After a few days of relaxing on Ton Sai Beach we decided that we would make the trek over to the more touristy neighbour beach of Raleigh. From Ton Sai there are four ways to get there; walking around the rock outcrop at low tide, taking a boat, taking a long walk around through the jungle or crawling and climbing over a shortcut through the large rock outcrop that separates the beaches.
We opted to wake up early and catch the low tide for a stroll on the way over. What we found on the other side reminded us a lot of the tourist street on Boracay Beach in the Philippines. Lots of little shops selling over priced stuff and a couple of bars along side expensive resorts.
Walking to Raleigh West Beach we checked out the other shops along a boardwalk they had built to connect all the resorts and bars on that side of the beach.
The tide was out so we saw lots of marooned boats amongst the mangroves.
Then we took another path to another section of beach.
As soon as we arrived on this beautiful section of white sand beach we noticed a couple of shrines tucked into some caves on one side.
These were not just any shrines, they were fertility shrines. We learned from the sign that if a family is having problems conceiving they make a special penis carving to leave at either of these places in the hopes that they will be blessed with fertility.
These two caves are famous for helping desperate couples so they are filled with these home made statues. There was also a sign that warned if you took one of the carvings with it you would be taking the ‘bad luck’ of the person who placed it there.
Away from the caves the beach here was idyllic.
What was not idyllic was sharing it with sooooo many other people. So we struck out for the far end of the beach.
and found one of the only shady spots left under the brush.
After a few hours of fun swimming we decided to head to the view point trail on our way back to Ton Sai. This trail is pretty much a vertical climb anchored with lots of ropes to help visitors get to the top. Some people got pretty muddy on their way up to the top too but the view was certainly worth it. Short and sharp with a sweet sweet view as a prize.
The bay on the right is the one that we had walked past earlier at low tide and the rock wall on the left is the one that makes up the bowl that makes Ton Sai beach accessible only by boat.
We used the long lens to get a closer view of our beloved Ton Sai from the look out.
Here’s a little pic of the trail to the viewpoint on the way back down. No the image is not the wrong direction. It is totally vertical.
Pic of me making it look easy and documenting the beginning of my love for rock climbing.
The Adventures of Mr and Mrs Page 