Thailand West Coast

Sawasdee. Adam and I are on our way out of Thailand tomorrow, after 6 weeks here. We could both spend longer, except we're not allowed ... Yep, that's right, despite falling tourism after a disasterous closure of both Bangkok's airports by protesters and on-going civil unrest in Bangkok and the deep south, the Thai immigration authorities make it difficult for Canadians and others to extend their visa or visa-free stay. We've already done one "visa run" to the Malaysian border (which was encouraged by the immigration officer in Krabi!) to get another 14 days in Thailand after our initial 30-day entry permit expired. In any event, we really must get a move-on to the rest of Indochina, as we've realized that we have to come home to Canada in just 2 short months! (sniff, sniff) Not that I don't love Canada -- travelling always makes me appreciate home even more -- but I certainly don't love the idea of going back to work after so many months of leisure.

Adam's last post covered the islands and beaches that we visited on the east coast. Since then, we've spent most of our time on Tonsai beach, near Krabi, a rock climber's Mecca. To say that Tonsai/Railay is one of the foremost rock climbing areas in the world is not an overstatement, and it undoubtedly attracts an incredible number of rock climbers every year. I was mildly surprised at just how many, and from how many countries -- Canada, U.S., all over Europe, Czech republic, Russia, Korea, China, etc. -- in fact, we had a running joke about being able to convene a United Nations of climbers on Tonsai beach. And even non-climbers can appreciate why Tonsai is popular - in addition to excellent rock, the setting is superb. Rock climbing on the beach, where your biggest worry is whether the tide is low enough for a "dry" belay, is amazing.

We were on Tonsai for about 6 days before we had to leave to do the visa run to Malaysia, and then we made a short visit to Koh Lanta for 4 days before running to Tonsai for another 8 days afterward. I have been to Koh Lanta before, and we ended up staying just 100 metres or so down the beach from where I stayed 8 years ago. Koh Lanta has changed much, but I don't think the change has been as dramatic as on Koh Tao or Koh Phangan. Much of what I loved about Koh Lanta remains intact. It's a large island with very long, white sandy beaches, and the length of the beaches means that you can always find a quiet piece of sand to call your own, away from any crowds. There are more high-end resorts and facilities on Koh Lanta now (e.g. lots of 7-11s) but budget-to-mid-range options remain, some even right on the beach -- a rarity in Thailand these days. Koh Lanta is quiet, but you aren't terribly isolated and there are lots of local restaurants. Notably, "Spicy" restaurant, which I had loved eight years ago, was still there, still open, and still cheap and delicious -- we ate there at least once a day.

We didn't do much on Koh Lanta, spending most of our time lounging on our veranda (with sea view) or walking along the beach. We did go diving on one day -- a trip via speedboat out to Hin Daeng and Hin Muang -- famous pinnacles in the middle of the Andaman Sea. We didn't see any sharks or Manta rays, but did see an amazing abundance and assortment of tropical fish, two schools of big barracuda, and lots of titan triggerfish. They were really good dives.

As I mentioned, after Koh Lanta we went back to Tonsai for a week, then it was time to go ... I'm sure Adam would have loved to have stayed for a month or two, as many climbers do, but our visa extension was up and there's so much else to see and do on this trip (as well as other places to climb in Laos and Vietnam) that it is time to move on. We're on Phuket at the moment, on Kata Beach, for a day of relative luxury (after the fairly basic conditions on Tonsai) and because we fly from here (via Bangkok) to Luang Prabang, Laos, tomorrow morning.

Adam will likely put up a further post about our rock climbing on Tonsai at a later date. I know he's got more pictures he wants to post to make all the climbers jealous! ;)

Cheers,
Robin