TonSai beach, Thailand

Jackpot!

After 4 days and three nights in the bustling metropolis of Kuala Lumpur, and a marathon of bus rides through Malaysia and Thailand, we have landed in the sweetest nectar of paradise that we could possibly imagine. We thought we had it good on Gili Trawangan, but I really don't think it could get much better than this. We're on TonSai beach in the Krabi area of southern Thailand.

Initially, we had our doubts- we arrived at low tide to a bay filled with dark mud-covered rocks. Although the limestone cliffs and turquoise waters were impressive, the lack of swimming was unappealing. We were also exhausted, a bit flustered by a relative increase in prices from Indonesia, and hard pressed to find a cheap bungalow during high tourist season. After a good night's rest and a day of play on TonSai, however, we were completely won over by this place. It's a giant playground for us...

It's super laid-back, crawling with climbers from all over the world. It's accessible by long-tail boat only, so everyone travels by foot (or rope). The cliffs and caves and sea scenery are mind-blowingly beautiful. When the tide comes in, it's a perfect beach for swimming. It's sprinkled with bars and places to hang out, which almost never seem full or crowded. And nobody seems to mind if you lounge on mats or cushions without buying something. We've found a few flat areas and platforms to do yoga and acroyoga on. There's slack lines everywhere- at every bar, and every shop. There are people juggling or spinning poi at all times of day, somewhere on the beach. There's even a bar with sets of juggling clubs and practice poi to play with.

So on any given day, we might hike up over the pass and through the forest (and monkeys!) to the other beaches on the peninsula, sea kayak and explore the cliff edges, snorkel the surrounding coral, explore limestone caverns and caves, go rock climbing with a new friend, practice yoga, acroyoga, and random gymnastics on the sandy beach, swim in the warm ocean, have fruit shakes and play board games in the shade, play on the slack line, eat cheap pad thai and enjoy the sunset, and/or spin fire with all the locals or dance to a reggae band in the evening. Not bad. We're pretty much freaking out about how much we love this place.

We've met quite a few Americans, and a guy named Andy, from Portland, took us climbing (sounds familiar, eh?) on same classy classic routes. We've had another offer to take us climbing tomorrow afternoon, with our new friend Martin, from Bellingham. It's a shame we didn't bring our shoes and a harness, but it would be a tragedy not to climb here- so we fork over the rental fees (which only add up to about $12 or $13 for a half day for both of us..) whenever we get the opportunity. Needless to say, we've been staying busy and deliriously happy....