Tonsai

Dear Fans,

I know you have been anxiously biting your fingernails waiting for our next post and wondering what in the world we have been up to  for the past few weeks. We both apologize for we have been chilling where the wifi’s does not. Apparently, Tonsai Bay uses the term “world wide web” a bit loosely. SO here is the quick and dirty with a few highlights of our trip so far.

Making our way down town..

After hoping onto a long boat to Railey, we walked through the resort life to the backpackers life over at Tonsai. Tonsai beach was quieter then we expected. Of course there were crazy strong climbers ascending 5.14s on the shore. But the beach itself only had one bar and restaurant left. A wall had been constructed a long a rugged dirt road. As you walked up you could peer over the wall and see really elegant looking bungalows and mowed grass being watered. Finally you make a left onto the strip of what remains of old Tonsai. The bars and restaurants that used to be along the beach had been pushed back and were still fixing themselves up. The wall that separated this backpackers haven was decorated with powerful statements about capitalism and the  meaning behind the wall. It was also coupled with some really beautiful paintings both psychedelic and realistic. We soon figured out a resort had bought out the beach front, pushing the locals and backpackers back to put up a yuppy heaven.  Tonsai’s locals still have a strong hold there. The backpacker and climber community is still present and plentiful. You know SAME SAME but DIFFERENT….

As we walked down the road in search of a bungalow to stay in we stumbled across a place called “Chill Out”. After further investigation we found that they had bungalows available so we decided to make home here for the first two nights. Once we payed the really sassy hostel manager our dues we hiked up the hill two find our home sweet home. Now a bungalow is a simple bamboo structure with a bed and mosquito net, a fan, and some what of a bathroom attached. After two nights here we decided to change spots to say a few dollars each day. What a decision this turned out to be. The bed wasn't nearly as comfortable with a lumpy mattress and mediocre bug net.  In the morning as we were headed out to climb Austin stepped out on the the porch and fell through some of the weaker boards. “No worries” is what we heard from one of the bungalow’s staff as Austin crawled out of the new hole in the porch. We were quickly given a new place to stay. This bungalow was more stable and had a nicer bug net but man of man was the bed in questionable shape. In any event, we decided that it was good enough for us and our four night stay quickly extended into a nine night stay. 

Deep water soloing with Hope!

Our crew of wilderness friends was replaced by our High Trails Friend, Hope! We fit in a deep water solo adventure between our own climbing excursions. Now let me tell you about this rock! WE have been climbing on dry cave formations. The majority of which are overhung all the way to the top. It’s been a bit of a learning curve going to from crack climbing to juggy power move climbs (especially for Robyn). We got used to the french style grading which, after translating, leads me to believe we have been climbing in some of the most sandbagged areas in the states. You have to chase the shade here. We made that mistake once. Walls here all walking distance, it’s spoiling. So spoiling we have been having a hard time finding a reason to leave. 

Oh just a 5.14, no biggy

Some of the climb sites can be pretty interesting as you are sharing this space with the local monkey population and they really want your stuff. One day, while Austin was on lead, we found ourselves in the middle of a monkey war. There are two species of monkeys in the area and they are constantly fighting for territories. As Austin clipped a bolt and started heading to the next about 4 dozen or more monkeys started falling from trees and the near by rock face, as they chased one another through the jungle. After, the bigger species had won the battle they then started taking interest in us and our belongings. They got closer and closer to both of us and even one got brave enough to take a grab at our bags. Austin had to clip in directly to a bolt and hang out while Robyn chased off the monkey, organized the gear and secured it to a tree. This was the first of several encounters. 

Over the eleven day span we were there we became familiar faces. We could not go far with out a nod or a wave from a familiar face. We learned where to spend our dollars but are still very confused about the value of a dollar. A beer is more expensive then a dinner for two. A night stay  is cheaper then a book. And non-instant coffee… well lets just say we stopped drinking most beverages aside from smoothies. 

We recently took a brake from the beach life to stay in Krabi for a few nights. Stay tuned for that exciting tale! 

Check us out on youTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2tyPP4ApwY

Here is more on the climbing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGNxqybU_3s