Southeast Asia Part V: Railay Beach, Krabi, Thailand

Thailand was nothing short of enchanting. Beautiful, intoxicating, easy on the pocket book (how old am I??). We encountered so many friendly individuals with the exception of the waiters on West Railay Beach. Almost everyone we interacted with wanted to communicate with us in English and were so helpful and welcoming.

Seriously, I had such a positive experience from the moment we arrived in Krabi. The airport was small and clean, and the toilets in the women's bathroom weren't all drop-and-squats like public restrooms in Malaysia!   We quickly caught a taxi to Ao Nang beach where we awaited a long boat to take us to Railay Beach. Yes, we stayed in an area that was only accessible by long boats!   So while we waited we got some drinks (my first coconut of the trip; Joanne got an amazing coconut soup) at the beach side restaurant that was obviously in cahoots with the longboat company. Just wait at the restaurant and we'll call you when it's time.

We immediately fell in love with Railay Beach.  Emerging from a long boat into knee deep water with all our bags and camera wasn't what I was expecting, but it felt like such an exotic thing to do, an initiation of sorts. We checked into our hotel and then Ivan and I immediately got one hour Thai massages.  I'm not going to lie. It wasn't as pleasant as I had anticipated. I had forgotten that Thai massages involve being stepped on and pulled at. I've told Clark that I've had the most painful massage and worst pedicure of my life in Thailand. But it's all good. It's all part of the experience, right? While we were getting our massages, Clark took photos of the sunset, which we were able to catch just in time. That first night we ate at a restaurant overlooking the beach on West Railay, and experienced absolute terrible service!  The waiter was sighing at us in frustration when we didn't give him our orders immediately, and then they mixed up our orders with another table.  I don't want to generalize, but the restaurant service on West Railay was terrible and definitely not the gracious service we experience elsewhere.

The following days were such a blur and passed far too quickly. We enjoyed a full day of snorkeling, crashing a wedding (well, kind of) on Tup Island, swimming in the phosphoresence at night, riding an elephant through rubber tree farms, kayaking, sun bathing and eating so soooo much good food.  I wish we could have just moved into our hotel room permanently. 

Waiting for our longboat ride and enjoying some fruity drinks.

Settling in. Very spacious, comfortable, cool and clean. Highly recommend this hotel! We actually stayed on East Railay, which is about a 5 minute walk from West Railay. So glad we stayed on this side because a nice cool breeze blows through 24/7. 

West Railay Beach.

Walking Street.

Such a gorgeous sunset to welcome us our first night.

Taken from the hotel lobby. 

Joanne and Ivan enjoying a nice lunch at the hotel.

Before heading out on our 6 hour snorkeling trip I enjoyed this Fanta on our balcony.

Leaving Railay to go swim with some fish and face my fear of getting eaten by an aquatic creature.  It's the same fear I face every time I have the opportunity to snorkel...

Unbelievable lime stone cliffs in every direction. 

A scuba diving gang.

Lots and lots of fish! 

So the interesting thing about the water is that there were little jelly fish EVERYWHERE!  I'd try to avoid them whenever I saw them, but there was no way to prevent little stings as we swam along.  At one point there was a school of fish attacking a large jellyfish and Clark gestured to me in the water, and them swam right into the jellyfish before I could even scream at him through my snorkel to stop.  It would have sounded like: OOOOOOOooooooooottttttt!! Oh, and this fair skinned boy was wise and wore a long sleeved shirt all day.  Didn't prevent the stings from penetrating but I think he can sufficiently claim that he didn't get burned on this trip.

This was our first (or was it the second?) snorkeling spot.  So happy I brought my phone on this snorkel trip. The DSLR was left safely behind in our hotel room.  

