground instead, because the next day 300 boy scouts were arriving! and we definately noticed them! they came up to a roofed area near our tents to have an assembly. the guide used a microphone and got them all cheering. this was fine until we decided to go to bed. however it was worse when they all came back at 5am and the microphone got switched on. the whole of HotRock was woken up at that point. so people were not happy this morning!
the climbing is brilliant though. i have climbed so many routes already. the temperature here is much nicer- it is sunny but not too hot, so its possible to do 6 or more routes a day. i have done some really nice 6as and 6bs, some leads and some top ropes. i was somehow convinced to lead a 6c today, and before i had a chance to look at it and think aboutit, i got on it. i sat on the rope a fewtimes, and i got scared and backed down to the last bolt a couple of times, but i got to the top! its getting frustrating because my new habbit is to get to the next bolt, or one move from the next bolt and then realise how far below me my last bolt is. i then get scared and dont think i can hold on to clip the quickdrw when i pull up slack (and therefore can fall the furthest), so i start down climbing and then usually take a little fall onto the last bolt. whereas after i have done all that i could have just clipped the quickdraw and kept climbing! but logic doesnt work when you get worked up! im going to go back to the 6c and try to do it with less or ideally no takes. there is also a 6b i want to do the same with.
i am in Chiang Mai city tonight. i came in this evening to arrange an elephant trek for tomorrow. i then went to get a Thai massage which was really good, then lost the others who have the room key- so im stuck in the waiting area of the hostel until they come back and its 1am! luckily there is free internet!
written by  Clairesj on November 26, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

elephants, oxs and bamboo rafting
Chiang Mai, Thailand
i have just ridden on an elephant! the day started with seeing the elephants and having your photo taken with them, before watching them washing in the river. i was surprisingly intimidated by them! they were so big! we then had an elephant show which was very touristy and quite cringy. the elephants did various tricks- including kicking a football into a net, painting a picture of a tree on canvus which they did well, moving logs onto a raised pile, and other things. the elephants would bow after doing any of these in time with their master. next we got an ox cart ride, which was bumpy and not very exciting! they are ugly creatures! then we got on an elephant. i sat in the basket with Yvonne; Dan and Claudia went on an elephant infront. we went along a little track through a jungle area and into the river. the elephant tipped forward down the muddy banks to get into the river, and i thought i was going to fall out! but i got used to it and it was quite good fun! i think we had a slightly rebellious elephant as it wanted to go down different tracks than the others, and at one point it raised its head in arguement so the Thai guy had to kick it behind the ears to behave!
we ate a really nice buffet, which we all got carried away with, then onto bamboo rafting down the river. this was relaxing, but the river was low so there were no rapids. we ended with a look at an orchid and butterfly farm as part of the day package, but it was disapointing as i have seen far better butterflys just sitting outside the hostel in Laos or at the crag.
back to the campsite now by taxi and 3 more days of climbing before we hit Bangkok.
written by  Clairesj on November 27, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand

