A day at the beach

Since it wouldn't be fair to talk about Koh Tau without some shots of the beaches, I thought it would be appropriate to include some of the great shots that Violetta (V) got of us one of the few times that we actually went to "hang out" on the beach.

Photo courtesy of Violetta Beral.

Photo courtesy of Violetta Beral.

Photo courtesy of Violetta Beral.

An abandoned resort and other adventures on Koh Tau

The overnight night ferry ride to Koh Tau was a very enjoyable one, despite the fact that we all woke up at some point or other in the middle of the night to feel the boat pitching and rolling underneath us in what seemed like monstrous swells.

Tight sleeping quarters but surprising comfortable (minus the pitching of the boat).  Photo by Andy "Kiell" Day.  

Walking off the boat at 5am.  Photo by Andy "Kiell" Day.

We arrived unscathed in Koh Tau at 5am and managed to dodge the swarm of blood-sucking taxi drivers that awaited the bleary-eyed tourists coming off the boat.  After hanging around on a corner to figure out a gameplan, we started by finding a great little place that offered good, cheap food, with free wifi (this place became a regular dining option for us).  We then found a great place to stay at a really low rate, and even managed to rent scooters before lunch (we had become hooked on the range and flexibility that scooters offered us.  All-in-all a productiveness that was tough to match for the rest of our time on the island).

Making friends at our favorite restaurant.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Stopping to enjoy the view.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

We spent much of our time on Koh Tau speeding up and down the small country roads along with the rest of the small army of scooter-mounted tourists (mostly divers) that inhabited the island.  Although we did some bouldering, the weather or the environment conspired against us on most days so we ended up doing a lot more exploring than anything else.

Coconut tree + long bamboo pole = Blake trying (unsuccessfully) to knock a coconut down.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

V taking advantage of good weather and a temporary lack of mosquitoes.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Kiell at work.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

The abandoned hotel pictured below was one of the best adventures of the trip and was something that we essentially stumbled upon after someone had mentioned it briefly in passing.  Although it has only been out of operation for a few years (it was actually owned by the woman who owned the place we were staying in on the other side of the island) nature was gradually reclaiming the area, especially the only road through the hills to the resort.

The perfect place to spend an afternoon.  Photo by Andy "Kiell" Day.

A welcome view after 45 minutes hiking on a path through the jungle.  Photo by Andy "Kiell" Day. 

There were also some great rocks right next to the resort so of course we couldn’t resist the chance to climb and jump around on them.

Scouting out a jump for Kiell to shoot, and pondering the rather large drop below.   Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Eyeing the jump.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

The jump.  Photo by Andy "Kiell" Day.

Hanging out afterwards in one of the abandoned bungalows.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Of course, being on an island, we also spent some time hanging out on the beach (both in and out of the illusion of training).

After nearly a week on Koh Tau, it was time to head back to Bangkok to meet up with the rest of the PkGen crew the official launch of PkGen Asia at the Queen’s Imperial Hotel...

Ton Sai

After a week in Bangkok, I headed south with some of the other Parkour Generations family members who were also interested in exploring southern Thailand a bit and taking advantage of having flown halfway around the world to someplace with far more agreeable winter weather than our respective homelands.

Our first destination was Ton Sai Beach, located in the Krabi province.  Although it is technically part of the mainland, it is cut off from any roads or paths by a series of impressive limestone cliffs and peaks which surround some amazingly picturesque beaches.  These cliffs also happen to make for good climbing and the area has become a mecca of sorts for climbers from around the world looking for good climbing, a chill lifestyle with like-minded people, and an active nightlife.

The cliffs of Railay and Ton Sai beaches.

We traveled From Bangkok to the beach with a combination of a very enjoyable all-night train ride, a series of much less-enjoyable bus rides that extorted us in every way possible, and a brief but beautiful long-boat cruise from the main town to the beaches on the other side of the cliffs.

The veiw that awaited us as we arrived via the longboat.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

While the original plan for our stay in Ton Sai was to do a ton of climbing accompanied by our expert photographers (V and Kiell both happen to work as instructors at a climbing gym in London), we didn’t exactly follow the original game plan and spent much more time exploring the beaches and surrounding jungle.  And relaxing.

My "welcome" gift from the 16 mosquitoes that bit me within 10 minutes of arriving.   Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Our living quarters for the week.  Picturesque but not exactly ideal (and horrible at keeping mosquitoes out).   Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

My primary method of training for much of the time in Ton Sai...  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Our adventure to the Railay Lagoon was one of the highlights of our time in Ton Sai for me.  While the lagoon itself was not actually much more than a big puddle (even at high tide), the 45 minute climb through a mud-coated “lost world” was pretty awesome and offered plenty of opportunity to clamber, climb, and slide up and down a "path" that have all sorts of warning signs posted at the beginning if it were located in the USA.

"The Lost World"...? Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Bruno making his way down a particularly muddy descent.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

The water was not nearly as inviting from up close...  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Despite the beautiful beaches and sunsets, we decided after a few days that we had exhausted all that Ton Sai had to offer and it was time to change location...

