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So…. Finally I have started my blog!
I figured if I didn't begin writing soon, I would never do it! I have been without my laptop for 2 weeks as I left my charger at Joel's house in London. Having my computer again feels like a real luxury. I have been late in uploading these entries, hence the big chunk of text.. sorry!
It all started in Thailand, Reuben and I arrived at Bangkok airport at around midnight and took a while searching for our lift to the dodgy little hotel we were staying at near the airport.We found our smiling chauffeur and sped to the ghetto area where our hotel was.
After an average nights' sleep and a spicy Thai breakky we got a lift back to the airport to get our flight to Krabi.We hit Tonsai by early afternoon, after a bus and longtail boat journey. We then hurried our stuff to the nearest bungalows so we could get in an afternoon of climbing- which we managed no troubles. Climbed straight off the beach at Tonsai which was sooo good!
The next few days were spent chilling out and climbing, and finding out what Tonsai is all about (which doesn't take long). Being low season, there weren't many tourists, also because of the troubles in Bangkok.So the community was quite small, and all the people felt familiar pretty quickly, which was great.After 2 nights in our bungalow we realised it was pretty average compared to what other people were getting elsewhere for the same price, and that maybe we should have done some research on the first arvo instead of just climbing. Oh well….We found a new place named "Green Valley" that was built on a concrete slab, which meant it was cooler, and that the mozzies couldn't get through the floor at night (I have never encountered so many mosquitoes in my life). The owner Tim was a real character, and offered us a really cheap price for the long time we were staying there. This place also has it's own kitchen and the food was pretty good! There's a bar named Peace and Love at our "resort" as well which had a couple of open mic nights that were good fun. The owner of the bar is an amazing classical Spanish guitarist and he's amazing to watch play. A couple of Spaniards thought he sounded better than most Spanish players they'd heard. So we got our newer, cooler room with a ceiling fan. Although there is only power from 6pm to 6am, so through the day you just need to find the best way of staying cool.
The climbing in monsoon season can be hard work with the humidity- we found ourselves sweating profusely even on the easier grade stuff. The style is super physical, powerful and quite draining…. Some days we just had to call of the session because you're sweating into your eyes and dripping all over your belayer. Calling it off is never a bad option in Tonsai anyway, and there is always an iced fruit shake or a cold beer close at hand to re-fill the tank. We hung out with a crew of some Aussie guys from Brisbane, a token american hippy, Austrians and Kiwis. There was also an old warrior from New Zealand whose nickname became "raging bull" because of his many fearless deeds, which included swimming through dark, underwater jellyfish infested tunnels for fun.
The food was really, really good, and didn't get boring for me at all… You can get stir-fry or curry or a huge chunk of fresh fish for no more than $4. Mango sticky rice became a staple snack- rice with fresh mango cheeks and condensed milk poured over… Yum!
On Reuben's birthday, we rented a kayak and paddled round to the resort beach near Ao Nang to visit my Dad and Annabelle- who were staying there for a week or so. Going there after Tonsai was a bit of a shock, it was extremely lush and luxurious… So, an amazing bottle of red wine (thanks dad), an enormous delicious steak and a cheese plate later we paddled slowly back to Tonsai to try to digest and get our party on for the rest of Reubs's birthday.
Our first month passed extraordinarily fast, but had the desired effect. We were able to relax and recharge after a few big months at home, and do it very cheaply. In the month in Tonsai I spent very little compared to Europe, and wasn't really keeping a tight budget. I'm definitely looking forward to going back, it's a great place to start a trip, and would be a nice place to finish one as well! There were quite a few non-climbers who came through as well, who needed a break from the big parties in Thailand. Tonsai was quite tame in low season but still awesome fun!
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