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littledigits
Jan 2, 2009, 4:31 AM
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Heading out there at the end of the month. I know there's a couple of places that are great for climbing there. Which are the nicest places?
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JAB
Jan 2, 2009, 6:53 AM
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Railay is probably the best, but there are also routes on Phi Phi.
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littledigits
Jan 5, 2009, 12:26 AM
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Yeah. Saw a map of the Raleigh peninsula. Where would be the best place to stay during the peak season? Should I bring a sleeping bag?
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JAB
Jan 5, 2009, 6:52 AM
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Raleigh is a city in the US. Railay a climbing destination in Thailand. 
I would suggest you do a search. There have been tons of threads about Thailand. Use search words Thailand, Railay, Tonsai or Krabi.
Accomodation is according to your budget; there are cheap bungalows in Tonsai and middle-range to expensive resorts in Railay.
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littledigits
Jan 5, 2009, 7:27 AM
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I did. Funny enough, there's lots of general info about prices in the peak and not so peak times but nothing specific other than Dream Valley Resort. And i'm posting here, so all i really care about is some good climbing. Not looking for anything fancy, hence the sleeping bag.
Raleigh, heh, heh...actually, he's an old acquaintance. Thought you'd know him.
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rtwilli4
Jan 5, 2009, 10:05 AM
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The names and prices of places to stay tend to change a lot. If you want to hang out with climbers and live fairly cheaply, then any place in Tonsai will do. If you are not down with the conditions in Tonsai (some people aren't) as it's not the cleanest place in the world, then you can stay in Railey for around $25 bucks a night, spend way too much on food, and hang out with fat people.
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littledigits
Jan 6, 2009, 12:14 AM
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Really?! Any place? I'll be going at the end of the month. So it will be at peak season. Normally I've always gone to Thai when it wasn't so I never had a problem but will I be able to just show up and find a place? Won't I have to make reservations someplace?
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rtwilli4
Jan 6, 2009, 1:00 PM
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If you get there late in the day, the only rooms available in Railey will probably be the expensive ones. Tonsai could be the same but usually you can get a room there for a descent price, even if you get there late. If you want to make a reservation in Tonsai I would suggest the Andaman Nature Resort. Nice place. It's 700 baht a night though, which is like 20 bucks. Just make a reservation there for a night or two then you can do what you want when you get there.
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nthusiastj
Jan 6, 2009, 2:22 PM
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ABSOLUTE worst case scaenario is that you take a boat over to Ao Nang and stay a night. You should be able to stroll in anytime and find a room in Railay or Tonsai. Just head up to the first place that looks good and they will hook you up or direct you to a cheaper place. No sleeping bag.
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littledigits
Jan 7, 2009, 12:19 AM
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good info. thanx, willi. will look up the resort.
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littledigits
Jan 7, 2009, 12:22 AM
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is Ao Nang the place the train stops at and where we can catch a boat to Tonsai?
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rtwilli4
Jan 7, 2009, 10:50 AM
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The train is not a very efficient way to get to Krabi. It doesn't go to Ao Nang. You would have to get off at Surathani and then catch a bus to Krabi. If you are looking for the cheapest way to get down there, get the AE2 bus from the airport to Th Khosan for 150 baht, then book a joint ticket bus - boat to Tonsai. It will cost like 600 baht ($18) or so. The bus is overnight and leaves at 6pm. If you get to Khosan by 4 or 5 you can probably jump on the bus right away. It will get you to Tonsai the next morning. Otherwise you will have to stay at Khosan for a day but if you're looking for any cheap clothing or ANYTHING, it's not a bad place to spend an afternoon and the accomodation is cheap. I'd recommend the Wild Orchid... it's off the main road and not so loud.
If you are looking for cheap flights (and to bypass Bangkok), One Two Go Airlines is the cheapest.... and can get you from BKK to Krabi for around 2200 baht ($60). Also check airasia.com. Then you'd just get a Van or tuk tuk to the "old pier in Krabi town," next to the Grand Tower Hotel, and catch a long tail to Tonsai. If you get to Krabi town after 2 or 3 in the afternoon, you may have to pay for the entire longtail because they only go once they are full and not many people go to Tonsai in the afternoon. Even if you have to pay for the whole boat it won't be more than 15 or 20 bucks. Krabi Town is a cool place to spend a night.... they have good night markets and the best little food stall market ever! Good Dream guest house has rooms from 120 baht and free internet with the purchase of a beer. Grand Tower Hotel is also a cheap and descent place to spend the night. Spending the night in either a Khosan night bus or Krabi town will ensure that you get to Tonsai early in the morning.
Note that most of the cheap domestic flights (One Two Go, Airasia.com) leave from the OLD airport in BKK, while you will most certainly be flying into the NEW one... so you'd have to transfer airports... I've never done that but it's prolly cheap but may take an hour or more. There are carriers that fly from the NEW airport to Krabi, but they are more expensive. There are only a few flights a day and they stop in the early afternoon. Transport back to either airport from anywhere in BKK is time consuming and costs three times as much as the buses going from the airports to the city.
Sorry for the book.... hope it helps though. Shoot me an email if you need a climbing partner...
ryan.tyler.williams@gmail.com
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nthusiastj
Jan 7, 2009, 10:18 PM
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What RT said.
But stay away fromthe food stalls unless you want to shit water for a week.
