Posts tagged Railay

Part 5: Railay

Hi Diddly Ho!

The blog is finally up and running, which has been quite a bit of work. But now you can check here for updates, rather than waiting for novels to come thorough to you via email. After this post we’ll try to make them shorter. We hope you enjoy!

Sunday afternoon our ferry arrived in the shallow (which is all relative, when it comes to how tall you are) waters of Railay, and we transferred to a long boat to get to shore. Daniel put his backpack on and hopped off the boat landing shin deep in the water. I tried to do the same, but wasn’t so skilled with my balance and found myself teetering back and forth a good five times, almost falling backwards onto the boat. The guys driving the boat were having a good laugh at my attempted “dismount” until I eventually plunged myself (thigh deep) into the water.

Our first view of Railay from the ferry (we happen to be in it).  Please excuse GoPro clarity.
Our first view of Railay from the ferry (we happen to be in it). Please excuse GoPro clarity.

Railay is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen; it is completely unique unto itself with its massive limestone crags jutting about every which way.

A pristine beach view.
A pristine beach view.

Daniel and I spotted a man from our hotel, who took us on a three-minute walk to find our accommodation. From the moment we set eyes on the place we realized we’d finally booked a good one! The Bhu Nga Thani was truly a sight for sore eyes after fiascos at places like the Royal Shithole, the Royal Ripoff, and Pardon A Decrepit Accommodation. We checked in at the counter with a man who introduced himself as Little Max (I suppose he thinks many of us American’s use our rap names when we first meet). We had some purple lemonade (somehow related to a bougainvillea flower) and went up to our room.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around exploring the hotel and its immediate surroundings before going to dinner at a place called Mom’s Kitchen—pretty decent pad Thai and great coconut curry. We met a couple from London who had been traveling for two weeks—they recommended some places for us to go during our travels. After dinner we wandered down a narrow pathway along the water until we passed the accommodation Daniel had stayed at when he was last here seven years ago. Excited to show me where he had spent his formative years, Daniel and I ascended 67 steps and arrived at a hippie bungalow style hotelish place, needless to say, I’m very pleased I wasn’t here seven years ago. Satisfied with his trip down memory lane, we climbed down and walked back to our hotel to go to sleep.

Daniel's trip down memory lane—the place he stayed 7 years ago.
Daniel’s trip down memory lane—the place he stayed 7 years ago.

Monday morning we woke up, ate breakfast and went to the pool. In the afternoon we headed over to Railay East beach to check out Phra Nang Cave aka Princess Cave aka Phallus Shine aka Dick Mecca for Dayz (we may have made that last one up). Legend has it that in the 3rd century BC, a royal barge carrying an Indian princess sank here during a storm. They say the spirit of the princess came to inhabit the cave, grating favors to all who came to pay respect so long as they brought artfully carved wooden phalluses with them. While neither of us brought wooden dick offerings, it was definitely a spectacle worth seeing.

Located at the southern end of Phra Nang beach is a cave known as Phra Nang Cave aka Princess Cave aka Phallus Shine. With beautiful limestone stalactites this cave is better know for its legends and ornate phallus offerings rather than its natural formations. Legend has it that in the 3rd century BC a royal barge carrying an Indian princess sank in a storm here. The spirit of  princess came to inhabit the cave, granting favours to all who came to pay respect so long as they offered beautifully carved wooden dicks.
Located at the southern end of Phra Nang beach is a cave known as Phra Nang Cave aka Princess Cave aka Phallus Shine. With beautiful limestone stalactites this cave is better know for its legends and ornate phallus offerings rather than its natural formations. Legend has it that in the 3rd century BC a royal barge carrying an Indian princess sank in a storm here. The spirit of princess came to inhabit the cave, granting favours to all who came to pay respect so long as they offered beautifully carved wooden dicks.
"Dick Pic"–for "luck and posterity" as they say here in Dicks for Dayz Cave
“Dick Pic”–for “luck and posterity” as they say here in Dicks for Dayz Cave

After checking out the dick shrine, we walked in beautiful white sand down the crescent-shaped beach. We bought lunch from one of the floating boat restaurants to eat on the sand so we could watch the rock climbers scaling the amazing rock formations that surrounded us. After some time on the beach we went back to the hotel pool and hung out until sunset.

