Hi All,
Barry (the barracuda) made it on the ferry and to Railay in one piece; well nearly, he had to be cut in half to fit in a bag! Without access to a kitchen, Ross gutted the fish on the bathroom floor then we had an almighty BBQ that evening. Although, having had no rain for two months, the heavens opened just as we had got the fire going. Ross and Sean took turns holding a banana leaf above the BBQ to protect the fire. Thankfully, it only lasted 40 minutes and we were able to get the fish on as soon as the rain had stopped. The staff from the bungalows were all keen to see and try the catch so we welcomed them to join us and share the feast as it was far too much for the three of us to manage! It was seriously delicious and worth all the effort!
We stayed on Tonsai beach, the smallest and least developed of the three beautiful beaches in Railay. By morning, the soft white sand and turquoise waters were absolutely stunning. Lying on the beach reading with the dramatic limestone cliffs behind us was pretty spectacular. But come afternoon, the tide went out so far that the shallow rocky water became a mission to cross. We found this out the hard way when we went out snorkelling/ kayaking and couldn’t get back into shore without cutting up our feet!
Railay has long been a backpacker/ climber paradise so we jumped at the opportunity to enrol on a days rock climbing course. It has got to be up there with the most physically challenging things we’ve done during our travels. The sense of achievement we felt when reaching the top of each climb was amazing; even better was the birds eye view we had of the beautiful beaches below. We all agreed that climbing real rock faces are somewhat more challenging than indoor climbing walls. Instead of the brightly coloured hand holds, we struggled to grip onto crevices in the rock and find tiny cracks to force our toes into! Watching the film 'Free Solo' afterwards made our climbing look like a toddlers play area yet we still found it seriously challenging. (The film is well worth a watch if you haven't already seen it). In the afternoon we took a break from climbing the cliffs and instead headed into the islands largest cave to rappel from the highest viewpoint in the area. In the dark we climbed our way up rickety bamboo ladders and over sketchy, loose boulders. When we reached an opening, our instructor explained how we were to be responsible for belaying ourselves down the cliff (worryingly, putting our lives in our own hands). He then proceeded to empty out the contents of his rucksack which included the expected carabiners, harnesses and 60m rope as well as a machete (apparently used for jungle trekking). As if we weren’t on edge already, we were now fearing for our lives in more than one way! The abseil down the cliff was exhilarating - an absolute highlight of our time in Thailand!
The following morning, Sean was slightly alarmed when he stepped out on his porch to find a troop of monkeys waiting for him! After navigating his way through them, we set off on a traditional long tail boat to Krabi town. We treated ourselves to full body massages to heal our aching muscles. We felt like new after the best and most professional massages we’ve had yet. To end our time with Sean, we visited another temple to conclude his cultural experience and dug into yet another feast at a street food market. Knowing it is a near impossible task when food is so cheap, Ross challenged Sean to spend £20 on his final dinner. Despite Sean's valiant effort, he had to tap out on just £8 having already eaten chicken satay, spring rolls, a minced chicken pancake, deep fried king prawns and an Oreo milkshake. For our final lunch, having recovered from the street food the night before, Sean brought us a whole roasted duck. We polished it off before waving him goodbye after a fantastic 10 days together!
Back to the two of us, we are taking some down time over the next few days in the more local town of Trang. Without the distraction of the beach, we have now caught up with blog posts and are planning our onward journey out of Thailand and into Malaysia for Ross’ Birthday.
Love R, D and S xxx
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