Tag 307 - East Railay Viewpoint, Lagoon, Tonsai Beach & Diamond Cave

Hello everyone 

Today we got to see and experience a lot, but let's start from the beginning ☺️:

Our day started at 8 o'clock, we got ready, had breakfast, and packed everything for today.

Then we started: we walked to the starting point of the tour to the viewpoint and the beginning was already a real adventure!

It went steep uphill and because of the rain, the ground was clayey and extremely slippery. The whole route was equipped with fixed ropes, which we were really grateful for at certain points.

There were a few junctions along the way, and even though we wanted to go to the viewpoint first, we suddenly found ourselves in front of the lagoon. Since we already had the lagoon on our itinerary, we spontaneously decided to visit it first and then search for the viewpoint. The path to the lagoon was really adventurous, as this path offered no grip for the shoes. We had to climb down repeatedly, and after each tricky spot, the next one followed: totally our thing ☺️

Those who had booked a guide today could not go down to the lagoon, they said it's too dangerous.

But we and a few other tourists couldn't be stopped ☺️

Once we reached the bottom, a magnificent view opened up to us! The lagoon was surrounded by steep cliffs, the play of light was fantastic, and the water was wonderfully refreshing. 

We cooled off a bit, took about 1000 pictures, chatted with some people, and started climbing out of the lagoon. Once we reached the top, it wasn't far to the viewpoint where we could see the entire Railay. However, there were a lot of people there, so we didn't want to stay for long. We walked the circular route and then back to our beach.

We looked like pigs! Covered in mud from head to toe, and our clothes could have gone straight to the dry cleaner :).

But we still had a lot on our schedule and we could change clothes later :).

So we sat down in a restaurant, had lunch, drank a delicious watermelon juice, and set off again.

Now we walked to the other end of the peninsula, to Tonsai Beach. This is the beach with the very difficult climbing routes, starting at a tough 6a and going all the way to the end of the rating scale. The way there was again very varied, with scrambling and through the 'jungle' - just great for us!

When we came out of the jungle, we already saw the first climbers. 
We walked along the beach, and the whole area turned out to be a climbing paradise! 
There is only one resort, one restaurant, and one bar, as far as we could see, but the atmosphere is indescribable! It's a place where all kinds of freelancers seem to gather. Music is playing, whole groups sit at the base of the climbing walls chatting, playing the guitar, climbing together again, and there's always a slight smell of cannabis in the air :)
(Cannabis is now legal in Thailand, which is why it is almost part of such a peaceful place :))

We sat on a big cushion in the sand and treated ourselves to another delicious watermelon juice. 
The whole time, our gaze wandered to the wall where different climbers showcased their skills.
We really liked the whole Tonsai Beach with its relaxed, peaceful, and cheerful atmosphere!

After already having stiff necks from looking up, we now headed back towards 'Railay Beach'. Since the tide was slowly coming in this area, we chose the path 'over the sea'. Now it was possible to walk the whole way back along the stones by the water.

On the way back, we discovered a 'Shopping Street' where we bought two nice ankle bracelets each. Actually, we also liked a few dresses that we would have definitely bought, but the saleswoman was so unfriendly that we hung everything back and ran away. Too bad, but we will surely find such dresses at another place :).

We continued towards 'Diamond Cave'. This cave was actually just a short detour, so we wanted to take a look. It was surprisingly large and the formations inside were very impressive! However, it was only a short circular path through the cave, so we were back outside after about 5-10 minutes.

I was so confident with the way back that we ignored the maps and just started walking.... We should both know better: we can't rely on our sense of direction - a trait we share :)
We ended up right in the middle of the locals, who luckily explained to us kindly that we were wrong and told us where to go.

At 5:30 pm, we finally arrived at the restaurant that we like so much and decided to sit down right away.
First, we had a usual holiday evening cocktail, then some delicious food. Today, mom tried fried noodles with vegetables and I.... Somehow can't get enough of the Massaman curry :D

At 7 o'clock, we finally started making our way back to the bungalow.

Now we are writing to you, then we urgently need to shower, and then the pictures from yesterday are waiting for us - we will upload them today and as for the pictures from today...... Sorry, but you will have to wait until tomorrow again ;)

So then:
See you tomorroooooooooow :))