Morris '99 climbs new heights in Thailand

Every year, Career Services publishes a pie chart of Princeton students’ post-graduation plans. Financial services and consulting are always well represented, as are medical and law school. Starting up a rock climbing wall in Thailand, however, has failed to make the list. That hasn’t stopped Josh Morris ’99 from trying.

Morris began his journey with Princeton in Asia, working as an English language instructor in Thailand. In the morning, he taught Thai children. In the afternoon, the roles were reversed, and Morris learned Thai. “Every day from 1:30 on, it’s intense immersion — from the classroom to the market place to home," Morris said.

His Thai instructors used the communicative method — the same one used by the Peace Corps. The system relies on picture association, mimicking the way children learn language.

“After the first 30 hours you know the entire alphabet, and from there, it skyrockets,” Morris said.

While working in Chiang Mai, Morris met Khun Pichai Sae Tia, a developer interested in building an indoor rock-climbing wall. Morris, who is a rock climbing enthusiast, offered to work as a part-time instructor in exchange for free use of the wall. Early on, he realized that Tia knew more about business than about rock climbing. Morris taught him about the sport and was soon promoted to manager of the Pea Rock Climbing Plaza.

By November 2001, however, the relationship had soured, and Morris struck out on his own. He needed capital to start up his own business, but it would not be easy.

“You can’t go to the bank and ask for a loan to start a rock climbing business in Thailand, but you can ask for a personal loan at an exorbitant rate,” said Morris, who opted to take out a $10,000 loan in his own name.

Next, he had to decide where to set up shop. Southern Thailand is internationally known for its rock climbing, but access to locals is limited. That was a problem for Morris. He decided to stay in Chiang Mai but to focus on his real goal: creating a vibrant local community through sustainable development.

“The area is set up really well for getting Thai kids and schools involved,” Morris said. “It's much easier for them to get here than a normal tourist destination.”

Morris and now-fiance Khaetthaleeya Uppakham traveled to the United States in April 2002 for advanced training in Utah with senior guides. In December the two co-founded Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures. Since then, the organization has flourished, setting the bar for excellence in the region. Chiang Mai recently became the only climbing company in Thailand to receive the exclusive “excellent” rating from the Tourism Authority of Thailand

Even with his professional success, Morris remains committed to his original mission. He focuses as much on the personal development of the Thais who work for him as he does on his customers’ satisfaction.

“We give our staff as much responsibility as they are capable of,” Morris said. “If you’re new to the company, you may not speak English very well, you may not be used to foreigners or deadlines, but we will work with you.

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“He started knowing the words ‘hello’ and ‘how are you.’ If I put him on the phone right now, you might know he’s not a native speaker, but he could easily hold a full conversation.

“Ideally for me, I want them to be corporate facilitators. My goal is to train them. Start with climbing and move up from there. It’s really cool to watch them take charge of 30 kids,” Morris said.

Morris is not afraid to challenge Thai authority on behalf of his staff, either. One of his hardest workers, “Son," is stateless, as the son of Burmese refugees caught in limbo by the Thai bureaucracy. Even though he was born in Thailand, and despite setting up climbing routes for the Thai National Team, he is still not a citizen.

“We’ve done all we can, we've written everyone. It’s been going on for five years, but no one is holding their breath. There must be all kinds of things that frustrate him that I don’t even know about," Morris said.

While Morris spends most of his time managing his 12 employees, he still takes time to engage his customers, who range from local schoolchildren to Western businessmen. Chiang Mai specializes in group packages that include language study, cultural immersion, home stays, social outreach and community service.

Along the way, Morris has learned a few things himself. “If you get a group of investment bankers, you have to get them to buy into it. You have to know about what they do. I think it’s a fascinating and fun way to learn. It’s been an amazing learning experience.

It isn’t any surprise, then, that Morris plans to stay in Thailand. “I feel like if I left now, I would be stopping it before we can achieve everything we can,” he said. “I want to see these things through to the end.”

Besides, it’s not like it’s a bad job. “It’s life. So hopefully it should be fun," Morris said.