TONSAI BEACH, Ko Phi Phi & Phuket

The Top Ten Things One Should Know About Thailand:
1) One U.S. Dollar = 33 Baht, So I usually spend between $6 - $14 per night for a bed.
2) Transportation is also very cheap, that supposed 15 hour train ride cost me $15, your average tuk-tuk ride (let's say 20 minutes) is about $2, short boat/ferry rides were 50 cents to a buck.
3) Meals are usually $2, $3 if I get an appetizer
4) Chang is the beer of choice, it's 5.8% and usually less than $2 for a tall bottle
5) Eastern style (squat/pit) toilets are the norm, and they usually don't have plumbing. Once done with your business there's a bucket full of water that you poor into therefore rinsing "it" through. I've started carrying my own toilet paper.
6) It's HOT, and A/C is only at the nice places. Sleeping can be tough but most places have a fan which makes it much easier. Chang has helped as well.
7) There's mosquito's, but I guess they're not as bad now as in the "wet" season.
8) Many people travel solo, and most people have a basic understanding of English. I've picked up the basic Thai pleasantries but for the most part broken English & gesturing get me through.
9) Your expected to remove your shoes/sandals before entering most places.
10) One should not eat Thai food for every meal, add some bread or pastries in. We've had a variety of different pizzas: #1 had ketchup for sauce, #2 used a flour tortilla for crust, last night #3 was awesome, I think this guy went to Cali and trained at CPK.


I last left off with our arrival on Tonsai Beach, where we joined up with a guy we had met at Refill Now in Bangkok. Ronald was leaving as I was checking in and our idle banter led to the fact that he was aiming for the same general area I was. (Krabi vicinity, Limestone cliffs, teal water and white sandy beaches) So I tossed him my email and he "guided" us to this wonderful, awesome and fantastic climber's beach paradise.

As you might have guessed by the amount of adjectives I used, this was my favorite place so far. He had found some of the best accommodations in that small area, the Krabi Mountain View Resort. Since I was traveling with Leon we shared a double and got a very nice room. I didn't realize it at the time but after using the bars & restaurants toilets, and also visiting with others I had met, we might as well have been at the Marriott. From there we just chilled on the beach for a bit, I did some bouldering and once the tide got low enough we were able to hike one beach over (Railey West) to withdraw some cash, since our beach was not wired to the mainland. Interesting side note that didn't bother me one bit, Tonsai Beach runs completely on generators, as do many of the islands, which means that at 5:30pm the entire "town" would light up, fans would start blowing, emails would start sending & camera batteries would start charging, etc, etc. Anyway, we got to see the neighboring beach where massages went for 300 baht, while our beach gave them for 200, it was reputed as the pricier area, the La Jolla of Railey if you will ;) - But the sunset was gorgeous and everyone seemed a bit cleaner, since we were staying where the climbers stay things are a bit more relaxed, for lack of a better word. Another interesting side note, we can only go between the two beaches by foot when the tide is low, and the tide completely changes every week. So on Sunday at noon it was low, and the following Sunday at noon it was high; the point is your travel can be hindered if the tide is too low and the long tail boats can not get to you, or get free from their beached status.

