Our friends Julie and Marty traveled across the world to join us in Tonsai for a few days of magical Thai adventures. We ate, laughed, kayaked, caved, practiced yoga, and of course climbed!
Tonsai beach is surrounded on three sides by limestone mountains that shoot out of the ground, creating beautiful sheltered beaches in an incredible aesthetic setting. The jungle enclave is only accessible by boat, and is home to opportunistic monkeys who are always ready to swipe food from the unassuming tourist. We arrived late in the evening on a longtail boat that expertly navigated the dark waters between Ao Nang and Tonsai beach. Excited to see Julie and Marty, we checked in to our bungalow and hollered greetings through their window. The epic friends reunion had begun!
Climbing in Tonsai and Railay
Our first climbs were on the beach, belaying with our toes in the sand. Whenever we turned, we were met with gorgeous views of the bay. We exchanged conspiratorial grins – this week was going to be awesome!
On our second morning we climbed Humanality (6b+), a four pitch route at the eastern end of Tonsai beach. One move had us leaning over on to a massive tufa with nothing but air for 200 feet below! After enjoying the view at the top of the climb, we rappelled directly into the beach bar. That afternoon, we hiked to the decidedly more posh Railay, and continued through the jungle in search of a secret wall accessed by climbing through a canyon and rappelling down. By chance we recognized some rad Canadian friends from Green Climbers Home. The next day they joined us as we climbed/caved through a mountain to access one of the most beautiful climbing lines I’ve ever seen. It was so amazing that I did the climb twice, leading it clean from bottom to top on the second go.
On our final day of climbing with Julie and Marty we scaled The King (6b) 200 ft over the ocean on the “Thaiwand,” and we spotted a sea turtle swimming in the turquoise water below. We were climbing in paradise! The views from the tops of our climbs were so beautiful, I always felt a pang of regret when it was time to descend.
Having fun
Off the wall, we practiced acro yoga on the quiet and clean Phra Nang beach. We sipped cold juice directly from coconuts. We rented kayaks and explored mini islands, secret caves, and snorkeled. We found bright corals and fish in a tiny lagoon. We crossed paths with friends we met in Vietnam! And every night, we passed out with bellies full of delicious Thai food.
For Loi Krathong we released a paper lantern, filled with hot air and our wishes into the night sky. We joined a little party of climbers and locals celebrating the full moon on the beach under the stars. As krathong were floated into the bay, a local guy and Julie took turns spinning fire poi, mesmerizing us in a way only fire can.
Eventually it was time for our friends to start their journey back to California. After a final amazing climb together, we bid them farewell as they sailed into the late afternoon sun. The next day we climbed The Wave (6b), a fun four pitch route with a new amazing view. We had no plans to leave this climbing paradise, however fate decided that our trip would be unexpectedly cut short… Regardless we’ll always remember Tonsai as magical, where life is filled with joy and wonders and awesome climbing.
Gorgeous!