Over the past 2 weeks I have been in a special place called "Tonsai" in south west Thailand. I had forgotten about emails, blogs, facebook and telephones.
Ellen and I survived the mahem at the Full Moon Party in Ko Pha Nang. We boarded a speedboat to get to the Island and danced until 3 in the morning before our ride back to Ko Samui. The party was off the hook! 8 to 10 DJs played out the beats all along the quarter mile stretch of beach all night long. The party can attract over 20thousand people - and everyone is there to party!
We left Ko Samui the next morning and made our way to Tonsai via van and longboat taxi. It feels like an island but in fact its a small peninsula guarded by 200m clifts and thick jungle. The boat taxi in was incredible as the sceney quickly changed and we saw huge towering rock formations coming out of the sea, white sandy beaches, and huge cliff faces with gargoyle-like rock stalactites of different shapes and sizes.
Talks of amazing rock climbing had brought us(well me) to this area. The overhanging limestone routes with unique climbeable features made the climbing very fun and challenging. We met tonnes of people in Tonsai, including my friends Mark Taylor and Gerhard. I climbed some ultra classics like Humanality, Ao Nang Tower, and Babes in Thailand. Very physical climbing made me sweat like that morning in Mui Thai class.
The food was incredible and cheap - yeah Chicken Lady!! Ellen and I also took a cooking class where we learned to make spring rolls, Pad Thai, Curry, and Bananas in coconut milk. The best part was eating it all of course.
We also enjoyed some of the many caves, lookout points, lagoons, and wild monkey feedings.
We are now in Phuket and life here is much different. Very overcrowded and way too many tourists for me. You have to pay for a spot on the beach in Panong! We did get nice massages and are staying in a nice hotel for much less than hostel accomodation in Canada.
Tomorrow we are leaving for Surat Thani train station to board the overnight sleeper train to Bangkok. Only a week left before flying back to Calgary where I hear the temps have been in the -30c range! Ellen and I are hoping to take in a Mui Thai fight night and the chaos of Bangkok before heading home.
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