Krabi, Ton Sai, part 2

Not much changed during our stay in Ton Sai which is not a bad thing. Apart from a 2 day stomach bug break or whatever you want to call it, we have been getting up to go climbing at 6. It's been great fun and we were very sorry to leave. On our last climbing day we got a picnic from the pancake stall (the stall that does a lot more than pancakes) and had a boat take us out to Phra Nang Beach, a beautiful deserted beach apart from a 5 star hotel, which we didn't actually see and probably wouldn't have been allowed to get anywhere near it. The only people on the beach were the people paid to rake it, or maybe they were doing it for fun? After we climbed some routes we found our way into a cave which is the way to get back to West Railey and normal life beyond 5 star resorts. We encountered a young swedish boy looking for the viewpoints of the island and for some reason he decided to come with us into the pitch black cave (we did have a couple of torches). The cave exits 25 meters up a cliff which can only be tackled by abseiling out of it (none of which the young swedish boy knew about). Shortly before it was his turn we gave him a crash course in what to do and he very bravely managed, surely that exhilarating experience made his day.

Right now we are back in Bangkok and have carried our bike boxes into our room a couple of hours ago. There is hardly a place where you can put your feet down but hopefully by Sunday we will be ready for serious business or at least ready for some relaxed leisurely cycling.

PS

Some of these nice pictures have been taken by Mr. Sebastian Roschlau! And we have added some more fotos to the old Bangkok posts. Also the map is now updated with our planned stops on our way to Siem Reap.

Yes, sorry there are quite a lot of photos of me (kiki) in a yellow T-shirt, yes i was rather smelly, but luckily there is no such thing as a cyberstink.

Krabi, Railey, part 1

No, we still have not started cycling yet. Decided to follow seppy and clare to Railey (near Krabi) to go rock climbing and have some beach action before setting off. The first night we stayed in a luxury bungalow (600B), the second night in a bamboo one in the jungle (150B) and now we have settled for a wooden bungalow in Ton Sai (300B). Luckily it's low season now otherwise it would be crowded and we'd be paying a lot more. The last 2 days we've been getting up round 5:30 to go climbing early when it's not so hot and no-one's around yet. Paradise. But maybe hell in high season. The setting here is quite rural, relaxed and friendly. We have seen monkeys trying to steal from food stalls and there are beetles making loud siren sounds. The water is very warm and shallow and the mountains make for an amazing backdrop.

Bangkok Day 3

Today we walked around a lot and realised how large, smelly and busy Bangkok is. Kiki was dressed up like a Bangkok taxi and was shown how to wear fisherman trousers properly. We went to see the Golden Mount and in Lumphini Park we saw an outdoor gym. On the ferry on the way back we saw some monks standing in a place especially reserved for them. The cabling in Bangkok is particularly dodgy with hundreds of wires hanging above the streets.