the trail to Ao Nang

I've been in Ton Sai about a week and a half now. The climbing is quite stiff for my abilities and tends toward the overhanging, physical, and pumpy. When not being humbled by the routes, I've taken up slacklining for enjoyment. It took me about three sessions over as many days before I could stand up with my right foot on the line. It then took another few sessions before I could take two steps to return to the right foot on line position. It was actually quite difficult because the first step requires you to balance completely opposite of how you've been accustomed to balancing when you hop on the line with your right foot. Currently I'm up to about six steps or so and can only marvel at the more experienced climbers who can do jump mounts to get on, turn around on the line, walk sideways like a crab, and other stunts.

Ton Sai is situated on a peninsula with a more upscale resort, Railay, the next cove over. Railay is accessible at lowtide by an easy walk around the headland by the sea, or at high tide by two jungle trails. Although both towns are geographically attached to the mainland, they are practically islands as all supplies and persons are ferried by longtail boats. Today I decided to test this isolation by going on a supposed jungle trail from Ton Sai to Ao Nang which has road access and a large assortment of stores and internet cafes. The scramble up from Ton Sai was muddy and rarely attempted as there were several crawl throughs and only one or two old retired climbing ropes tied to a tree and slung along the trail to aid in the ascent. The mosquitos took on plague proportions once I crested the rise and saw the planned resort next to Ao Nang town proper below me. Luckily I'd brought my headnet and a long sleeve shirt: I could stay mosquito free so long as I sweated like a pig in my "Therma-Tech" polypro garb. The scramble down was even more heinous. There were more rope handrails, but the increase in steepness and muddiness made the trail even harder. I did happen across a gibbon-siamang while descending. It was snow white and about 20 meters above me obviously quite perturbed over my materialization. He swung away through the tree tops and out of sight.

Eventually I reached Ao Nang and bought a sliced pineapple for half the going rate in Ton Sai. I'm mulling over trying the jungle trail on the way back or bailing and catching a longtail boat back to Ton Sai. Decisions, decisions...