Ton Sai

(Friday) We all headed to the beach for a couple of group pictures. We did the famous Pacific Discovery jumping picture and a few others. We all tried to stack a pyramid and were pretty successful. We all hugged, laughed and cried one more time. It was a sad morning. I had to wave goodbye to seven of my friends as they boarded the longtail and headed back to Bangkok. The other half of us were extending our travels. We waited on the shore until the boat was out of site. The rest of us went back to the houses, made some lunch and packed our bags. We then got a boat to another beach just two minutes away called Ton Sai.
The beach was full of backpackers and rock climbers. The accommodations were cheaper which is why we switched beaches. We checked into a place that Hillary recommended. Although we went and saw the place yesterday, we were not comfortable. Isabel and I shared a room. There was a rotten display case with nothing on or in it. We moved it to the patio. The both of us knew that we could not sleep there comfortably. We decided to look at the place next door and upgrade. The first place was only 250 Baht while the other place was only 400 Baht. For reference, 300 Baht is $10. We thought the extra money was worth the move.
When the tide was low, we walked over to Railay so we could eat dinner at Mom's. We both knew what we wanted, and it happened to be the same thing. We decided to take a boat back to Ton Sai versus climbing over there in the dark.
(Saturday)We had agreed to meet at 9am at the end of the walkway to head over to Phra Nang. On our way, we were going to hike to the lookout and the lagoon. Isabel and I walked down at 9am and waited for Natalie and Anna. While we were waiting, Brent showed up and had to use an ATM which was on Railay so we told him we were heading in that direction shortly. Fifteen minutes passed and still no sign of the other girls. Isabel decided to go look for them, but shortly after she left, they came from the other side. It was after 9:30 before we started walking over. We climbed to Railay West. Brent decided he was going to join us but wanted to eat first.
We all sat down with him while he had breakfast. I went and found some coconut juice because I was feeling dehydrated. When it was time to pay, Brent had no small bills so he asked me to lend him some. All I had was a 100 so I gave that to him for his 60 Baht meal. He then put the change in his wallet without saying a word to me. (The next morning when I asked him for the 100 Baht he asked, "For what?" I told him with a bit of sternness, "For your breakfast yesterday?!") By the time we got to the lookout hike, it was nearly 11:15, and no one wanted to do it anymore. I hiked alone. It was steep and quite exhausting. I really enjoyed it though. I was proud of myself for doing it because of my last experience rock climbing in Chiang Mai. I saw the lagoon but decided not to climb all the way to it. It was more challenging, and I wanted to get back to the beach with my friends.
We all swam and played some beach ball. Anna and I were not so good at it. I think the highest we got was 19 and that was once! For lunch, we got Pad Thai from restaurant boats along the shore. Mine was okay. It would have been better if it wasn't overloaded with sprouts. I am not a huge fan of sprouts (NO BRUSSEL SPROUTS PLEASE! Inside joke w/ Erin and Vanessa as I tried to tell the guy at Jimmy John's I did not want brussel sprouts. They don't have brussel sprouts at Jimmy John's, but I was persistent). We met a Canadian living in Australia named Craig. Him and his friends were going to the full moon party later and invited us over for drinks first.
Some of us girls had dinner along the water at Ton Sai. I am not a fan of Ton Sai. It's a bunch of hippies and rock climbers neither of which I am. The whole beach constantly smelled like pot which I don't smoke either. Our waiter was really funny, and he spoke a bit of six or seven languages. He was also smoking a joint while taking our order. Interesting lifestyle. After dinner, we went over to Railay East and met up with Craig. There were nine or ten of us hanging out on the deck while some played the guitar and shared stories. Then we headed downstairs to The Last Bar (literally the last bar on the East side) and watched the fire show. These guys were incredible. Afterward, we danced our hearts out. It was such a fun evening. To top it off, we went swimming in the ocean. The tide was so low so the water was extremely shallow despite how far out we went.
(Sunday) Isabel had to wake me up this morning to go to breakfast. Anna and Natalie were leaving shortly after. We had breakfast along the beach, but my food never came. I didn't mind much considering I only ordered steamed rice. Then we walked them to the longtails and watched them leave. I don't like this. Why have I had to stand and wave goodbye to good friends? It's a shame. Isabel and I went back to nap since we didn't get in until the wee hours of the night (or morning). We decided to go eat and then try to get to the beach. We ate, and then it started pouring rain. The best way to spend the rest of the early evening was getting a massage. Hillary recommended this place that was only $10 for an hour body massage. Both of us decided on the coconut oil one and dozed off to the sound of the rain against the roof.
I felt much better after the massage. There was a bit of normalcy at that point. We met up with Anastasia and Luke for a drink and some Jenga. I hadn't played that game in ages. We were all exhausted so it was an early evening. Isabel and I had found a cockroach in our room earlier and knew we wouldn't sleep without checkout our room before bed. I moved every bit of furniture carefully. After about 20 minutes, the room was cleared. We tucked our mosquito nets tightly between the mattresses and went to sleep. I slept like a baby.
(Monday) The both of us were bored on Ton Sai. The beach was not that great in comparison. We were going to head back to Krabi today, but Anastasia could not get her money back for the last night so we decided to stay. I didn't mind because we wasted most of the morning. Wasted might be a bit harsh because we did do an hour and 45 minutes of yoga. It was really great, but it was nearly noon by the time it ended, and we had to check out by one. That would leave no time for anything else. The yoga was nice, but we thought it was free. The flyer had no price on it and no price was mentioned until the very end (naturally). We went to say thank you and she responded, "300 Baht." Right!
Isabel and I laid on the Ton Sai beach for a bit. It was mostly shells and rocks we laid on. The tide was too high to cross to the other side, and we were both feeling lazy. Then we decided to get another massage. It had began to rain again. After our hour, we went next door to eat. We both had green curry fried rice, mine without egg of course. Then we went back for another hour massage but just a back massage. After that, we met Anastasia for dinner. We all ordered the coconut curry. It was the perfect spiciness. It was the kind that makes your lips tingle with every bite. One bar was playing the second Bruno movie so we watched what was left of it. There were some humorous parts, but overall it's disgusting. Bed time!
(Tuesday) We woke up and ate breakfast. The last five of us headed back to Krabi. The longtail driver told us he couldn't go to the port we wanted because there were cops there. He told us this information after we paid. Another natural occurrence. When we got off the boat I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends. I didn't want to travel without her. I was so sad to leave Isabel, but it's comforting knowing I'll see her in June when I go to Nashville. Anastasia and I got into a cab and headed to the airport. Our next stop was Singapore!