Perks on Earth

Having reunited with Ralph and now a band of three, we took a bus from Phuket to Krabi, a province in the south of Thailand. In Ao Nang we were greeted by bustling streets and cheery street vendors, committed to selling us Thailand’s best suits, dresses, bags, food and more. We stayed in ‘Fiesta hostel’, a newly renovated hostel above a Mexican restaurant which offered great live music every night. The hostel was perfect and with the beach right on it’s front doorstep, definitely a recommendation- especially for 6 euro a night! We had planned to recruit members to fill a private long boat for the following day, but after failing to haggle ourselves one cheaper, we headed out for some beers with newfound friends- where I sampled the best mojito I think I’ve ever had… and I love a mojito. Waking up the next morning to thundery rain, we rallied troops and headed to Railay beach.

The boat trip to Railay itself is simply stunning, the jagged rock formations and dramatic cliffs jutting gracefully into the sea. Jumping off the longboat into shallow waters, I knew we were in for a treat. Railay beach itself is beautiful, and the misty rain gave us a unique chance to see it without the usual tourist crowds hunting down that perfect picture. The narrow streets are full of laid-back lazy aura, free spiritedness, and an overall chilled atmosphere. We spent the first hour wandering the streets and beaches, stopping when we got to the end of the walkway to sit on bean bags and sample some AMAZING tofu tempura at the chef’s recommendation, all the while overlooking the dramatic beach and cliffs ahead.

Ralph had done his research and we set off towards a famous lagoon located on the headland. En route we passed Railays most popular rock climbing spot, stopping to admire the bodies scaling the high rocks, noting to myself my fear of heights would definitely prevent me from attempting such a feat! Seeing the first small wooden sign with ‘lagoon and viewpoint’ written, we looked up the steep rockface leading into the jungle ahead and thought- why not. Using ropes which were tied between trees we started to navigate our way up, slowly and sweatyly making progress. Though I had reservations at the thought of scaling steep rock in the middle of an unknown jungle, I quickly embraced the adventure, and was for sure rewarded for it. Reaching the top, we veered left and found the viewpoint, gazing over Railay beach and onto the horizon as blue skies teased their presence behind the clouds. With promises of lagoons in our minds, we continued through the growth and were faced with a steep descent, angling our way down around tree roots and rock, and even through a cave opening- which I very nearly slipped off but I managed to continue my way down. Slightly tense and more than slightly sweating, we glimpsed water ahead. Though not the lagoon we had seen photos of or expected, a beautiful scene spread out before us, grey water reflecting the sky above as it peeped through the scaling cliffs around. By this stage, we were all absolutely covered in red clay mud, caked from our shoes all the way up to our sweaty faces. Trying our best to clean ourselves up, we redressed into our muddy clothes and headed for home before the sun sank and we were left in the jungle (although, I was thinking to myself that being stuck four of us in this bliss wouldn’t be too bad!). The way home was just as steep and just as slippy, and the lagoon bath was really not necessary- as two minutes into the journey we were once again red, head to toe.

Reaching the path we were greeted by bewildered onlookers, wide smiles on our own faces- wow, that was pretty cool. Straight into the Andaman ocean, we finally ridded ourselves of the thick mud and swam as the sun sank, what an amazing day, in an amazing place.

Adventures like today’s are what I love about the freedom of travel, no planning or idea could have allowed us to scale rock faces and find a seemingly untouched lagoon, and our lack of knowledge as to what we should expect, made it more real to witness. The beaches and sea of Railay are high on my list of favourites, and I will be sending everyone I meet to this little sliver of heaven, and if they are up for some hard-earned surprises, up the rocks and into the jungle with them – it is worth it!