I glanced at my phone during breakfast, and the date was the first thing I noticed. The phrase synonymous with 9/11 is “Never Forget,” but how could anyone? I still remember exactly where I was on that awful day in 2001, and I am positive you do too. Despite the terror, fear, and uncertainty our entire country experienced on that fall day in September, it was beyond inspiring to see our country come together afterward. Unfortunately, I feel like our country is split now more than ever.
Ash and I told our 9/11 stories to each other, as we did every year, and left to swim in the Indian Ocean for the first time. This left only the Southern and Arctic Oceans for me to swim in. I didn’t anticipate either of those happening, and when the hell did they come up with the Southern Ocean? I definitely missed that geography memo.
Ash had read somewhere that Railay Beach was famous for its rock climbing, and she signed us up for it through the hotel. We were instructed to meet at the front desk at noon, where our guide would pick us up. At twelve on the dot, a small man with dreads down to his butt arrived. He greeted us both, and we followed him to the other side of the Railay Beach peninsula.
“Have you guys ever rock climbed before?” he asked.
We replied simultaneously yes/no, and looked at each other, confused at the other’s response.
He smiled back at us and told us it was no problem; there were routes for everyone. We passed through a small village with a few shops and restaurants that sat in the middle of the peninsula between the two beaches. Ash began to get nervous as we got closer. She is always so good at things, especially athletic things, but she gets so embarrassed to do things in front of people.
We emerged from the jungle to another beach that was much less glamorous than the one on our side. He led us to a small hut and gave us our belts, shoes, and chalk. He then introduced us to our guide for the day, Paul. We also had one other solo climber coming with us today. He walked up to us and introduced himself.
Danny was an experienced climber who did this often as a hobby. He had done a good bit of outdoor climbing in Arizona, where he’d grown up. He was in medical school at Ohio State.
“There she is!” Paul then exclaimed, pointing to a rock face in front of us.
What, that cliff going straight into the sky? No way in hell we were climbing that shit, right? Danny belayed for Paul as he climbed up to get the hooks for the carabineers ready. Paul looked like an actual monkey climbing a tree, utilizing his freakishly long arms to swing from rock to rock. He brought his legs up simultaneously in one fluid motion and reached the top of the wall we were climbing in a matter of minutes. I was cursing myself under my breath for the three months of beer, gelato, and food that were about to weigh me down. I was here with my girlfriend, an expert local climber, and Danny the muscular climbing med student. Fuck.
Paul came down and switched sides with Danny, who climbed the wall at almost the same speed as Paul. Dammit, Danny. I was hoping you were bullshitting and were actually going to suck. It was my turn. Ash looked at me with encouragement. I couldn’t let her down now. So I acted like I knew what I was doing and took the approach I took in all things in life: I faked it until I made it. I started up the wall, and after only a few minutes had made it to the top easily.
When Ash was prepping for her turn, she became nervous and I assured her she would be great. Sure enough, she was a natural and glided up the wall with ease. She made it back down, and we all high-fived at our first wall victory.
Paul undid the harness, and we all walked to the next wall. It took him a while to climb the next rock. When he got down, he was sweating profusely and out of breath. He fought words through his frequent exhales and said to us, “This one is just for Danny; it is very advanced.”
Come again, Paul? I thought: I was not about to get bitched in front of my girlfriend.
“I want to try it,” I told Paul confidently, and put my knot on first before he could say no.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “This is the most difficult climb of the day.”
“Yeah, I’m positive. I will go first.”
From the first hold, I knew I had outkicked my coverage here. The grips were small, and many were only wide enough for a few fingers. I knew Ash was down there watching me with hope, and Danny and Paul with doubt. I had reached a point where the only grip was going to be a jump. I prepped my legs for action and did a few practice squats before lunging up. I managed to get three fingers in the slight indentation, but I was slipping fast; I put all my weight into those three fingers and lifted a leg quickly, just as my hand slipped away. I lunged again and found a secure grip at the last millisecond. It was a bit of a combo move, and when I made the jump, I heard the three of them cheering and clapping below. I made it to the top minutes later, and when I came down, it was both a great and embarrassing feeling to hear the surprise in their voices as they congratulated me.
Ash started climbing the next wall as it began to rain. She still killed it. It was inspiring to see her use her arms and legs to propel herself up. When she came back down, she warned me that this wall was more difficult to climb than it looked. I should have listened. I got cocky and injured my forearm falling four feet down the cliff. Idiot.
Railay Beach is on the bucket list of the most serious climbers around the world, and we knew we were lucky to have experienced it. We went to bed that night and realized we had not yet booked a place to stay in Ko Samui the next night. Most people might panic, but we were too busy basking in our climbing victories. What was the worst that could happen? We’d sleep on the beach in the Gulf of Thailand? Everything would work itself out. The panic and planning could wait for another day.