The Sweet Smell of Plumeria!

To get to the Andaman Sea from the Gulf of Thailand, we had to cross back over the mainland, and since we were headed in that direction, we chose to stop for a night in Phuket. We weren't very impressed, but to be fair we only stayed one night in Phuket Town, which is known to be pretty dull. Regardless, we left the next morning for Railay, in Krabi Province. We had only heard about it a week beforehand, but it was supposed to be nice, so we figured we would give it a shot. What a shot it was! Haven't heard of Railay? To use the defining phrase of the modern generation, "Google it."

The boat we took was probably the nicest one we have been on yet. (It's the big one.)


Arriving in Railay is something we will never forget. The scene is absolutely stunning.

Centered on beach


Left side


Right side


Down the beach


Panorama


For the record, I am writing this on Monday, March 7, 2011, and Julian has broken/lost six pairs of sunglasses while on this trip. Mattie is on her second...

When we arrived we were greeted by yet another spectacular beach and a beautiful day. After finding a place to rest our heads, we went out to the beach to enjoy all that sunshine! We learned that around 3pm everyday, the island is graced by a brief but very welcome rain shower. This really helps with the heat since the sun here is sooooo hot. We've never experienced the sun's heat quite like this! By the time the rain comes, it's a nice way to cool off and rinse the saltwater off of your body, which is quite refreshing.

The next day is our 2 month wedding anniversary and Julian sneaks out of the room early to surprise Mattie with a nice hotel for the next day at a place called Railay Bay Resort. It stretched all the way from sunrise beach to sunset beach(the beaches are back to back). More about this picture later.


We actually had our own little house with walls around it and a garden with an outdoor shower and jacuzzi!


The resort pool sits right up against the beach, so we quickly snagged some prime real estate and spent the entire morning lounging.


For lunch we ventured up the mountain a little bit to catch the views. If you look really closely you can see some climbers in this pic. Railay, along with the entire Krabi region, is known for having world class climbing because of all of the karst formations.


This is the lunch spot from where the above picture was taken.


The bays here are very shallow, so when the tides go in and out, it is quite a drastic change.





There is a third beach on the south side of the island where there is a super luxury resort with room rates starting at more than we have spent on our entire trip. This resort has a monopoly on the best beach on the island, but if you are sneaky you can still go hang out there because it's public. We imagined a perfect beach with only a few people on it since it's kind of hidden and out of the way...well, that's what we were hoping for, anyway. I think the whole island was there when we arrived. Luckily, that didn't subtract from the beauty of it. Nothing could. As you walk along the path towards it, you are walking under these huge rock overhangs which are dangling impossibly above you by what seems like only a thread.








Then, once you hit sand, it opens up to this.


(Those people by the tree on the left side of the above photo are rock climbing)

Looking up from the beach is dizzying. The rock seems to be flowing down off of the formation like dripping icicles, only much, much slower!


Further down the beach


And in both directions





This beach had quite a billing to live up to, as we had read it described to be 'one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.' It did not disappoint us. And, as such, what else would you expect when looking offshore, but plenty of islands in the distance(swimming or kayaking required).


Needless to say, spending a day at this beach was a wonderful experience.

The next morning, Julian woke up early, again, and went for a little hike up a muddy mountain. His swimsuit is still stained red from the mud, and it is now the new official hardest hike of our trip. This photo was the easiest part of the hike.


Of course, the reason for climbing it was to reach a viewpoint, from which he took the previous picture that showed both beaches back to back. Later on, his hard work was rewarded by a nice breakfast buffet at our hotel before we took off for Ko Phi Phi in our own Longtail boat!








Miscellaneous fun pics












































- Mulian

Location:Railay, Thailand