I sign up for this class:
Ian signs up for this:
We’re not told where we’re going. Everyone is equally confused and quiet. I try to judge who the beginners are, and I start to think I’m the only one. We arrive at Railey West, which sucks for some people in our group who had just moved from Railey West to Ton Sai, specifically to rock climb.
We walk the path to Railay East and see a bunch of climbers already set up. There are (I don’t know anything about rock climbing so excuse the terminology) a bunch of pegs signifying different courses. It becomes clear this is more of an open area than it is Basecamp's spot.
One instructor asks if anyone needs to know how to "tie the knot". Ian and I and one other girl learn. It’s super easy. This would be the first and last of all the instruction for the day.
We don’t get separated by experience, even though everyone signed up for different classes (and therefore some paid different rates.) None of the instructors tell us how to climb or what to expect. We don't have helmets. The guy that shows us how to tie the knot looks at us and asks who’s going first.
Ian goes first. Ian makes everything look easy, but this first climb was tough. There was a point where he almost turned around, but at last, he succeeded. A smellier Ian descended the rope.
The girl who pretended not to know how to tie the rope ran up the course like a monkey. She disclosed she rock-climbs on weekends. Ewwwwww.
"Is it normal to climb a 50ft course for your first run? Any safety tips I should know about?” = things I didn’t ask. Instead I turned to the crowd and said, "It's my first time!" to no applause.
"Is it normal to climb a 50ft course for your first run? Any safety tips I should know about?” = things I didn’t ask. Instead I turned to the crowd and said, "It's my first time!" to no applause.
My next sentence would come from about fifteen feet up. "OK, let me down now!”
Of course, the instructor won't let me down at first request. I am totally regretting putting sunscreen all over my body, as I am slick as a slug. I didn't know I had a chalk bag on my harness at this point, and I'm using my knees to climb (apparently a big no-no in climbing). I'm all kinds of clueless. I struggle about five feet higher when my belayer loses hope. He lets me down and I smile to the crowd until Ian yells at me to keep my feet towards the rock so I don't hit my head. Possibly a tip I could have used from an instructor?
Of course, the instructor won't let me down at first request. I am totally regretting putting sunscreen all over my body, as I am slick as a slug. I didn't know I had a chalk bag on my harness at this point, and I'm using my knees to climb (apparently a big no-no in climbing). I'm all kinds of clueless. I struggle about five feet higher when my belayer loses hope. He lets me down and I smile to the crowd until Ian yells at me to keep my feet towards the rock so I don't hit my head. Possibly a tip I could have used from an instructor?
The rest of the time is kind of a free for all— we just wait in line to climb courses we pick with ropes set up by Basecamp. Independent groups have their courses right up against ours, and some of them overlap. The courses aren't rated by difficulty and all the climbing guides have different opinions. It seems the Basecamp courses are particularly tough. I only climbed two routes.
At around 1PM a Basecamp employee asks us if we're done. Since I didn't run the program, I wasn't sure... -_-... The employee then says "Ok, for half day class you are done. There is no boat back. You need to return to Basecamp on Ton Sai and bring my equipment back."
So there we were, in the heat of the 95 degree day, tasked with walking/hiking/rock climbing our own way back to Ton Sai, with not only our gear we were wearing/renting, but with gear from the communal climbing that needed to be returned.
We made it back, and instead of climbing around the coral between Railey West and Ton Sai, we did 20 minute jungle climb route. We lug everything back to Basecamp and collapse back at our bungalow. ONE STAR.
We think we've had enough of Ton Sai and decide to go elsewhere. Except for major hotels, everywhere only accepts cash. There is no ATM on Ton Sai, so we needed to go back to Railey West to get cash before booking our transportation to another island. We were too pooped to go back to Railey West once we figured this out. This gave us an extra day before being able to book transportation for the following day, so we were lazy for two days.
The two extra days are spent watching everyone be a super-human around us.