christmas songs, smoking monks and scary haircuts!
Bangkok, Thailand
climbing in Chaing MAi continued well, and i did a total of 40 routes there. we drove on to Bangkok in one long day. as it was the 1st December, we discovered that Rich had some christmas tunes on his ipod, so put them on in the truck and sang along to all the old classics! i cant say it felt even slightly christmassy, sitting on BiRT, watching the palm trees go past, and the sun pour in through the window! the 3 or 4 lane road with rest stops all the way made the driving pretty pleasant. Alice and i had fun watching 2 coach loads of Monks have a break at one rest stop. we were shocked to see them using an ATM, talking on their mobile, and even smoking!! monks are becoming modernised! Bangkok immediately had a feeling like london about it- 3 or 4 lane traffic, with endless traffic lights and traffic jams, with a '7 Eleven' store on every street and grand hospital and university buildings everywhere. we stopped at the main tourist street- Khao San Road, which has souvineer stalls all the way down, and hostels everywhere. we bought the local 'Pad Thai Curry' from a street stall. its tasty but not actually a curry, its not spicy, and its not rice, its more of a noodle stir fry!
we had a good night out in the city, as it was Alices,and Matts last night. i will miss Alice as she became my room mate, locker mate and climbing partner. Matt and Ed had gone ahead of hotrock for the last few weeks, and as predicted, they got into trouble- Ed got bitten on the hand by a crocodile that lived in a bar- apparently he tried to pet it between the eyes so obviously it went for him! he was lucky to get 11 stitches but has got full movement back in his hand!
yesterday a few of us went to a shopping mall across town. it was huge- 5 floors tall, with hundreds of shops and stalls and a cinema and foodcourt. i found a harddrive to copy everyones photos onto. i then found some frameless glasses for much cheaper than i could get in England. they made them with my prescription in a few hours. i also got my hair cut- which was scary! it was the quickest hair cut i have ever had, and the hairdresser brushed some of my hair, then just started cutting (or i should say hacking!). i asked for layers, and about 2 inches off. it came out a bit shorter but is actually a success!
today i decided to do all my washing (in the sink using bodywash!!) and made sure to not wash my shorts so i had something to wear. unfortunately i didnt do the same with a top, so after standing on the bed, holding up a top to the fan desperately trying to dry it out, i gave up and am currently wearing a damp top!
i have booked my flight home for 10 days before the trip actually ends, so i will be flying back from Kuala Lumpur on the 4th Jan. its exciting to have an end date for the trip. i now have one month left.
written by  Clairesj on December 2, 2009 from Bangkok, Thailand

fish massage, monasteries, and beautiful beaches
Tonsai, Thailand
the last day in Bangkok i meandered for most of it. i did get a fish massage out of curiosity! these special fish swim in a pool and you put your feet in there- they feed of dead skin and bacteria so they then come and sit on your feet and nibble your dead skin- sounds a bit weird when i write it down! it tickles especially when they go between your toes. but my feet were very soft afterwards!
we were woken up at 4.30am to leave Bangkok, some people decided to just stay up partying instead of catching a small amount of sleep! we escaped the rush hour traffic and drove 150 km north to Lopburi, a small climbing area. we camped in a Buddhist monastery which was really nice appart from the barking dogs. it was a combination of monastery dogs and stray dogs tha lked to fight over their areas. so if anyone went to the toilet in the middle of the night we would all be woken up. likewise when the gong was struck around 5am, the dogs were set off again! but to be honest, it didnt bother me too mu8ch as the campsite was nice and with a small group of 11 people, it was chilled out, especially for our cook duty. we left people in Bangkok and som people flew ahead to Tonsai.
the climbing in Lopburi was really nice- crimpy, vertical limestone. the bolts were run out- usually at least 2 metres between them- one route had a 4 metre run out in it.
3 days was enough to climb the best, then a very long drive day to Tonsai, or the mainlnd near it. from 5.30 am- 7pm, we drove with 2 toilet stops/lunch break. we stayed one night in the town with the name i cant remember, before getting the boat across to Tonsai the following morning.
the boat was a small wooden one with a huge engine mounted on the back but with a small propeller! it got us to Tonsai in half an hour and we were immediately greeted with picturesque beach and sea- golden sand, clear blue sea etc.
the first day of climbing has been good. an awesome multiptich gave us a clear view of the beaches and sea as far as we could see. i cant wait for tomorrow and more climbing!
written by  Clairesj on December 10, 2009 from Tonsai, Thailand

