~ The beauty of nature lies in its imperfections ~

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Of Sunshine, Rocks and Good Friends

Thailand never ceases to amaze.. Just look at the photo (above), it is a road side coffee shop at a petrol kiosk! In there is a full fledged expresso machine and serving cappucino, latte, and mochas as well!
Yep - this ride is all about Thailand. So we skipped Malaysia in 10 hours, next day zipped right into playful Phuket. In more ways than you can count, Phuket is a 'play'ground. Yeah, here are the guys at lunch, immediately when we arrived in Phuket.
The Catch Beach Bar is a trendy place to hang out, with a non-stop flow of trendy music, generous portions of food and also all manners of toursits as you can expect in Phuket. Rounds and rounds of Thai food, followed by rounds and rounds of massage was to prep us for the ONE day we planed to go for Rock Climbing at Krabi... We chose a business affiliate of Climb Asia, these are the good guys at Base Camp Tonsai. Mr Ip (not of Ip Man fame) took fantastic care of us, taking a short hike to Diamond Wall and then kitting us up nicely. Diamond Wall is an excellent choice for outdoor climbing, with a shaded overhanging natural rock roof, and routes ranging from 5A to 6C.... we spent the morning with Ip and found that we could really PUSH our limits :)
The return leg from Phuket to Krabi was a fantastic day. Despite the sore arms from the climb, we rode in fantastic cool weather that invigorated us. An unexpected surprise came in a random photo we took roadside... A RAINBOW!
So it is also our 10th wedding anniversary... an impromptu purchase by the beach, possibly overpriced lantern, but for that moment, it was worth EVERY penny!
Totally shattered and tired by the time we reached Hatyai, but the guys were ahead of us and had gotta a menu prepared! Fresh seafood and aromatic lemon grass!
So what do we reckon is the formula for perfect motorbiking holidays?
- 3 to 6 bikes;
- fabulous adventurous friends;
- a flat & clean bed to sleep on;
- sunny, dry days!
- healthy, good food,
- mind blowing scenery,
If only we could go on travelling forever....