1,237

I'm tackling the Tiger Cave Temple today.

Yet, I'm not interested in the tiger (there aren't any live ones anyway), the cave, or the temple.  What I am interested in is climbing the 1,237 steps to see the Buddha statue on top of a 600 meter high karst peak.  Since I am not joining any group tours nor can I ride a motor bike, my journey begins in getting to the Temple.

Remember the Song Thaew I took in Chiang Mai?  It is my friend here in Ao Nang again.  After consulting the guesthouse receptionist and a tour planner at one of several dozen tourist information centers in town, the consensus is that I should take a white Song Thaew to the Krabi bus station, then a red Song Thaew (on which side of the street I should embark is yet to be determined) to the main road leading to the Temple, then walk the two kilometers to get to the Temple.  Sure, I could take a taxi, but that would be 1,500 Bahts more and 1.5% as fun.

The original plan was to leave around 7:30 am so that I could get an early start to avoid the excruciating heat.  The average highs have been 90 degrees, and with the high humidity, it's equivalent to nearly 100 degrees by mid-day.  The plan was sabotaged by my procrastination which was picked up during residency in dealing with my classmates who were all perpetually late.  So, at 8:15 am, after a satisfying breakfast - I needed to fill my stomach to survive the climb, was what I told myself while gorging on toast, cereal, yogurt, eggs, sausage, and fruits - I set out to find a white Song Thaew.

Finding one wasn't the problem, as it turned out; convincing the driver to go faster was impossible.  There were just three passengers, so the driver stopped or stalled every two meters, hoping that more people would climb aboard.  The only thing that was climbing was the temperature, which was inching up by about one degree every 15 minutes or so, with each degree equaling one liter of sweat from me.

After finally getting off the white Song Thaew at 9:15 am, I frantically looked for a red one on either side of the street, which is the classic sign of a tourist in need.  Queue the motor bike driver.  A motor bike driver is pretty much a motorcycle taxi.  I have been approached by at least one of them everyday while in Thailand, and today was the first day when I was in need of one.  We agreed on a fee of 100 Baht for him to take me directly to the temple.  I put on the spare helmet, and we took off.

Fifteen minutes later, I finally arrived at the base of the karst.  The prerequisite photographic and videographic documentations complete, I marched the first step up.

there's a "10" in front of the "38"

Along the way, I passed by several other admirers of the Temple, some on their way up, some down.  Every now and then, a number indicating the steps already taken would appear on the rail.  The photo I took of this shows 38, my age, but there is a "10" in front of the 38 around the post.

At around 1,000 steps, the infamous monkeys began to appear.  Sure, the baby monkeys are incredibly cute and cuddly, enticing the inexperienced traveler to approach and pet it, but that would be a mistake, as would be feeding them.  Along the steps and around the railing, numerous monkeys lay in my way.  Since I had done my research, I knew that these monkey charge at the sight of any food or anything shiny.  They've snatched sunglasses, chips, and all kinds of jewelry from innocent or stupid (yes, there should be a distinction) people.  So I made a mental note to put away my watch and not to take out my camera when they were around.

Twenty-five minutes after I began my ascent, which included a few stops for photos and rest, I finally landed on step 1,237, about 1 kilogram lighter from the perspiration I had transferred onto my shirt.  I won't bother to describe for you what I saw - these photos and videos speak for themselves.

As everyone around me panted and puffed their way around the Buddha, I noticed that the monkeys had a sandal to play with.  Removing the shoes was a requirement at the very top as a sign of respect, so there was quite an assortment of flip-flops, sandals, and athletic shoes for these curious Georges to choose from.  The woman with one missing shoe innocently asked around, "Do you know how I can get my shoe back?"  Try praying to the Buddha.

cradled by the buddha

I didn't stay around long enough to watch the conclusion of this intriguing episode from the planet of the apes, as I wanted to get my flip-flops back on before the monkeys had further ideas and also needed to get back down by 10:30 to be on time for my return ride.  Just before leaving the top, a Swedish woman decided to enjoy a little snack.  Before she even took a bite, an adult monkey appeared on her left side, sitting on the bench with her.  She was alarmed and immediately tried to wave it away.  Then she noticed a second monkey on her right, upon which she screamed and got off the bench.  I told her to put her food away, but it appeared that she didn't understand my Swedish disguised as English.  I took step number one down and left her and the monkeys behind.

The person taking me back to Ao Nang was Paiboon, a staff member at the guesthouse who lives near the Temple and had offered to give me a ride since he goes to work around 11 am.  Paiboon is a chatty one, I found out shortly after I got on his motor bike.  As we chatted about the countries we live in, I was thinking two things:  I probably should be wearing a helmet, and I'm going to have the worst Wolverine hair yet.

some steps were 50 cm steep

Wolverine was how Tony described my hair the first day we arrived in Bangkok.  My stubborn, straight hair sticks straight out under three conditions:  under high humidity, when I sweat, and when I eat spicy food, which means that during my days in Bangkok and Krabi, I've been Wolverine - a nerdy version of it - not muscular, not sexy, and definitely not Hugh Jackman.

As my transformation into Wolverine took shape with the wind blowing against the short black wall my hair was forming while I rode on Paiboon's motor bike, our conversation turned to Obama and other leaders around the world.  We agreed that it is difficult for people in positions of power to accomplish all they hope or promise, due to political or socioeconomic circumstances that one individual cannot control.  Particularly when they go against nature, Paiboon adds.

I did not ask him to clarify what going against nature constitutes; in my mind, there were many ways to interpret this.  Sometimes my own actions seem to be going against what others describe as nature, yet nature seems to be helping me along.

I felt the wind against my face and thought more about my Wolverine nature.

a litter of tiny pups outside the temple