We climbed up some bamboo ladders to the Ton Sai lookout point (at low tide):
After a day at the beach, it's funny to come home to our laundry on display for all to see:
The best food we ate in Ton Sai was at a place called "Mama's Chicken", not to be confused with "Mama's Kitchen" on Railey East where the last 10 posts on Trip Advisor have a food poisoning warning. Mama's CHICKEN was delicious and cheap and where all the backpackers ate their dinner. The chicken was OK, but the Thai dishes were gold.
Another great restaurant was Ton Sai Bay Resort, which is really the last remaining restaurant/bar on the actual beach. (Every bar/bungalow that was beach-side has been demolished to make way for a giant Sheraton, and the locals aren't happy.) Here is where the base-jumpers would show off at sunset. They climbed the cliff right above the restaurant and would jump over our food.
One of the "sights" from Ton Sai is the group of islands right off the beach. The islands form what somebody thinks looks like an (American) Indian laying on his back with his arms folded over his chest:
So there we were, in the heat of the 95 degree day, tasked with walking/hiking/rock climbing our own way back to Ton Sai, with not only our gear we were wearing/renting, but with gear from the communal climbing that needed to be returned.
We made it back, and instead of climbing around the coral between Railey West and Ton Sai, we did 20 minute jungle climb route. We lug everything back to Basecamp and collapse back at our bungalow. ONE STAR.
We think we've had enough of Ton Sai and decide to go elsewhere. Except for major hotels, everywhere only accepts cash. There is no ATM on Ton Sai, so we needed to go back to Railey West to get cash before booking our transportation to another island. We were too pooped to go back to Railey West once we figured this out. This gave us an extra day before being able to book transportation for the following day, so we were lazy for two days.
The two extra days are spent watching everyone be a super-human around us.
The best food we ate in Ton Sai was at a place called "Mama's Chicken", not to be confused with "Mama's Kitchen" on Railey East where the last 10 posts on Trip Advisor have a food poisoning warning. Mama's CHICKEN was delicious and cheap and where all the backpackers ate their dinner. The chicken was OK, but the Thai dishes were gold.
Another great restaurant was Ton Sai Bay Resort, which is really the last remaining restaurant/bar on the actual beach. (Every bar/bungalow that was beach-side has been demolished to make way for a giant Sheraton, and the locals aren't happy.) Here is where the base-jumpers would show off at sunset. They climbed the cliff right above the restaurant and would jump over our food.
One of the "sights" from Ton Sai is the group of islands right off the beach. The islands form what somebody thinks looks like an (American) Indian laying on his back with his arms folded over his chest:
At night we enjoyed the fire shows at our bungalow:
The best bonus from staying on Ton Sai these extra days was the bioluminescent plankton we swam with at night. I had read about the snorkeling tours to other bays where you could swim with these magical lights, but deep into my research I saw Ton Sai was one of the best spots in the world for it.
It was the 18th and 19th of February, Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year, when the moon was GONE. We snuck away from the parties at the bungalows and walked to the beach. It was pitch black and totally empty. I swam with just a whistle around my neck (for safety), otherwise in the buff.
We were absolutely giddy when we saw the lights! Bioluminescent plankton only spark when they are irritated, so we only saw the bright blue/teal diamonds when we moved. I can only describe it like this: Have you ever pointed at a lightning cloud during a storm, hoping it lighting would strike at that exact moment? It felt like when that moment works out. We thrashed around like idiots for the full effect, and it was as if magic dust was shooting from our fingertips. Definitely two nights to remember.
It was the 18th and 19th of February, Chinese New Year's Eve and New Year, when the moon was GONE. We snuck away from the parties at the bungalows and walked to the beach. It was pitch black and totally empty. I swam with just a whistle around my neck (for safety), otherwise in the buff.
We were absolutely giddy when we saw the lights! Bioluminescent plankton only spark when they are irritated, so we only saw the bright blue/teal diamonds when we moved. I can only describe it like this: Have you ever pointed at a lightning cloud during a storm, hoping it lighting would strike at that exact moment? It felt like when that moment works out. We thrashed around like idiots for the full effect, and it was as if magic dust was shooting from our fingertips. Definitely two nights to remember.
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