fear of falling, rusty bolts, and dying flip flops
Tonsai, Thailand
The climbing in Tonsai is perhaps what i expected- good but polished and a little overhyped. when you open up the guide book and flick through all the pages, it looks like there is so many good areas, however, you then start looking at the quality of the bolts and half the climbs you want to do are now unclimbable, or at your own risk. all the rock at Tonsai has some kind of gas within it that erodes around metal. this means that when the areas were first bolted with expansion bolts, it was within a couple of years that the bolts started falling out. they would look cosmetically fine on the outside, but inside the rock they may not be touching any rock anymore. so it is an ongoing project to replace all the bolts with glue-ins or titanium bolts as these seem not to react with the rock. it does add a certain scary factor to the climbing, although the guide book tells you when everything was bolted and with what materials.
polished, shiny holds are also a problem on easier routes, so we have been trying to go to areas further away from the easily accesible to find less climbed routes. as Pete put it- the quality of climbing is better in Chiang Mai but here you have the whole package- climbing, beach, sea, and relaxed cafes.
having said all that, i have had a couple of good climbing days. yesterday was very successful because i fell off! i was leading a 6b and half way up there were a couple of horrible slopers to move up to the next clip. i wasnt far above the last bolt, and when trying to find a better hold (that wasnt there) i lost balance and fell. Danny had given me some slack for a softer fall which meant i fell 3 or so metres. it was enough to think- why am i not stopping. the last time i had taken a fall like that was when i had hit the ground, so it scared me, but off course this time i did stop. i knew it was important to finish the climb after having a decent fall, because then the fall would be no big deal, rather than something to be afraid of. i was shaking when i came down!
i should have taken a good fall a long time ago, but hopefully this will help, and my leading confidence will keep improving.
today is a rest day and im struggling to find things to do. im useless at sitting on a beach sunbathing! we had a nice buffet breakfast this morning. it is a sad day though as not only are my flip flops on their last legs, soon to be going to a better place, but i just found a big crack in the sole of my sandals. i may soon be shoe less with only a few weeks of the trip to go.
written by  Clairesj on December 11, 2009 from Tonsai, Thailand

deep water soloing
Tonsai, Thailand
i am now getting excited about going home in 2 weeks!! however, it has still been enjoyable here. i went deep water soloing, well i didnt actually do much- it was at low tide so everything was very high and quite hard. i wasnt about to do a 6b at 15 metres! but there were a few confident/crazy guys who were happy to get up high and fall off or jump, so this was good entertainment in itself! we stopped at an island for lunch where our boat men showed us they were actually awesome climbers. they did some bouldering on the beach in bare feet and were climbing 7c problems, if not harder. then our guys tried a hard roof problem- considering Danny can climb 7bs, he made it just out of the roof, then one of the Thai guys went and campused it- he used no feet!! it was like watching a real life climbing film! we climbed on the same rock as has the route thats in First Ascent? with David Lama doing the dyno on the 8a- it looked pretty hard!
ive had a couple of bad climbing days- they have to happen occasionally! but resting today, then climbing again for the next couple of days.
we have been watching films at the local restaurant which has made a nice change. and a bit of sitting on the beach and swimming in the sea.
i have uploaded 7 photos- i had about 20 to upload but after an hour thats all that has uploaded, so they are from back in Laos im afraid. in 2 weeks i can upload lots!
written by  Clairesj on December 19, 2009 from Tonsai, Thailand

happy christmas
Happy Christmas everyone!
i am having a strange christmas becasue it may as well not really be christmas! santa hasnt found his way to my little bamboo hut, but there is the occational bit of tinsle around and we are having a party tonight with a barbeque.
we are here for one more day then on to Malaysia and 3 days of climbing before hitting [[Malaysia/Kuala-Lumpur]] for new year.

