Thailand: Railay Beach

Friday morning I awoke feeling refreshed after a long sleep. I took a taxi to the Phuket marina, and by 8:30 am had perched upon a nice, hard spot on the stern of a ferry bound for Railay Beach near Krabi town. After unloading most of the passengers at Ao Nang, we finally arrived in Railay around 10:45 am.

After stepping ashore, I immediately bypassed the expensive West Railay and headed to the mangrove forest of East Railay. I checked into my room, a large bamboo bungalow at the edge of the forest for the pricey cost of about $12 US, at Cabana Bungalows. After dumping my bags, I changed into my swimsuit and headed to the powdery white beach in West Railay. Unfortunately, I could only stand the intense heat and sunlight for about thirty minutes...saying that I was the palest body on the beach overridden with Germans and Swedes is an understatement! I then imbibed in a lovely lunch of Seafood Phad Thai before trudging back to my bungalow in the forest.

After unsuccessfully attempting to take a catnap, I allowed the pressures of a nearby climbing wall to rouse me out of bed and into my harness. I met a nice British couple who were more than happy to belay me for a couple warmup routes up the limestone wall. After climbing, I wandered down the beach and over large boulders to watch the sunset over nearby Tonsai Beach.

After taking a nice, cold shower and trying to figure out how to flush my non-flushing toilet (I later discovered the purpose of the upturned bucket and bowl in the bathroom), I sauntered down to the Diamond Cave restaurant, where I met up with my Aussie friend Andrew for dinner. After dinner, we wandered around Railay before I finally succumbed to my weariness and plopped into bed.

Of course, sleep is still not an option for me, as I was awoken bright and early to the sounds of howling monkeys and squeaking geckos. I quickly dressed, woke Andrew, and after a breakfast of toast and fruit, was once again climbing up the Diamond Cave wall. After lunch, we wandered over to the 1-2-3 Wall for more climbing. Finally, just before sunset, we packed up our harnesses and called it a day. We checked into a new room, however not a bungalow, at the Diamond Cave Resort, which at $6 is a bargain, considering we had a pool and flushing toilets. That night, we had dinner and crashed into bed.

Sunday morning was much like Saturday...breakfast and more climbing. This time, my arms were feeling the abuse from the previous day's activities, and halfway up a difficult route, I crashed down into a wall, knees first. I decided to call it a day, and Andrew and I were soon melting into chairs watching movies in a restaurant.

Last night we tried to stay out late, but by midnight I was just another statistic as I drifted into a deep sleep.

This morning, with nothing but willpower, I pulled on my swimsuit and went to the beach. I think it's nigh time I get a tan as I feel I am blinding the other tourists! After numerous dips in the crystal blue water, I walked back over to Tonsai Beach for lunch, where I met a couple climbers. While I like Railay, I am bothered by the touristy vibe it exudes, with the various topless Europeans and too-small speedos. Tonsai is much cheaper, not to mention frequented mostly by climbers. Hopefully tomorrow I can change locales and get a room there.

Oh, and true to form, so far I have managed to lose a Nalgene water bottle and my beloved MP3 player...I wish I could say that someone stole it from me, but I have a feeling it fell victim to my walking around the beach with my backpack completely unzipped...