Tonsai and Railay: Sea Kayaking and a Hippie Haven

This post is a continuation of our Christmas holidays in the south, continuing on from the beaches of Krabi.  (click that link to read where I left off).

As we unloaded our stuff out of a creaky wooden long boat, ankles now deep in water, we looked around for any other signs of existence.  Though only 15 minutes away from Aonang beach (a more populated and tourist packed place), Tonsai felt so... remote.  We said a quick goodbye and thank you to our Thai boat driver, and I looked down towards each end of the beach.  There were definitely no sun bathers. I saw plenty other longboats, a Thai guy renting kayaks, and what looked to be a small corner store about 50 metres off the shore.  At the far end of the beach, I noticed some movement scaling the steep rock cliffs.  I looked more closely and noticed that this "movement" was from humans!  In front of us were rock climbers that came from far and wide to climb these world famous cliffs.  But I wondered... where do all these climbers stay?  The bay looked deserted, and surely not all of these travelers could afford staying at the pristine Railay bay around the corner...

We did eventually find our way to civilization, up the road, following this massive concrete wall.  The Tonsai community was set back about 400 metres from the beach, all behind this "wall".  And what we found was a hippy haven.  Think chillout bars that look like tree forts, hammocks, and people sitting around playing ukuleles.  We stayed in a bungalow that was slightly falling apart, offered electricity only at night (just like the rest of Tonsai), but actually had a pretty nice bed and a private bathroom.  We loved spending time in the evening chilling at the restaurant (though we found prices on food and drinks inflated... everything has to arrive by boat, remember?) and we were just a short walk down to the beach.  

So, why the concrete wall?  I did some research and found out that a hotel company had bought the land in front of the Tonsai community and had put up this wall, which obviously did not sit well for the community there.  The wall has been graffitied, and painted on, but still no hotel has been built.  It all seemed so strange to me.

Our accomodations

Some interesting graffiti art on the wall that Tonsai lies behind.

On the contrary, Railay beach is groomed and pristine.  Just a five minute hike from Tonsai, you'll find expensive guesthouses, a couple of small resorts and a handful of restaurants and cafes.  Along with exploring these two small bays, we decided to rent a kayak and see the cliffs from the water.  What turned into "that island doesn't look that far away" turned into a whole afternoon affair kayaking out to Poda Island.  We did however find the softest whitest sand, and then entertained ourselves on the way back singing Christmas carols (it was only fitting) as the sun set behind our backs.

Railay Bay

Railay Bay

Okay, one last thing.  On the day we were leaving, we were walking down along the concrete wall towards the beach, and came across the most adorable bunch of monkeys!  Honestly, there had to be about ten of them and they were hilarious to watch!