Muesli, thermometers and fireworks
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
after a good finish in Tonsai- i hit my toe on a rock (it was a big rock) when walking along the beach and got a painful bruise so couldnt put it in a climbing shoe for the last couple of days! its a silly injury that stops you doing quite a lot! anyway we moved on on the 27th, getting one last muesli with fresh pineapple, mango, watermelon and banana and yogurt on top for breakfast and headed for the boat back to AoNang. feeling increadably unstable we motored back to the town and went and found BiRT. a laid back drive day took us across the border into Malaysia. although i had a brief panic when i started feeling a bit feverish about an hour before we reached the border and remembered that almost every country had taken my temperature on the border to clear us of any diseases before entering their soil. luckily Malaysia was laid back enough not to bother with any of that! few!
i was sorry to leave Thailand as the people had been friendly there but also efficient!! but i discovered Malaysians are equally friendly. we stopped close to the border in a town called Bukit Keteri where we parked near a Mosque. the climbing area was a mound of limestone on the otherside of the road and we camped in between two families houses on a small patch of grass. both families were very friendly and some members spoke good English. the kids got very excited and kept trying to talk to us without us understanding! as we arrived at about 8pm, we asked restaurant next door if they could cook us some food and they rustled up some noodles. these were good and cheap so we stuck with their cooking for our evening meals making it nice and easy for the cook dutys (if a bit spicy! apparently 'no spice' means about my limit of spicyness!). the climbing itself was fairly dirty as its not climbed that often but not bad. i wasnt able to climb much becasue of the fore mentioned temperature that seems to be some kind of stomach virus which im still fighting and not feeling quite right.
we have now moved on to Kuala Lumpur today- my last drive day on BiRT today (and last night in my tent last night). i have lugged all my bags and stuff to the hotel to try and sort into some sort of order to get to the airport on saturday! it seems like a big city and of course the most modern and expensive city we have visited on the trip. Malaysia is also the first country on the trip that uses the roman alphabet for its language, which is refreshing to see. there is also a lot of English on signs everywhere and people seem to know English so far.
New Years tonight will involve going for a meal then to a bar then hopefully to see the fireworks at KLCC. then one more day tomorrow which we want to go and see the new film Avatar in 3D if its not sold out.
finally, i will soon me flying home! i am very excited as it feels like i have been away a long time. i will have to remember how to stand still for longer than a few days though!
written by  Clairesj on December 31, 2009 from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

the finale of an awesome adventure
Maidenhead, United Kingdom
New Years was good fun. we went to an expensive restaurant (well compared to the trip- i paid 10 pounds for a meal!) which was called a tapas bar but didnt seem to do any tapas! i had nice spagghetti meat balls though! we then went to an Irish bar thaqt played really bad music, until just before midnight when we went outside. there was a vague countdown then the bar produced a big box of fireworks that they put in the middle of the road with a quick warning of 'fire, move back'. the fireworks were pretty good- especially at the end when they exploded outwards towards us, only a few metres away and i thought i was gonig to get hit! we then moved down the road to see some bigger fireworks at a distance.
the final day was spent meandering around the area and packing. in the evening we went and saw Avator but not 3D as that was sold out. it was still good though.
the following day i said goodbye to everyone as they left for BiRT and to the next campsite. it was sad when i started thinking if i would see some of the group again. but i have found out from old hotrockers that there is no escaping fellow hotrockers, because you will bump into them back in England or in various countries when you least expect it! there are always more climbing trips planned- amazing trad climbing in Jordon, sun-drenched sport climbing in Kalymnos or a boldering festival in Holland, and thats just for this year!
so i put on a barve face as the hotrockers left the hotel and me behind. i then gathered by stuff and went to find a taxi. the taxi took me straight to the skybus, which then took me to the airport fairly stress free. the next worry was when i had to check my bags in- would they be within the 30kg allowance i had bought? they came up as 33.5kg so i held my breath waiting for the check-in lady to notice. luckily she seemed to overlook it and i walked away with the ticket relieved.
the flight was 14 hours and had no TVs on the plane- it was one long journey! i did get the window seat and the seat next to me was free. about 5 hours in i started to feel a bit claustrophobic as it was dark in the plane and i still had so long to go. i looked around and all i couyld see were strangers faces. it was a very strange feeling- for 8 months i havent been away from other hotrockers for a couple of hours at a time, and even then, if for example i walked around Tonsai on my own, i would bump into someone at a restaurant, sitting on the beach or at the internet. suddenly i didnt know anyone. it was bizarre!
i met my parents at Stansted airport at 10pm and was immediately met by freezing cold air and so many English accents! the drive home was great- gliding along the motorway at normal speeds!
what a great trip! im still trying to get used to being back home. it definately feels a bit strange when everything is so familiar but i hasve been away long enough that it has become unfamiliar! i drove my car yesterday which was scary to start with but i quickly remembered how to drive (few!!). some clothes shopping was very exciting and much needed, as is usibng the washing machine a novelty! and the food is great! roast dinner and lasagne, pizza, all the things ive been missing!
i dont know how to conclude such a long and diverse trip. i had my favourite climbing areas- bouldering in Chattru, in the Indian Himalayas, and sport climbing in Yangshuo, in South East China, hiking around Mount Kailash in Tibet. Laos was beautiful with rolling jungle hills, Pakistan was beautiful with huge intimidating mountains and glaciers, Tibet was unique in its endless deserts with only sand to see for miles, Thailand had idilic sandy beaches and crystal blue water. then there was the dirt, filth and poverty we discovered in India, the scary altitude sickness in Tibet, and the government supression in Kashgar, China. driving in BiRT, cook duties, truck jobs, camping under the largest amount of stars i have ever seen, getting the first shower after 10 days, eating endless rice and veg. seeing mountains and sea, climbing to an altitude of 5600m, being in freezing temperatures, to rock climbing in 46 degrees C, getting stomach bugs and skin infections, having christmas on a beach, getting a tatoo. all the Hotrockers i have lived with and shared so many adventures with, from England, Scotland, Germany, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, America, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.
just to name a few!!
Im going to have stories to tell for a long time!
thanks for reading my blog, i have really enjoyed writing it.
written by  Clairesj on January 5, 2010 from Maidenhead, United Kingdom

