Expensive Dinner

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Last night after writing the blog I ran into the Finnish guys I had met before. We chilled at the bar and the 'climber' of the three Finnish guys asked if I wanted to join him and a few others tomorrow morning. OF COURSE! They then went to bed, so I hung out with Aliott, the guy who runs the DVD rental shack (I have NO idea how the business makes enough money) and he taught me some good Thai phrases. I learned how to say: "You are very pretty", "You are very cute", and "Can I buy you a drink?". I already know how to say 'hello' and 'thanks', so I think I basically have a full Thai vocabulary now. What else could I possibly need to say?

The frogs croaked more last night. I finally figured out what they sound like: fingernails down a blackboard....only amplified. Yes, that's exactly what they sound like. I'd make earplugs...but if there's a tsunami I imagine there are sirens (I hope, but probably not here), and I'd rather have trouble falling asleep than be swept away by a tidal wave.

This morning I ordered an vegetable omelette that also came with 'ham' and 'sausage'. Well, the sausage was a hotdog, and the ham was some sort of grayish mystery fake meat. I passed on the meats.

I met up with the Fin (I still can't remember his name...a little embarrassing), and a Swedish guy. The Finn wanted to take it easy today, and the Swede wanted to climb hard, so the Swede joined another group, and the Fin and I went together. (Yay for friends!). We worked on a 6C+...an 11D by the U.S. rating. Very, very hard, and wayyy out of my league. He made it up to the last bolt, but couldn't make it to the anchor. I then gave it a shot, and made it up two bolts (I was very happy with that). Luckily there were other people around that wanted to climb the climb (called the 'Lion King'), and so they retrieved the Finn's quickdraws. Okay, I know none of you guys (except for Nick) reading this have any clue what I'm talking about, but it would be even more boring if I explained exactly what we were doing.

Anyways, the Finn hurt his arm, and didn't want to climb anymore, but was more than happy to belay me. Great! I led a 6A, followed by lunch, and then he took me to climb 'Groove Tube' - a 6A. The climb started with an enclosed vertical tube in the rock, followed by the first bolt, and then a 30 meter climb in a vertical tube that at times wraps 3/4 of the way around you. So, so cool. When you get to the top there is an incredible view of Ton Sai and Railay....but I didn't have my camera. I'll try to take photos of the area before I leave in the morning, but my battery may be dead. Bummer.

Around 5:00 I met up with the three Finns again who wanted to go into Ao Nan (the main town), for pizza. I absolutely LOVE Thai food, and had no desire to eat pizza, but I decided to join them because I didn't have anything better to be doing.

We walked over to the long-tail boats, and learned it would cost 200 Baht each to get into town. That's like $7. Whoa! Oh well... They were determined to eat pizza, and I wasn't going to be the stingy guy to back out (and make them then pay $10 each). We arrived in town a little wet from the sea spray and from wading out from where the boat anchored.

We passed several Italian restaurants advertising pizza for 150 baht ($5), but they were determined to go to 'Pizza Company'. On the other side of town we finally found 'Pizza Company'. I figured we would order one large pizza for the four of us...but the three others ordered large pizzas for themselves. I couldn't believe the prices!! 550 baht for a pizza - about $18. Whoa! We don't even pay those prices in the U.S., and the pizzas weren't even that big! I got spaghetti carbonara for $5.

The boat ride back was 250 baht each - $8. All together it was a $20 dinner for me. I had a good time...but $20 is a ton of money here! I've been so good about not spending money on luxuries. I haven't been drinking at all because $2 or $3 for a beer is as or more expensive than dinner itself. It took a while to convince myself to spend the $6 on aloe vera lotion for my sunburn. I'm in an awkward position though: even though mom left, I can still hear her little voice in my ear saying 'you're only here once'. True, but I'd like to have a little money in the account when I get back! I had fully adopted the backpacker mentality, which is 'whoever can do it cheapest wins', but now mom's influence is affecting my decisions. I booked my transport to Koh Pha Ngan through a tour agent. A tour agent? (Ghasp!). However, I think it was cheaper to book it through him than to do it myself. Anyways, it will be interesting to compare my daily budget from these two weeks in the islands to Cambodia and Laos. I'll let you know when I get the bills...

Anyways, I'm off to Koh Pha Ngan tomorrow. I'll be getting up earlyyy, praying that I can catch a full long-tail boat to Ao Nang by 10:00 in the morning, at which point I go to the bus station. If the only person traveling to Ao Nang tomorrow morning is me, it will cost me about $30, whereas if the boat is full it will cost me $3. If the waves are too big, I'll still be in Ton Sai tomorrow. Wish me good weather.

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