Days 42 and 43 - Sun Dec 15 and Mon Dec 16 - (Life of) Railay

Railay is another southern Thailand stop that's hard not to love.  Just a short boat ride from Krabi, Railay (rhymes with "wryly") is not actually an island, but it's not reachable by land.  The guidebook labels Railay an "isthmus", but my instincts call it a peninsula.  It's cut off from the mainland by cliffs - there are no roads in Railay, only walking routes that are sometimes sandy, sometimes paved.  

I visited Railay around 2002 during the Chinese New Year, and I was determined to make it back again on this trip to share it with Pierre, even if just for a day.  One day is all we can afford to spend here, as it turns out, because we have to be in Phukhet for our flight on Wednesday (Day 45) morning.  I was afraid that the peninsula would be grossly overdeveloped compared to 6 or 7 years ago, but although it's definitely more developed, it hasn't been deformed by it and Railay remains small and charming. 

The beach on the east side of the peninsula where we are staying (cheaper) is not much more than a mud flat when the tide is out, but the we$t side has several gorgeous beaches which are only a short walk away from us.  On Day 42, we check out the main beach:

The next morning, we hike over to a lagoon located in the south end.  This requires a steep climb up a hill, and then a climb straight down a series of short cliffs (around 10 to 15 feet high) to the lagoon below.  The trip to the lagoon is well-worn and popular, with a series of ropes to help when going up and down, and the ropes are stained with the area's red mud, worked in by the hands of every person who works their way up and down to this:  

Along the path is yet another enormous Thai tree with roots as big and wide as boat sails, and people stop to leave a muddy hand print on its base from time to time:

A lookout lets us see the peninsula from up high - looking towards the west:

...and then down towards our side on the east:

Back at the bottom of the hill where the trail to the lagoon began, we take a left and head to Phra Nang beach, which wins our award for most beautiful and cozy beach in Thailand:

Long-tail boats line the shore, hired by tourists from other islands and towns for the day to make the trip here.  Some of them have English names painted on the sides next to their numbers, making it easier for the tourists to remember which boat is theirs.  (Personal favourites include "Rambo" and "99 Gretzsky"):

There are a few vendors walking around, selling the usual mish-mash of sarongs and beach mats, and a few of the boats double as food kiosks:

Our bungalow in Railay is not very sturdy, and to avoid losing any of our valuables, especially our camera, we carry our important stuff around with us at all times.  This makes going for a swim together difficult since we can't leave our bags alone on the beach.  On Day 43, Pierre joins the other tourists for a swim before sundown - I sit that swim out because I'm still in a foul mood from hitting the crown of my head against a low-hanging stalactite when I was quarter past hungry (low blood sugar + head trauma = time out).  But on Day 44,  we each take a turn running down to the beach while the other packs up, and we each have one last/first (Pierre/Dianna) chance to float beneath the the limestone cliffs before we run off and catch the ferry to Phukhet.

Photo credits: all P