Christmas dinner

hanging out on the second belay

Me climbing at 'Wees Present Wall'

getting the little boat across to the crag

our guy faulks on bonfire at our bushcamp in Laos

angkor wat carving

angkor wat

tonsai beach

me on a bamboo raft in charge of steering!

me and Yvonne on an elephant

me and Yvonne as the elephant goes into the river

elephants crossing the river

an elephant spraying water during washing

our goodbye celebration by the hostel

view from the climbing area

the night street markets, lots of nice goodies!

Pete doing more repair work on BiRT

the bridge on the way to climbing that felt like it was going to break every time we crossed!

locals walking through the fields near the climbing area

A Buddist monk

me climbing at Chicken cave, Yangshuo (looking a bit scared!)

Zed, Sam and Ben watching someone climbing!

the beautiful limestone karsts of Yangshuo

the vegetable market

swimming in the dirty river

how scenic! a local on his bamboo raft

the town centre of Yangshuo at night

balloons taking off around the karsts, near wine bottle climbing area. there were 2 crashes i heard of so i was staying on the ground!

pots of all sorts of delicacies including snails and frogs (alive of course)

Moon Hill- a huge natural rock arch with tufas and awesome climbs- im coming back when i can climb hard enough to climb through the middle of the arch

dont look if you like dogs- the meat market with dogs skinned etc, for sale

me with a dragonfly on my shoulder

getting my tattoo!

my tattoo!! sorry its sideways!

getting my tattoo

the 2nd bridge and broken bridge on the bridge walk

bridge walk (on the first bridge)

getting to the bridge

the Pasu glacier, as we are walking back

pasu glacier

walking along pasu glacier

LiGBe (little green bike!) Roscoe bought the hot rock bike- it folds up so fits in a locker

practising jumaring to get out of a cravase

view from our hotel

on the way to Manali

a Buddhist temple in the centre of the town

the girls dressed up

monkey!!

sunset at our campsite

Sunshine crag, lots of easy sport to climb

BiRT and our campsite in Badami

the guys dressed up on my birthday on the way to Badami

Hermit Wall, very hard routes!

locals watching us as usual!

the city of rocks, endless!