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| A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life. WAVE Journey is your one stop online resource for women oriented businesses and services around the world. WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, read or revel in outdoor activities this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online resource. |
| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations, Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
Splashdown Krabi ~ Deep Water Soloing Thailand’s Andaman Sea
By David Wilson
By David Wilson
On the horizon, the distinctively stark limestone pinnacle Koh Poda Island rises up from the
sea. The tide is high, so there is no sign of the white sandy beach that fans out from Koh
Poda, which lies a 25-minute boat journey from the beaches of the Railay peninsula in Krabi,
Southern Thailand.
The long-tailed boat I am riding with five other adventurers bears down on Poda. Our eyes
begin to make out the honeycombed pattern of the cliffs and a dangling rope promptly
grabbed by Karim, our superman guide who moonlights as a circus fire juggler, Thai boxing
instructor and runner with a 100% victory record.
Today, Karim is running an introduction to ‘deepwater solo’ (DWS). The trivial but
tremendous craze from England takes the form of solo rock climbing that relies on the safety
net presence of water at the base of a climb to protect against injury. No rope is used. You
just ascend as high as possible and then fall off - willingly or otherwise.
sea. The tide is high, so there is no sign of the white sandy beach that fans out from Koh
Poda, which lies a 25-minute boat journey from the beaches of the Railay peninsula in Krabi,
Southern Thailand.
The long-tailed boat I am riding with five other adventurers bears down on Poda. Our eyes
begin to make out the honeycombed pattern of the cliffs and a dangling rope promptly
grabbed by Karim, our superman guide who moonlights as a circus fire juggler, Thai boxing
instructor and runner with a 100% victory record.
Today, Karim is running an introduction to ‘deepwater solo’ (DWS). The trivial but
tremendous craze from England takes the form of solo rock climbing that relies on the safety
net presence of water at the base of a climb to protect against injury. No rope is used. You
just ascend as high as possible and then fall off - willingly or otherwise.
Pulling us close to a cliff, Karim asks: "Who wants to go first?"
From beneath his black baseball cap embossed with a skull-and-crossbones insignia, Karim
eyes us intensely. In the shimmering high-season heat, no one rushes to walk the plank,
for three reasons.
The first is that we have each gorged on a box of egg fried rice, prompting talk of
deep-water vomiting. The second is Karim's earlier disclosure that he dislikes jumping from
high objects or even our boat. The third is that we associate jumping off cliffs with suicide -
or its extreme sport close cousin, "tombstoning", which means jumping off a cliff under the
influence and praying that the water is deep and devoid of submerged objects.
Keen to atone for chickening out of rock climbing earlier, I volunteer to go first. Karim
waves me up onto the roof of the boat. My plan is to attack the rock face fast and take the
plunge before everyone starts coaxing and shouting out: "Jump!"
From beneath his black baseball cap embossed with a skull-and-crossbones insignia, Karim
eyes us intensely. In the shimmering high-season heat, no one rushes to walk the plank,
for three reasons.
The first is that we have each gorged on a box of egg fried rice, prompting talk of
deep-water vomiting. The second is Karim's earlier disclosure that he dislikes jumping from
high objects or even our boat. The third is that we associate jumping off cliffs with suicide -
or its extreme sport close cousin, "tombstoning", which means jumping off a cliff under the
influence and praying that the water is deep and devoid of submerged objects.
Keen to atone for chickening out of rock climbing earlier, I volunteer to go first. Karim
waves me up onto the roof of the boat. My plan is to attack the rock face fast and take the
plunge before everyone starts coaxing and shouting out: "Jump!"
