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Last Day in Railay
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Last Day in Railay
Thankfully, we decided to stay one more day in Railay. I'm so glad we did because today we found the nicest beach I have seen to date. We set off in the morning to find the much talked about lagoon in the middle of the island. After scrambling up a pretty vertical rockface (with nothing other than a rope that had been tied to a tree to help us), we found a pretty lookout providing spectacular views of both Hat Rai Leh East and West. From there, we found the lagoon, tucked away, at the bottom of three separate 10 foot cliffs. It was an interesting climb down, but we made it with little other than some muddy shorts and hands. The lagoon was a quiet haven surrounded by green trees and ferns but didn't have water deep enough to swim in. After hiking back up the 3 rock faces to make it to even ground, we had to scramble cautiously down the vertical face we had originally climbed up. Back on the "main road" (a small dirt path that linked Hat Rai Leh East and West), we made our way past some really cool stalactites to the southern tip of Railay. Here, we found Hat Than Phra Nang, the most beautiful (and quiet!) beach. With only one resort on it, it has yet to have succumbed to hoards of tourists. The km long beach with glistening aqua marine water was enclosed by sheer limestone cliffs that dropped off into the ocean. Our view from the cove was a couple of lushly green islands and the occasional long tail boat drifting by. Luckily, we had worn our bathing suits to the lagoon, so we stripped off the muddy shorts and t-shirts and jumped in! The water was awesome and we hadn't been in for longer than two minutes before we noticed a small cliff that looked as though it might be just right for jumping off. I was in the process of asking Tim whether or not he thought I could swim over to the rocks, climb up them and then jump in without killing myself when we heard a large splash and noticed that someone else had beaten us to the punch. The jumper surfaced quickly and unscathed after his plunge, so, naturally, we swam over to give it a try ourselves. I have to admit that jumping off a rocky cliff, although sounding slightly crazy, is something I've always wanted to do! Although, after climbing out of the water, over some pretty sharp rocks and to the edge of the ledge, it looked an awful lot higher up than it did from down below! But, we had climbed all the way up, so I launched into the water! It was awesome and after finally getting Tim to jump in, we both did it again!
After baking in the sun for most of the day, we stopped at an interesting shrine in a small cave at the end of the beach before returning to our room. Although we had read about the shrine, it was much more "intriguing" in person and Tim was having trouble controlling his laughter. As it turns out, the local fishermen overwhelm this cave, which is thought, coincidentally, to be inhabited by a female ghost/goddess, with offerings. It is thought that through these offerings, the ghost will grant them bountiful catches and good luck. Turns out, every single offering in the place is a penis. Yup, dildos of all sizes and shapes adorn this wacky cave. That being said, we have some funny pictures!
From the phallic fortress we went to our room, got ready for dinner and headed yet again to our favorite spot that just kept turning out great food. At Viewpoint, we ate another yummy meal and then went across the street to buy our ticket out of Railay.
Next stop: Bangkok!
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