fish massage, monasteries, and beautiful beaches

the last day in Bangkok i meandered for most of it. i did get a fish massage out of curiosity! these special fish swim in a pool and you put your feet in there- they feed of dead skin and bacteria so they then come and sit on your feet and nibble your dead skin- sounds a bit weird when i write it down! it tickles especially when they go between your toes. but my feet were very soft afterwards!
we were woken up at 4.30am to leave Bangkok, some people decided to just stay up partying instead of catching a small amount of sleep! we escaped the rush hour traffic and drove 150 km north to Lopburi, a small climbing area. we camped in a Buddhist monastery which was really nice appart from the barking dogs. it was a combination of monastery dogs and stray dogs tha lked to fight over their areas. so if anyone went to the toilet in the middle of the night we would all be woken up. likewise when the gong was struck around 5am, the dogs were set off again! but to be honest, it didnt bother me too mu8ch as the campsite was nice and with a small group of 11 people, it was chilled out, especially for our cook duty. we left people in Bangkok and som people flew ahead to Tonsai.
the climbing in Lopburi was really nice- crimpy, vertical limestone. the bolts were run out- usually at least 2 metres between them- one route had a 4 metre run out in it.
3 days was enough to climb the best, then a very long drive day to Tonsai, or the mainlnd near it. from 5.30 am- 7pm, we drove with 2 toilet stops/lunch break. we stayed one night in the town with the name i cant remember, before getting the boat across to Tonsai the following morning.
the boat was a small wooden one with a huge engine mounted on the back but with a small propeller! it got us to Tonsai in half an hour and we were immediately greeted with picturesque beach and sea- golden sand, clear blue sea etc.
the first day of climbing has been good. an awesome multiptich gave us a clear view of the beaches and sea as far as we could see. i cant wait for tomorrow and more climbing!

fish massage, monasteries, and beautiful beaches

Tonsai, Thailand