Krabi, Ton Sai and Rai Lay Beaches

Following an absolutely blissful 10 days on Koh Phangan we decided to make a move for the the Krabi area on the West coast of Thailand. The trip across took about a day and involved a pick-up truck, a ferry boat, then a big bus, then a mini bus and finally a very wet and rough ride through big waves on a long tail boat. We went to Ton Sai beach, just a smidgen north of West Railay Beach. When we arrived (wet, very wet, soaked in fact) we had a look at some different bungalows and finally opted for a bit of luxury, which was nicely priced since it was low season. Instead of the usual bamboo bungalow, we treated ourselves to a modern designed bungalow complete with A/C, fridge, large balcony, big bathroom and satellite TV, what luxury! Our main motivation was, however (surprisingly), not the satellite TV, but the close proximity to the beach. The traditional style unkept bungalows were a serious trek into the jungle and the area around them had a depressed feel about them.

For those people who have been to this part of the world you will no doubt have been most impressed, not by the beaches, which are great, but by the incredible Karst rock formations. They are truly amazing! These unusual rock formations are not overly common on our planet since they require a rare mix of natural chemistry to form. These rock formations are formed in limestone and are caused by erosion, but not your usual weather based erosion. The limestone erodes into these formations from very acidic water, which happens when salt water and fresh water mix. The mixture must be exactly 97% salt water, which acts as a sort of catalyst to acidify the fresh water to just the right amount to erode the limestone. The appearance of the rock in places is like liquid (almost as though the rock has melted) and often forms stalactites like you might see in a cave. Probably some of the most impressive sights are some of the giant overhanging sections of rock that can sometimes look like a wave of rock reaching out from above. All of this stuff makes for the most interesting rock climbing we have ever seen, which is why we just had to get set up with some climbing gear and have a play on this stuff.

It is certainly no secret that this area is one of the world's most famous regions for rock climbing. There are plenty of people out on the rock which makes for a great spectator sport too, especially when climbers are on some of the more challenging routes. Around Ton Sai Beach, where we were based, there is a large selection of climbs and many of them are rated as quite difficult. A great aspect about our location was that we could sit at the beach bar or restaurant and watch people climbing virtually over our heads and at night a huge rock face that hangs above the beach was lit up and looked positively surreal.

For our climbing adventures, we decided to hit some of the easier climbing routes on other beaches and near an area called the Diamond Cave (no real diamonds in the cave mind you, just some impressive looking formations of limestone and quartz). It had been a while since we had been out climbing with ropes and gear, and did we ever feel it! We found that we tired easily and were filled with more fear than we would have liked. Mind you, some of the rock was quite sharp, which meant that even small falls could be dangerous. But it was really good to get out and do some climbing, a great way to enjoy these fabulous rock formations.

Another highlight to the area was visiting an idyllic deep lagoon that was basically a large deep hole in the rock that filled in the bottom with sea water at high tide. The hike in was pretty treacherous, but a super adventure. Some of the rock decents into the 'hole' were roped for extra safety, but the seriously slippery mud and the fact that we were in flip-flops did nothing to help the situation. When we arrived in this magical little Lagoon we treated ourselves to a swim in the shallow water. It was really nice to just float on our backs and stare up at the 360 degree rock face and hanging jungle all around us.

After a few days in the Railay/Ton Sai area we took a 15 hour overnight bus ride back to Bangkok to arrange our trip east to Cambodia. We really enjoyed our few days in Bangkok and treated ourselves to some great films at one of the cities very modern cinemas. We both got to see our first film in a fully digital cinema that uses digital projection instead of the usual celluloid projection cinema. It was really incredible quality and a nice treat for Justin since he has been reading about the technology for many years. We saw Pixar's 'Ratatouille' an animated film about a cute rat who is a great French chef. This was the perfect pairing of cutting edge digital animation and presentation, just great! We did enjoy some of the other Western treats that Bangkok has on offer, Dairy Queen and Pizza, just to name a few. I guess, thinking about it, we were probably missing home just a little bit.

Thailand has been a great place for a real vacation, very easy and uncomplicated. But we have left Thailand for now, but we will return but next time to the north, it will be interesting to see how our experience in the north compares to our travels in the south.

We left Bangkok via the airport. We had just heard one too many stories of seriously uncomfortable journy's to Cambodia overland, and decided to avoid the whole problem by flying. With a flight time of just under an hour, we were in Phnom Pehn in no time at all.