So as the day wore on, our guide asked if we wanted to stop at Tup Island, which adjoins with Chicken Island when the tide is out, where we could watch the sunset and watch bats fly out of a nearby cave as the dark set in.  Everyone on the boat was in agreement--us four plus three others.  However, as we got closer to the island, there was no way for the longboat to get close due to the receding tide.  And to make things more interesting, there was reef and rocks everywhere.  So we had to climb out of the boat roughly 150 meters away from the island and dodge reef all the way to the island. Not easy when you can't really see without glasses.  Ivan was the first off the boat.  Joanne clambered out after him, and started swimming toward shore. Moments later we heard her calling out for help.  She had somehow prostrated herself in a modified downward dog position on top of some reef and couldn't get off because it was "sharp." The guide was so pissed, she told Clark I told her not to touch the reef, tell her to get off!! Clark lackadaisically yelled at Joanne to get off, but honestly, what could we do? The guide had to help Joanne off the reef and in a matter of 10 minutes we were all safely ashore. 

As it turned out, a wedding was being set up just as we arrived!  We actually watched the wedding from a safe distance off and then set out to explore.

This is reassuring.

See how these people have to walk out to their boat? I believe our boat was the one farthest out. 

We didn't see many bats, but we got to see a fire dancer before leaving the islands! On our way back to Railay, we stopped near a limestone cliff and were allowed to get out in the water, in basically the pitch black, and swim with the phosphorescence. It was really cool, but all the while I thought something would come up and nibble on my toes.  It was a good anxiety to have because it kept me moving, which kept the phosphorescence glowing.

 So our amazing hotel had a breakfast buffet. Oh. My. Yesssssssssss! Joanne and I ate mangosteen to our hearts' content. Curry and rice, friend chicken tenders, pastries, fruit. Basically they had all the essential items for breakfast available.

On our way to Phra Nang Cave Beach.

Railay is actually world renowned for rock climbing. Lots of climbers, some who were obviously experienced and some who weren't. 

So these are the type of jellyfish we got to swim with the day before.  Hey there, little evil fella.

Ohhh man. And this is where I went a little crazy with the camera, taking photos of the same thing over and over again. Because, how can you not when you see such a beautiful sight?!

I know, I know, these all look the same.  But aren't they all incredible?! We spent the majority of the day enjoying the beach from the comfort of some shade.  The water was so nice, and I don't think I got as many jellyfish stings at this beach.

 So when the tide goes out on East Railay, tractors will transport people out to the longboats.  

In addition to macaques, we saw some of these adorable creatures eating high up in the trees! They're called langurs.  

Back at Phra Nang Beach to watch the sunset.

This fat guy was just begging any and everyone for food.

In Phra Nang cave there is a penis shrine.  You can read about the legend here.

And then Clark sat on a wooden penis.

The next day we went elephant trekking.  Unfortunately, Ivan had become sick during the night and wasn't feeling well enough to come along.  Luckily, by the time we got back to Railay he was feeling much better.

Here comes the elephant we got to ride atop, his name is Pepsi.

Joanne leading the way.

Midway through the trek our guide jumped down, took our camera and started snapping pictures like crazy. Pepsi was such a good elephant, posing for the camera like a seasoned champ.

Then the guide told me to slide down onto Pepsi's neck...

Then it was Clark's turn.

After our ride we had the opportunity to feed the elephants some pineapple.

Sharing a moment with Pepsi.

We also got to swim in a brook and take a walk through the rubber trees.  

  

 Our awesome ride back to Ao Nang beach from the elephant and rubber tree farm.

More boat photos, how could we resist?

 Turning a long boat around is no easy task.

Enjoying one of my last coconuts of the trip. I made it a goal to have at least one coconut a day in Krabi.

The next morning we climbed up to one of the cliffs so that we could check out a viewpoint of Railay.

West Railay is on the left, East Railay is on the right. 

Enjoying our last dinner on East Railay.

It was not easy to leave Railay. Our last morning was so bittersweet. We were so excited to see another part of Thailand, but I don't think anyone wanted to leave the beautiful beaches and landscape.

We miss you Railay. Hope to see you again someday. XOXO Rachel and Clark.

Whew. Only two more posts to go. This journaling thing is exhausting.