Well, what a year it's been. To celebrate I've decided to write my first blog post in over a year and make it as uninteresting to everyone who isn't me as possible. But before I go diving in, in case anyone who is not me reads this, I'd best start with some background info. At the very end of 2023, I was offered a new job teaching in an international school. As prior to that I had been teaching in Thai schools, the academic year didn't quite match up and so I was left with a three month window halfway through the year to plan some serious adventures. Here is a summary of those adventures (and more):
January '24
The year was off to a pretty fantastic start with the climbing of two of Thailand's 10 highest mountains. Over the first weekend in January, a minivan full of excited trail runners/hikers/just-wanna-tag-along-for-the-adventure-ers headed up to Phu Soi Dao in the northern Thai province of Uttaradit. We left on the Friday evening, arriving very early on the Saturday morning. Saturday saw us hike up to the infamous "Pineyard", a campsite at 1600m, where we stayed overnight. An early start on the Sunday morning allowed us to climb (actually climb, there were ropes and helmets and everything) to the summit (approx. 2120m) of Thailand's fifth highest mountain, before heading back down for a long van ride back to Bangkok. Worth it!
Later in the month it was time to summit Doi Langka Luang, Thailand's eighth highest at 2,031m. I decided to tackle this one as part of a race, as the logistics of hiking it independently seemed like too much of a challenge. The LKL43 was the shortest race I could do that would get me to the top of the mountain, so I rented a car from Chiang Mai and prepared for a long day out in the mountains. The route was stunning and took in pretty much everything Thai mountains have to offer: lush, thick jungle, pine forests, higher elevation scrub, ridgeways with glorious views, steep climbs and fun plateaus. Safe to say I was pretty shattered by the end, but what a glorious day it was.
February - April '24
These were the quiet months. With four months of not getting paid to look forward to, these months were spent working any extra hours I could and trying to get rid of any big expenses. All subscriptions canceled, my car sold, the piano returned, all in the name of frolicking round Europe later in the year. That isn't to say nothing happened at all. For the first time ever, I managed to actually make it to play hockey for the whole season, which meant I actually saw some improvements. Shock, horror.
Looking back through photos, the main event in February was Millie getting spayed and the ridiculous outfits she was forced to wear in an effort to stop her pulling out her stitches. It didn't work, she only had one stitch left by the time they were officially taken out. Didn't get any kind of discount from the vet though.
March included a food run where Gonzague managed to get sucked into the mud up to about hip height, as well as a trail run at the Wildlife Friends Foundation. This was huge amounts of fun. Again, a group of us travelled there together and got to see all of the rescue animals close up. I was actually quite fast until the final few kms, when taking photos of animals took precedence.
April was a mixed month. It was my first Songkran in Thailand for many years, but I also had an actual run in with a king cobra on the trails. There were long training runs, but there were also long days of dealing with summer school students. I started my street food challenge again (didn't quite make it to 100 this time), but also had to start dealing with new job bureaucracy. We won the netball league, but ... .
Throughout all this time I was reading, working my way through Lays flavours, experimenting with new pasta shapes, gaining more confidence with horse riding and enjoying long walks around the city. When I think back to those three months, they seem to have been quite empty and devoid of adventure, but they weren't. Everyday was filled with things that I enjoyed.
May '24
Here is where it starts to get more interesting. May started with a visa run to Vientiane, which was great. It was my first time back in the city for quite a while and I very much enjoyed it. This was followed up with a fairly spectacular face plant at Suan Pheung 10-hour Ultra, resulting in some very bruised ribs, as well as a wonderful pre-birthday brunch (no injuries there). Before finally...
The main event of May 2024 was the Cape Wrath Ultra. This race takes place over 8 days, with participants running from Fort William to Cape Wrath Lighthouse. After spending two days panicking about my luggage having a minibreak in China, I was on the train up to Scotland. My birthday was spent staring out of train windows at beautiful lochs and hills, eating my first Scottish breakfast and visiting Mallaig. Mallaig was everything I hoped it would be and more. I had the most wonderful day seal watching, drinking whisky and doing a short hike to Loch an Nostarie, before heading back to Fort William by train.
The following day I did what you should always do the day before the biggest race of your life: I climbed Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in England. In my defence, it's only clear from the top about 30 days out of the year. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity! The weather was perfect, although I imagine the suited up firefighters hiking it for charity would have preferred it a little cooler. The snow patch near the top made me feel like a proper mountaineer, and the clear skies lasted long enough for some superb views. A picnic lunch halfway down, and a cold beer at the bottom, and I was feeling ready to go get my race pack.
I will have to do a proper write up of the Cape Wrath Ultra. There is absolutely no way I can do it justice in one measly paragraph. All I can really say here is that, over those eight days I fell completely in love with the wildness of Scotland. My rose-tinted specs are doing an excellent job of making me forget my painful knee (day 3) and my feet not wanting to take another step (days 5 through 7), but even taking those into consideration, I had the absolute time of my life. Waking up every morning surrounded by like minded people and then spending the entire day in the mountains was heaven. We got to see parts of Scotland that it would be impossible to see any other way and we got to make new friends along the way. Despite not finishing the whole route (my day 3 was cut short due aforementioned knee pain, although I did complete the full distance every other day), I am so happy with that week. I would go back in a heart beat.
May/June '24
After being dropped off in Inverness, it was time for part two of my Scottish adventure, this part by bike. Again, I will have to go back and write this up properly, I can't do it justice here, but following a 'rest' day (went on a tour along the Moray coast and ate a tonne of food), I jumped on a rented bicycle and began to pedal my way to Glasgow. Highlights include: cycling past King Duncan(of Macbeth fame)'s grave; seeing an osprey at Loch Garten; visiting the oldest tree in Europe AND the Cave of Caerbannog all in one day; climbing Ben Ledi (my legs were starting to forgive me); and many trips to RSPB sites. Oh, and of course eating as much Scottish food as possible.
A quick stop in Glasgow, then the second half of the trip began. This half involved more trains, first to Perth to see if there really are sheepdog trials there (there aren't) and see some otters swimming in the river, then Dunkeld to look for beavers and visit Macbeth's Birnam Wood, before hotfooting it by train to Broughty Ferry to start cycling again. Highlights from the Broughty Ferry to Aberdeen stage of the adventure include: eating smokies and cheese in my tent; probably seeing a golden eagle; definitely seeing two puffins; eating a deep fried Mars Bar; and being worried about getting stranded in Braemar after a lovely hike and picnic in the Cairngorms.
The final few days in Scotland were sans bike. Instead trains, ferries and buses got me to the last two Scottish places on my Great Game of Britain list: Stornoway & Thurso. Stopped off at Ullapool for a spectacularly wet night of camping on my way to Stornoway, but also had the best seafood experience of my life while sitting in my soggy tent fighting off a seagull. Swings and roundabouts. There was not a lot going on in Stornoway and I was only there overnight, but I did go for a lovely walk. Just a bit sad not to have gotten my hands on any black pudding while I was there. Before heading to Thurso, I snuck in a quick trip to Loch Ness and then jumped on a bus up north. The weather in Thurso was also fairly grim, but luckily I was staying in a hostel, not my tent. Had a nice little potter along the coastpath and sampled some whisky in the mainland's northernmost distillery, before getting on a train and beginning the long journey back down to England.
And that brings us to mid-June 2024. Right now, my eyes are starting to water and I'm losing the will to write any more. Hang on in there though, the rest of this incredibly compelling read is coming soon...
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