Tonsai

Hello again from Tonsai! The above picture is one of the longtail boats that we arrived in. You wade through the water to get in and off the boats, unless you are staying at one of the resorts in which case a massive tractor/luggage cart comes out to fetch you from the water, ha!

This morning we went to Diamond Cave wall and Mike got four routes in. As I was belaying, I had the pleasure of listening to all the Thai rock climbing guides instructing their beginner students. It goes something like this: "You see the eight? You make an eight you tie your knot? You make a three!"/"Put you right foot up higher, higher, stand up, alway stand up!" and "You must believe yourself! The last one is my personal favorite. We spent some time figuring out the protocal for getting onto routes with all these guides and lessons going on - there are at least 10 different rock shops on the Phra Nang peninsula, each one giving beginner through intermediate lessons everyday, as well as deep water soloing tours. So the easier walls are nearly always crowded. Today we got up early and hiked to the crag to beat the rush, which really worked.

A note on the heat and humidity: we LOVE it, but our bodies are totally confused! We spent a mere 20 minutes on the beach in the middle of the day yesterday (after a 2 hour yoga class that morning) and promptly had to retreat to the shade and chug pineapple juice and water to replenish. Then we were exhausted and depleted of energy for the entire remainder of the day. It's amazing how much we have to drink to stay hydrated. We realized we need to take a break during the middle, hottest part of the day (like everyone does here) and let our bodies get used to the climate. On the flipside, all of this sweating and spicy-food-eating is making us feel really healthy and cleansed!

Ok, now for some pictures. Here's our bungalow area.

And here is the deck to our bungalow, our new hangout spot.

The view from the bungalow.
Inside...mosquito netting provided.

Resort on Railay beach...!

Crazy limestone on the Railay coastline.

On the hike to Railay beach from Tonsai, through the jungle. 800 meters through dense jungle, awesome during the day, not so much during the night. Headlamps required, lots of jungle noises.

Langur monkey!
Tonsai beach.
That's all for now! We've really enjoyed Tonsai so far and it's great to be in one place with lots of areas to explore. The vibe here is pretty good with an interestnig mix of locals and lots of tourists from all over the world, many from Europe. Pretty soon we're going to try kayaking around these wacky limestone formations. Much love to everyone!