East Railay Beach—with a side of tropical pineapple fries. These outfits are what I got us for Valentine's Day.
East Railay Beach—with a side of tropical pineapple fries. These outfits are what I got us for Valentine’s Day.
Floating lunch boats and a french fry.
Floating lunch boat and a french fry.

We watched the sunset from Railay West beach. It was the most spectacular sunsets I’ve seen in a while (and we’ve seen quite a few since we’ve been here). My dad would have gone crazy for it, so in his honor we took a bunch of photos as well as a time-lapse video of the sun slowly sinking down below the horizon line. Then we had dinner on the beach before heading back to the hotel.

"Jumping Jaxy"—from the beaches of Railay where some of the Japanese tourists are starting to catch onto the #JumpingJaxy trend.
“Jumping Jaxy”—from the beaches of Railay where some of the Japanese tourists are starting to catch onto the #JumpingJaxy trend.
Us in our tropical sunset costumes.
Us in our tropical sunset costumes.

Post sunset chills on the beach looking at the beach walk behind us.
Post sunset chills on the beach looking at the beach walk behind us.

Tuesday we went back to East Railay beach to go kayaking. We rented the kayak for two hours for 350 Baht ($10.75), and started to paddle out around the amazing rock formations and underwater caves. It was absolutely spectacular, aside from realizing there were multitentacled box jellyfish directly underneath us (the most dangerous kind) and almost being run over by a long boat speeding through the water until he heard us screaming in panic (he must have missed us by 2 feet). We had a bit of a scare, but it all worked out.

Relaxing on our kayak in the middle of the ocean before a long boat almost ran over us.
Relaxing on our kayak in the middle of the ocean before a long boat almost ran us over.

What do they got? - A lot of sand. We got a hot crustacean band.- Each little clam here, know how to jam here. Under the sea.
What do they got? – A lot of sand. We got a hot crustacean band.- Each little clam here, know how to jam here. Under the sea.

As we walked down a narrow pathway to another side of the island for lunch, we spotted about 11 monkeys hanging out on a fence. It kind of insane how much they look and behave like humans when you watch them for long enough—aside from the picking bugs out of each others fur and eating it aspect. After a while, one idiot man approached them and started to pet the monkey. It went from sweet to ferocious in about 30 seconds, which is when Daniel and I decided to hightail it to lunch.

We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging at the pool, setting up this blog, and prepping for another sunset at Railay West beach. The beach, during the sunset, kind of feels like San Francisco’s Dolores Park in that everyone brings beverages, snacks, blankets/beach matts, music, and entertainment; it’s a magical place to be, and once again, the sunset did not disappoint. Deliriously happy we went for dinner and ran into our friends Juilan and Margarit (from France—who we met on Ko Lanta). They told us they knew we were here because they could see me doing a “Jumping Jaxy” on the beach during the sunset the night before. So funny.

Sunset Selfie Stick Shot.
Sunset Selfie Stick Shot.
Sunset on Railay West beach.
Sunset on Railay West beach.

When we woke up this morning it was HOT outside, so we decided to spend the entire day chilling at the pool. At six we left the hotel to go to Railay West beach to watch the sunset. Then we went for dinner at the Railay Princess hotel—delicious Pad Thai and grilled snapper. Daniel acquired a cat friend who meowed under the table the entire meal until we finally caved and give him some fish. Railay must have previously had some type of good luck associated with cats—before the obsession with wooden dicks—because the place is crawling with them and for some reason none of them have full length tails. Now we’re getting ready to go to bed.

All in all, it was another awesome night in Railay. This place is amazing!

That’s all for meow.

XoxOox (big kiss, little hug, little kiss, big hug, little hug, little kiss)

 

P.S. We both just finished our books and are looking for some fun, light beach reading recommendations. Please provide any suggestions you may have in the comments. The more the better!