We walked back and watched some other climbers leading sport overhangs rated at least 5.12, that's my guess since they use the French grading system over here. Limestone is crazy abundant in Asia and Wee, the "Father of Climbing" in Thailand, and other rock jocks have bolted the shit out of it. Our vantage was what seemed like the norm for all of the local bars: A raised platform that you had to flip your sandals off if you wanted to get on; cushions focused on a lying or leaning position; a small table in the middle for whatever - at that point we were situated under a 1000 foot cliff. I saw some signs advertising Deep Water Soloing so I did a little research and signed up for a trip leaving at 11am the next morning, the water was so amazing I was just looking for different reasons to get in it. I got cleaned up, joined these friends for dinner, and then proceeded to the Swadee Bar, another spot Ronald had scoped out which provided entertainment by slack liners all night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacklining) while we chilled on yet another raised platform with comfy cushions.
The next morning I got up, had breakfast and met up with my group to go out to some islands. They had us help load the two long tails with some water, food & a kayak. After cruising about 20 minutes out we came to some sheer cliffs rising straight out of the sea, which was our destination. Deep Water Soloing for those of you who might not know... Soloing is defined as rock climbing without a rope. So if your doing it over deep water your supposedly safer, therefore deep water soloing has gained in popularity since more and more professional climbers are going this route to get their rush/impress their sponsors/have an excuse to go to the most beautiful places in the world. I was down without a doubt, I had brought my climbing shoes to Thailand expecting to just Boulder, (Bouldering: Climbing on rocks without a rope but never getting far enough off the ground that your fall would cause serious injury) but when I saw that this six hour excursion would only cost 700 baht (Yeah, that's right $21!!!) I was all over it. So the guides set up ladders to get to some of the easier climbs, ferried us over two by two on the kayak and gave us our chance. IT WAS AWESOME! Can't really describe the feeling, I wasn't scared but was shaking due to the fact that it was such a different way to climb, I was excited to do what I had only seen in magazines and movies. I got about 60 feet up and jumped on purpose the 1st time. After that I just stuck to the lower areas where the falls were cleaner and shorter. About 2 hours went by and they took us to a deserted beach for lunch, and some bouldering. I also did some snorkeling since the fish were quite brilliant once we started cleaning our dishes in the little lagoon we had landed in. Fucking heaven, it was amazing, maybe the most beautiful beach I'd seen to date. Two hours there and we were off to a different spot for another DWS session. This one was way harder, only about half of us actually went up the ladder, which was the most difficult part. This time I got about 75 feet up and jumped again, I was definitely freaked by the height and can see why they leave this to the professionals. I was done, my arms were pumped out since I was out of shape to begin with, and my adrenaline which had gotten me that far, was depleted. I spent the rest of the time utilizing my ten years of production experience to take pictures of everyone else. Back in the long tail we made our way home, where Eder had just arrived and happened to be walking by our arriving boat. (I had him snap a pic of our group, and then welcomed him to Tonsai... Eder had chosen a different path, Thai Airways to Krabi, so rather than the 24 hour mission from hell that Leon & I went through, he traveled for about three total from Bangkok that morning. Bastard.)

That evening while we were settling into our nightly ritual of happy hour under the cliffs, I cut it short for my first Thai massage, which was very good. This older women worked the hell out of my muscles which hadn't really seen any serious action till that afternoon in a while, and it was necessary. The best $6 I'd ever spent. I joined up with the other three at the Swadee Bar for more Chang, slack line appreciation and relaxation...it had been a good day.

The next day we decided to rent kayaks, rowed all around the peninsula & climbed a little since now it felt that the guide would be a waste of money. When you go with a group they end up making all of the routes slippery, but in reality both have their advantages since the guides have researched the hell out of that area and know what they're doing. Still good times, just different, we finished our kayak session with a visit to Railey for some lunch and back to our beach we went. Happy hour under the cliffs, and eventually met back at the Swadee bar for the nightly ritual.

This evening we actually moved on to another bar closer to our "resort" - we had seen different locals "playing with fire," (I.E. Spinning flaming balls on the ends of chains, or spinning and throwing a stick with both ends lit on fire) but Steven & Eleanor, two people I had met while climbing claimed that this guy was different, and they were correct! He was awesome, I only regret getting there too late because apparently he actually spins fire while roaming around on a slack line.

(By the way, on my best try I've only made it about six steps before falling off.) That evening was probably my latest night, mainly because that bar had a bunch of hammocks we could lie around in and I think I actually dozed off for a bit.


The next morning I was supposed to meet with Steven & Eleanor for some sport climbing, but instead I ended up getting my head shaved and learning how to climb a palm tree. I figure I've done plenty of "normal" climbing, why not attempt something different, attempt being the key word. I got up a bit but mainly learned the technique involved with this ancient native necessity. That took up most of the morning and since it was my last full day on Tonsai I decided to just kick it on the beach for the entire afternoon. It was also our last night with Eder, we were moving on to Ko Phi Phi and he had to get near some wireless Internet for business purposes, a direction the rest of us had no concern with whatsoever. So that day we sat in the ocean enjoying Changs, and then happy hour under the cliffs with Changs, and eventually the Swadee Bar with, you guessed it, CHANGS! I'm pretty over this beer by this point but since we were saying goodbye to a good guy I figured what the hell. That night ended at an OK time so when I got back to the room I packed for our 9am departure the next day. On to Ko Phi Phi!

