Railay Beach, Part I

We liked Thailand so much that we went back again this past weekend. It was a last minute decision - we had debated all week what we wanted to do for the weekend, and finally decided on Thursday night to fly to Krabi on Friday. Without really knowing what we were getting into, we booked a hotel on Railay Beach, a little peninsula off Krabi that is surrounded by high cliffs cutting it off from the mainland and thus only accessible by boat.

Fishing boats at the marina

Karim and Come at the marina in Krabi, waiting for departure

Rather than getting the hotel boat to pick us up, we thought it would be better / cheaper to get a longtail boat to take us. It was less expensive, but we paid the price of many delays and multiple stops to pick up other passengers en route to paradise. No matter - it was tough to wipe the smiles off of our faces.

Come and Liz on the longtail boat to Railay

Of course, when you're going through the choppy waters of the Andaman Sea in a long-tail boat, you're bound to get splashed a bit. And since the child in me really wanted to sit at the front of the boat, I got soaked. Again, not enough for me to stop the grinning. I love boats.

The excitement grew as we approached Railay and saw jagged rocks and dense jungles surrounding the peninsula. Liz's favorite refrain of late has been "Is this really my life?!?" and I heard it a few times as we got closer.

Some of the cliffs separating the peninsula from the mainland

Crossing another longtail

Once we had finally arrived and settled into the hotel, we went out to the beach to have a drink and catch the sunset. This was a most beautiful scene, with bright colors and the texture of the beach at low tide creating a splendid landscape. Many photos were taken.

Liz is in a good place here.

Note the random dude doing yoga at the end of the beach

Towards the end of the evening -- after much grilled seafood, and many Chang beers and Railay Coolers (Liz's new favorite drink - pineapple juice, rum, and Cointreau) -- we decided to recreate our NYE experience and launch a few lanterns into the sky. In doing so, we met a très sympa British couple that now reside permanently in Phuket - she runs a physical therapy clinic, and he creates TV ads for music companies (including these Now! That's What I Call Music ads). Well-versed in all things Railay, they told us about a "spectacular" lookout spot and a hidden lagoon that could be reached in an hour's climb... and with that, we had plans for the next day.