/traveling · 2022

My friend Fadeo

tonsai beach

Fadeo is a super sweet and mischevious little kid who is loved by all the climbers of Tonsai. During the pandemic, he was six years old and living with his grandma in Tonsai (a small Thai village which is primarily visited for its spectacular rock climbing). He is truly the son I wish I had!

Fadeo pulling a rope — Fadeo pulling my rope after I rappelled off Humanility, which ends by rappelling through a hole in the roof of the Freedom Bar. The little guy loved to get right in the middle of the action.

Fadeo on a slackline — Fadeo pulling my rope after I rappelled off Humanility, which ends by rappelling through a hole in the roof of the Freedom Bar. The little guy loved to get right in the middle of the action.

I used to let Fadeo share my food and drinks whenever he wanted - I would let him have the first bites, since it was COVID times and it felt a bit safer that way. People in Railay/Tonsai didn't really care about COVID though. Also, Fadeo loves chicken fried rice!

Later on, I watched some of the videos of him and found one where he offered me the first bite. I realized that a kid's "inner person" is quite easy to mold, and I started noticing other mannerisms that he picked up from me!

Fadeo would always run up to me on the beach to say hello. Tonsai's beach is really long, and sometimes I would see him running all the way from the other end to jump up onto me and steal my cap. The kid had serious hops for a six year old wearing sandals!

Fadeo giving a fist bump to a climber — It was super fun playing with Fadeo, it was probably the biggest motivating factor to learn how to speak Southern Thai. It's also much easier to learn a language by speaking to kids, who are also communicating without any advanced vocabulary.

I was back in Phuket for a few days of kite surfing and recovering the climbing muscles, when I spotted this pair of kid's climbing shoes and a mini climbing harness. They were a bit too big for Fadeo, but he eventually grew into them!

Fadeo in his climbing shoes — Fadeo's first climbing experience. Disregard the nonsensical Thai words I'm saying, I wasn't very good at the language at the time. I thought I was saying 'good job'.

Fadeo's first climbing experience. Disregard the nonsensical Thai words I'm saying, I wasn't very good at the language at the time. I thought I was saying 'good job'.

I never took him up any big routes because he was way too small and I couldn't find a helmet small enough. Also, his favorite climb was actually a tall wooden ladder that takes you up to the upper Tonsai beach wall.

Fadeo loved climbing the Tonsai beach ladder — Fadeo used to be so proud at the top of the ladder, he would stand up there waving at everyone below.

It was such a sad day when I had to say bye to my friend Fadeo. I've seen him have temper tantrums, and I've seen him crying. This time, he didn't say anything - he just nodded when I asked him "we're best friends, right?"

Luckily there were still a lot of other great people in Tonsai who would hang out with Fadeo. I am super lucky that I got to experience this particular slice of a particular kid's childhood growing up on the beach in Tonsai.

Fadeo and I saying goodbye — An incomplete collection of pictures of my friends in Tonsai who also loved Fadeo, or 'little Fido' as some called him.

Three years later#

I went back to Tonsai three years later and got to meet Fadeo again! He had grown a lot, and was way more mellow. All the mischevious behavior seemed to have been erased by school.

Unfortunately, the shoes from three years ago didn't fit him anymore, so I belayed him up some easy barefoot routes and we did some mini overhangs. It was such a fun time hanging out with my friend Fadeo again!

I'll keep adding to this page as I watch Fadeo grow up. If you ever see him on the beach in Tonsai, give him a fist bump!

cd /traveling