Pronounced koe-p-p, this place was wiped out by the tsunami in December of 2004, and rebuilt over the past four years. We boarded a long tail from Tonsai which ferried us to the Au Nang Princess 3, a larger ferry which was raging! People all over the decks already drinking at 9:30am, crazies, I found a comfy spot below deck for some iPod & napping. An hour and a half later we arrived to the location of the movie "The Beach" - and I will admit, it was probably the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, but as Lonely Planet puts it, everyone knows it. The place was just plain obnoxious, from the merchants trying to get our money up front for as many nights as they can squeeze out of us for a room, the long tail boat captains barking "taxi" to any other part of the island they'd like to drop us off on, to the SMELL. Yeah, the smell was horrible, a combination of feces mixed with rotting fish, and it would waft wherever we would land on that part of the island. I knew there was other, more expensive beaches we could have gone to but the attitude I received from the locals turned me off so much that I only signed up for one night and planned on going somewhere, anywhere, as soon as I possibly could.

I made the best of that afternoon, thinking maybe it just came across badly at first. We found some accommodations that were decent, I rented some snorkel gear and made my way to the beach. Seems many women like to sunbathe European style here, which surprised me because of the amount of teenagers running around. I met Ronald & Leon in the water and proceeded out about a half mile where I had seen a reef. The snorkeling was brilliant, the water was almost too warm and never got too deep. I counted three different types of coral and probably 20 species of fish, actually saw a tiger striped angel fish that was as big as my head! It was nice, and I ended up quite tired from the swim and the amount of sun, so I decided on another Thai massage. This one was better than the first, the girl found all of my cuts & bruises from my previous days of climbing and rather than get grossed out made a sad face and applied some sort of herbal remedy to each and every one. My dad calls them raspberries, when you get a bruise that turns purple similar to a racquetball hitting you in the ass or thigh, and they normally last weeks on me. The color was gone in a day after her treatment, and the pain faded after two, I was amazed. After an hour I got myself a fresh smoothie and retired to some shade for some chill time before Ronald & I hiked to the summit of the island to watch the sunset, which was beautiful.

Now things turn a little ugly, as they should since the past three weeks have been nearly perfect, Murphy (Murphy's Law) & I are tight and this is how he did it: Dinner I felt my throat starting to get sore, I know that feeling, either strep throat, the flu or bronchitis - shit. I pounded orange juice by the half gallon, probably the most expensive drink one can buy out here. Also, after seven days of Thai food my stomach was finally pissed, so I had some soup and satay for dinner, & I decided not to drink for a while. When roaming around that night I realized that I'd spent too much time walking in wet trunks, therefore chaffing my inner thighs... awesome. In conclusion I was also getting an ear infection, a normal occurrence when I spend an extended amount of time in the ocean. I barely slept that night and the next day I felt like I'd been hit by a train. I had extreme sunburn on my upper back and arms; my throat was closed; I was so fucking sore from that massage, my chaffing & ear hadn't improved AND because I had barely slept I could barely move. I blamed it all on Phi Phi, threw myself into our resorts pool to get some energy back and figured out how I was going to leave. I was originally aiming for Ko Tau, a trip that entailed 45 minutes in a boat, three hours on a bus across the Thai Peninsula, and an overnight ferry seven hours to that little island. That seemed like too much, so I consulted my Lonely Planet (LP) for something different since islands were now pissing me off. I found a National Park called Khao Sok, a wildlife refuge and supposedly the oldest rain forest in the world. It seemed perfect, so rather than head east to Krabi I went north to Phuket. An hour by ferry put me in Phuket's harbor and another 20 minutes by mini-bus took me to the bus station.

Phuket is an entire province and is the largest island in Thailand containing many good points, mostly on the west coast where the gorgeous beaches are. Phuket-town is not one of them, unless your looking for fat men bidding on ugly hookers. The bus station was a mess and I quickly realized I'd missed all the buses to Khao Sok that day, I'd need to wait for tomorrow. Fine, I felt horrible and knew my LP would guide me towards a reasonable place to stay, I found the Phuket Resotel, $27 for a suite with hot water and A/C, I needed rest and relaxation with no interruptions. Ahhhhhhhhh Yeahhhh, after a few hours I woke up and got some fries, more OJ and went back to sleep. The next morning I felt way better, not 100% but good enough to eat some breakfast and catch a bus to the National Park. I checked out and got onto my bus, when I found my seat some dude behind me asked me where I'm going... He had gotten the same feeling from Phi Phi and decided it was time to make his way to the Full Moon Party on Ko Pha-Ngan, where everyone will be the night of the 9th. His name was Chris Nason & since he had some time to kill decided to join me for some R & R in the jungle.

That's where I am now, and it's perfect, I'll get into this place and my final days before returning home in my next post. Cheers for now.