Tuning Out on Tonsai

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Well it was back to that favourite pose for the rest of the afternoon - stretched out in the hammock, book in one hand, beer Chang in the other.

We finally decided that we should at least venture down the beach to get some dinner where we ran into Steve, Miss Laura (Finn) and some fellow Aussies from the Blue Mtns. Making some plans to watch the Chelsea vs Man U match that night which surprisingly was showing at the very next bar on Tonsai. No power, no cars but they had satellite TV! Ha!

The first game Newcastle vs Portsmouth was a bit of a non-event (ha, just kidding Steve) but the crowd poured in for the main game and some passionate Thai fans and a few random poms and I shared the space around the glowing glow of the TV. 1 all, chelsea equalised late, I guess Man U were lucky. There was a thumping party going on further down the beach with a Trance / Breakbeat Dj (billed as "the best DJ in Thailand") and initial skepticism was replaced by admiration as he pumped out some awesome tracks that even kept us tapping our feet as we retired to our bungalow situated some 30m from the sound system.

The Next Day

We met Steve and went for a mission around to Railey Beach to climb up to the lagoon and viewpoint, naturally pausing briefly so Steve could admire the grace and skill of the rock climbers that seemed to be everywhere. Suffice to say our grade 5b climb, barefoot and without ropes was clearly more dangerous than anything attempted on the cliff face that day and we were pleased to let ·the professionals know about what it was really like to stare death in the face... 😉 Our climb took us to a vantage point well above any of the climbers (another heckling point) and we were able to see out across Railey and the bay to Tonsai.

We had big plans to go to the lagoon but the tide was out and the big fella was seriously sweating, so we postponed it for another day. Instaed we went back around to Phra Nang for a dip at the beach and abit of volleyball which seemed to annoy some of the tourists, more than others, most notably a scandanavian woman who gave me a death stare when the ball landed about 2m away from her after bouncing unexpectedly off the cliffs. A little nude buy joined in our game for a while before mooning us repeatedly and then trying to take off with our ball. At this point Steve and Michelle decided that they'd put in another mammoth effort and swim around the point to god knows where, while 'Bruce' kept an eye on the clothes - someone had to...

Wewalked back through Railey and over the mountain where we saw how the other half lived (ie. those in 1500B bungalows) and stopped in at a coollittle bar where we were able to admire even more climbers.

Dinner was a cosy affair with the crew all dropping in one by one to wish us farewell, and a relaxed digestif under the cliff. We turned it in, ready to meet G and Nat for an early breakfast in Ao Nang before our flight back to Bangkok.

Bangkok was its normal heady self for a couple of days we spent hovering around Khao San Rd tidying up our various administrative duties before our early morning flight to MYANMAR on the 29th for a 2 week hectic bolt around the country, seeing all we can in a short space of time.

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Photos

Ton Sai
The Penthouse option at our guesthouse. Naturally we were out the back in the 'budget' section.

Ton Sai
Naturally, we still had the best view in the house

Ton Sai
Lovely Ton Sai bay

Railey Beach - Eastside
The view from our mountain-climb in bare feet. Crikey we're tough

Railey Beach - Eastside
Steve and Bruce. The heat must have made Steve look like that - he doesn't usually

Phra Nang
Time to play ball in the shade of the cliff