From Phuket, we headed towards Krabi. This was a place I had wanted to visit since we arrived in Thailand and a friend said, “If you don’t go anywhere else, go to Railay Beach in Krabi.” I keep thinking that we’ve seen so many amazing places in Thailand, it can’t get any more fabulous. Well, the drive to Krabi was spectacular. The tall limestone structures were breathtaking.
Boarding the long tail boats to Railay Beach
As far as we knew, we were on our way to Railay Beach. We had read about a place to stay and put the address into David’s iPhone. We followed the directions down an unpaved road and ended up at a little Thai resort called Arawan instead. We discovered there that you can only reach Railay Beach by boat. There must have been some kind of glitch in the GPS. But it ended up a great mistake as we stayed at Arawan and met some lovely people. We were even invited to dinner by the owner, as he had some friends visiting from Federal Way in Washington and he wanted us to meet. It ends up that they own two Thai restaurants – one called Wild Orchid in Tacoma. So if you are in the Tacoma area and have a hankering for some Thai food, please check it out.
We spent a couple of days at Arawan before we headed to Railay Beach. From a pier not far from the resort, we took a long tail boat to Railay Beach. We had to walk out into the surf and then climb into the long tail boat. This was challenging for me, but I persevered and was able to board with minimal embarrassment and no popped blood vessels in my eye.
David on the West Side of Railay Beach
Railay Beach has two sides. The east side has a view of mangroves. It’s not the most beautiful sight, but it is pretty. After a short 5 minute walk through the middle of the island, you arrive at the west side. As we passed through the trees to the beach, it seriously took our breath away. Again, these huge limestone cliffs hovered overhead on the left and the right with the beach inbetween. We had lunch at a cute little café right on the beach. The beauty of Thailand overwhelmed us.
Our few days at Railay Beach were lazy and restful. We would rise late, grab some brekkies, walk to the west side to lie on the beach, read, eat, swim, read, walk the beach and eat some more. This is definitely a place that we want to revisit with Amanda and Caryn.