Goodbye Ton Sai.  Photo courtesy of Annty Marais.

Parkour in Florianopolis

After an 18-hour bus ride from Rio I arrived in Florianopolis realizing that I had no idea what the guy I was supposed to be meeting looked like, and without any credit on my cell phone. I wandered around the station for a bit before deciding to hang out in the most visible place possible and hope that I looked gringo enough for him to recognize me. Thirty minutes later I saw a guy with baggy sweatpants and a parkour shirt walk into the station and knew that he must be Kalebe, my contact.

Kalebe is one of the more experienced traceurs Brazil and was among the first group of young Brazilian guys from around the country that was instrumental in making Brazilian parkour into what it is today. The week that I spent with him seemed to fly by and a lot of it was spent getting the “insider’s perspective” on life in Brazil. It certainly felt good to be in a “normal” living environment again after spending the past 4 months living in hostels. Even though we didn’t attempt any culinary masterpieces, it was nice to have a proper kitchen and not have to fight 50 other people to make a simple sandwich. Since Kalebe is in university at the moment studying physical education*, I also got the opportunity to tag along with him to see what Brazilian university looks like.

*Since this is a concept that comes up repeatedly during my stay here, I should elaborate. Here in Brazil, one needs a degree in physical education in order to coach or instruct sports at any level. While this creates a major barrier for the creation of parkour classes at the moment, it also means that the people that are teaching or coaching sports have much more expertise and better training than in other countries where one can essentially start coaching with no experience or knowledge whatsoever.

Kalebe spent a lot of time showing me around the city, especially the 40+ beaches that surround it. Since he’s a big surfer, he has a special affinity for beaches and it was really interesting to hear about the sport from a longtime surfer. As he also works as a surf instructor on the weekends, I went along with him on Saturday to spend the day at the beach climbing around in the rocks while he gave lessons.

Kalebe's "workplace".

This is why Floripa has so many beaches, it's surrounded by water.

As it was the week before Carnival (huge deal in Brazil), there weren’t many guys training in the area, so most of the training I did in Floripa was with Kalebe and his roommate Niko, or in the gym where Kalebe worked. Since Kalebe had work each night from 5-9, I spent a lot of time at the university gym hanging out with him and his boss, Wladamir, who also happened to be one of his professors at school, unofficial strength trainer, and good friend. Wladimir’s model for the gym was very different from ones that I have seen back home and the whole experience was very different from what I had gotten used to at Davidson.

The varsity gym at Davidson; yes, you could probably say that I was spoiled...

 I also I found that it did a much better job at guiding the clients in developing their general fitness than the local gyms that I’ve been to in Boston. Each client was given an account in the computer system upon registration and whenever they came in they would have a new workout waiting for them that had been prepared by Wladimir based on performance in past workouts and personal goals. Throughout the course of the workout they could access any of the computers stationed throughout the gym to input their progress and see examples of the assigned exercises. Kalebe and the other staff were on hand to make sure that they were doing the exercises correctly and to provide coaching/encouragement. Overall, I found the gym to be a much more friendly and inviting atmosphere than many of the testosterone-charged arenas that pass for gyms in the States. While I have nothing against this atmosphere and personally like the competitive air, I feel that many “normal” people may get intimidated or turned off by this atmosphere or the massive guy staring at himself as he does bicep curls in front of the mirror.

Kalebe's gym.

Due to all the time that he spends in the gym and the fact that he has the educational experience, Kalebe has developed a way to do a lot of his parkour training in the gym. While he was recovering from an injury a while ago he and Wladimir worked to develop different weight-lifting routines in order to develop or improve certain parkour movements, and although I only got a small glimpse of this training I was pretty impressed. I’ve been curious for a while about the potential benefits of weight-lifting for parkour, but I’ve found that most of the traceurs I’ve met, with the exception of a few in London, are convinced that all of their training can be, and should be, done outside. While I’m not saying that either party is right or wrong, I do think that there are a number of potential benefits to a properly designed strength routine for parkour. I will also admit that I tend to approach the strengthening and conditioning for parkour the same way as I’ve done for years with competitive athletics/track & field; with a lot of strengthening exercises and conditioning to keep strong and develop certain techniques.

In addition to the gym, Kalebe took me to a few of the parkour training spots in the city, although my parkouring was pretty limited during the week due to a wrist injury that has been plaguing me for the past few weeks and a feeling of general fatigue.

Great place for a morning's training down by the water.

Some of the city "picos" (spots).

My last night in Floripa (and the first official night of the Carnival weekend) Kalebe and I went out to a rodízio and decided that it would be much more cost-effective (and a challenge) to get the tower of beer to go with our meal instead of individual glasses. Two hours and 3.5 liters of beer later, we walked out of the restaurant very satisfied and slightly inebriated.

Since Carnival was now upon us and Kalebe had to work at the beach giving surf lessons for most of it I headed to Balneário Camboriu to meet up with some of the guys from Curitiba…