Ton Sai Day 1: Home Sweet Bungalow
Ah, a day at the beach. How I love to lazily sit around, listen to some tunes, perhaps throw a ball around, and eat a good sandwich. If I happen to glisten (girls don't sweat), then I take a dip in the water to cool off. The day drifts by with naps, sun bathing, and slow strolls along the water. A normal day at the beach would've looked like this...but I'm in Thailand, remember?
Our weekend in Ton Sai started off with a boat ride over to the island. We clumsily climbed into the boat with our luggage - trying not to lose our flip flops, sunglasses or cameras and got ready for our short aquatic journey.
The ride was stunning. After a while beaches start to look like every other beach you've been to. While this reminded me of the Almalfi Coast, the cliffs weren't covered in shops, restaurants and homes. ((Joel was herre.) Sorry for that interruption, Joel was literally here...typing.) These cliffs however were left in their natural element - covered in green. Ton Sai is gorgeous. The green cliffs, the blue water, the white beaches...not to mention Joel's presence thrown into the mix. 
(the man, the myth, the legend...Sir Daniel Cliffe)
Arriving at our final destination a now what? feeling came over me. At home if you are taking a weekend beach trip you usually have your housing arrangement set up. But again...Thailand. We walked away from the beach and up to a more jungle-like area to find our lodging for the weekend. Home sweet bungalow.
Maggie and I took this opportunity to set up a photo shoot. Even though this wasn't a professional job I was used to working at Merci New York, the lighting was perfect...and hey, check out those models!
The thing that makes Ton Sai so different from the other beaches is that you don't wake up and wander down to your spot on the sand...no, no, no. You hike. We grabbed our towels and a cold beverage and started the trip over to Railay. Now thanks to Keri and Joe I've been on a few hikes, however, I'm always well equipped with sneakers. Hiking in flip flops is pretty funny and we had an interesting time getting about.
But in the end, it was worth it!
We emerged out of the jungle onto a beach where we found mother nature up to her old tricks. The rain held off long enough for us to play some beach games. The usual "Sand in the Hair" was played, along with "Let's See Who Can Be Thrown the Farthest", "Some Days Your an Owl, Some Days Your Not" and the ever-popular, "Who Gets Knocked Over by the Wave First?" 
This island had several interesting features to it. One being, The Penis Cave. This area is a shrine to fertility where people can come and pray for help in order to have a child. Maggie, obviously, got in on the action. 
At home we will stare at the clouds while we lounge of the beach, but Ton Sai has some more interesting entertainment: rock climbers! 
This environmentally conscious monkey was guarding the trash and sorting the recycling into a separate bin. Ok, ok, he was just chilling and eating other people's food. 
At night we gathered for some live music with fellow backpackers and quickly became friends with Tofi, the lead singer. 
Maggie and Dan got their turns to flex the golden pipes on stage...such a musically inclined group we have - minus myself. 
For some reason the night was like a 6th grade dance - girls on one side and boys on the other. We took necessary girls only photos. 
Meanwhile, Dan and the boys were crabbing. 
(Not a bad view for a night on the beach)
We ventured further up the beaten path and settled at another local joint. Filled with pillows (and potatoes!) I was in heaven. 
For those of you who may not know: I am not a professional photographer...clearly. We took turns playing with camera settings and while these may seem a little crazy, we still liked the lights and shadows we grabbed. 