Aww, nevermind. you'll probably shit water for a week anyway.
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scrapedape
Jan 7, 2009, 10:33 PM
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I ate at a few food stalls and never got sick. Just order something that's cooked up fresh in front of you.
I'd advise against buying a combo bus-boat ticket. We bought a boat-bus-boat combo from Ko Tao to Ko Phi Phi, and got the royal dick-around all along the way. Basically the various operators kept selling the contract to one another all along the way, and we got shuttled from one bus depot to another, and ended up missing our boat in Krabi. In the end it saved little if any money and cost us an extra half day in travel time. Unless you are completely hopeless, you are much better off just buying each leg as you go.
Krabi to Railay sounds like a long trip in a noisy, stinking longtail. I'd go via Ao Nang, instead.
We stayed in East Railay. It was a nice place. My wife loved it. There were few climbers around. Tonsai might be a better bet for a cheap place and more climbers.
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thej
Jan 7, 2009, 10:35 PM
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nthusiastj wrote: What RT said. But stay away fromthe food stalls unless you want to shit water for a week. Aww, nevermind. you'll probably shit water for a week anyway.
with all due respect, do not follow this advice. Eat at food stalls. Just eat where there are lines. I spent a few weeks in Thailand (just traveling, not climbing unfortunately) and did not get sick once and ate nothing but street food. In fact, I only got sick once and that was in Indonesia. Thais are not immune to bad food and water, that is why none of them drink the tap water and no food stalls stay in business that make people sick. Buy bottled water and eat at food stalls and carts. Most of those people make one dish everyday their entire life and they do it damn well.
Aside from that, depending on how quickly you can get comfortable there is a lot of money to be saved by riding local buses and trains instead of tourist. The one tourist bus we took from BKK (bangkok) heading south was more expensive and less comfortable than the local bus we took. "Sombat VIP".
In general Thailand is a straight forward place to get around and everyone is helpful, lots of English speakers. Do a little research somewhere else besides RC.com about traveling tips, etiquette and etc. There should be a ton of resources on how to get to all the climbing spots. Climbing as a tourist attraction is no secret.
Safe Travels!
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littledigits
Jan 8, 2009, 1:46 AM
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Willi: RU kidding? I appreciate the book very much. I want to spend as much time at Ton Sai as I can so I'm hoping to get there the same time I arrive in Bk meaning the plane would probably be the best choice. Just as well cuz I've been to Th Khao San. Good for cheap accoms and good food but the shopping scene is pretty grimey. Both tourists and vendors are super agressive. Saw a couple of salespeople attack a customer while she was still changing out of her clothes. Kinda put a damper on things.
Will do. Lookin forward to climb with ya.
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littledigits
Jan 8, 2009, 1:54 AM
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Ha, Ha. I think nthusiastj is having a little fun. I've travelled in SEAsia quite a bit and know that generally the food stalls are fine.
I believe he's referring specifically to Ton Sai or Railay where there has been multiple cases of food poisoning because of the bad refrigeration issues.
And don't worry about the research part. The reason I'm writing here is cuz I like to be thorough and getting a variety of perspectives is never bad.
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rtwilli4
Jan 8, 2009, 5:53 AM
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scrapedape wrote: I ate at a few food stalls and never got sick. Just order something that's cooked up fresh in front of you. I'd advise against buying a combo bus-boat ticket. We bought a boat-bus-boat combo from Ko Tao to Ko Phi Phi, and got the royal dick-around all along the way. Basically the various operators kept selling the contract to one another all along the way, and we got shuttled from one bus depot to another, and ended up missing our boat in Krabi. In the end it saved little if any money and cost us an extra half day in travel time. Unless you are completely hopeless, you are much better off just buying each leg as you go. Krabi to Railay sounds like a long trip in a noisy, stinking longtail. I'd go via Ao Nang, instead. We stayed in East Railay. It was a nice place. My wife loved it. There were few climbers around. Tonsai might be a better bet for a cheap place and more climbers.
I've done the Koh Tao - Tonsai trip both on a combo ticket and local way on my own and local is the way to go for that trip. In most cases, doing it yourself is cheaper and more fun but from Khosan, it is definately cheaper to just get a joint ticket, and the bus is not bad and you don't get the run around. The reason Koh Tao to Tonsai is so weird is because you are going from east to west instead of BKK to wherever. The companies that do the BKK to Koh Tao/Phangan/Samui trips are different than the companies that do the BKK to Krabi trips so when you intermingle, everyone treats you like cattle and is trying to make money off the other company.
The longtail from Krabi to Tonsai is not bad at all. It's only about 25 min and you get a cool view of Railey/Tonsai from the water that you don't get from Ao Nang. I've never actually done a joint ticket from BKK to Tonsai so I'm not sure where they would take you. It could be Ao Nang.
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littledigits
Jan 13, 2009, 5:58 AM
Post #19 of 20
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BTW, does anyone know if a 40 m rope is enough for most climbs at Ton Sai? If it's not I'd rather not drag the thing with me and not need it.
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DoItGetRuined
Jan 13, 2009, 6:21 PM
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Registered: Jan 13, 2009
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I would guess "yes" but do not take my word for it, as I've never been.
Great information in this thread so far, BTW.
Anyway here's a pic to get ya hyped:
Wish it were me 
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