Adventure Chronicles™

05.09.01 - Living in Paradise
Krabi, Thailand - Railay Beach

We've spent the last week on the beaches of Krabi, in the south of Thailand. We had planned to spend more time on Koh Tao, but were driven out by monsoon-like rain. Our bungalow on Tanote Bay was fabulous, but a little soggy after three days straight of pouring rain. But, when the rain let up for a few minutes here and there, we did manage to do some great snorkeling. In Rocky Bay, we spent several hours pouring over a shallow coral reef and even saw several black-tipped reef sharks (ranging from 4-6 feet long). We had been told they were easy to spot, but were not expecting them to show up in only 4 feet of water! They didn't pay much attention to us, so we were free to float on the surface and watch them hunt for fish. Jay commented later that he felt "a little intimidated" when he first saw them. I guess that is the closest a guy like him will ever come to admitting he was afraid. Hee, hee. The fish were incredible too. I must have seen more than a hundred new varieties, most in stunning colors.

The snorkeling in Tanote was even better, although a little cloudy from all the rain. We swam through some beautiful coral gardens, with the most amazing blues, purples, oranges and reds. The marine life here is so enchanting, I never get tired of it. You put your head in the water and get a front row seat to a whole other world.

Due to the rain, we decided to head south in search of the sun, so made our way to Krabi on the first of May. We stayed in Krabi town for two nights - just long enough to catch up on laundry and email before heading to the beach. There are several beaches in the Krabi area, but we opted for Railay, which can only be reached by boat.

I'd been looking for the perfect beach to just relax on, and I found it. All the beaches in Thailand have been great, but the south beaches definitely have there own flair. Large stone and limestone cliffs, caves, white sand that feels like baby powder, and crystal-clear water that is refreshingly cool. We met up with Baron and Andrea (the New Yorkers) after we arrived and enjoyed catching up over dinner. The next day, we all made the short walk to Phang Ngan beach for swimming, sun and snorkeling. There wasn't much to see in the way of snorkeling, but the beach was on a bay lined with large cliffs and caves. Really stunning. On our way back to Railay Beach (where we were staying), Jay and Baron decided to hike to a hidden lagoon we had heard about. When Andrea and I saw that it was a vertical climb up, and then down a rope, we opted out. The guys thought the lagoon was a little over-rated, but said the rainforest-like scenery on the way was impressive.

The next day, we joined four other people for an all day snorkel trip. We visited Poda, Si and Chicken Island (which has a rock formation that looks like a turkey). We found coral gardens, more new tropical fish, a small octopus and a school of squid. The view as we traveled from island to island was amazing. Jay realized it was May 5th, and therefore Cinco de Mayo, so the whole group met later to celebrate. We didn't find anything close to Mexican food, but did enjoy a long dinner and lots of laughs. Meeting other travellers is one of the great things about this trip. Although you only spend a short time together, it is fun to swap stories.

Baron and Andrea left the next morning, and we had to decide if we wanted to hop over to the Phi Phi Islands or stay put where we were. I was so content on Railay that we opted for the latter. I'm a little sorry that we didn't see Phi Phi, which everyone raves about, but I really wanted to hang out and just relax for a while. I also needed to work on my tan, which is coming along quite nicely.

We took it easy for the past few days, just laying on the beach and relaxing. Something about this particular beach just mellowed me out. If only I could take whatever it was home with me! We did get ambitious one afternoon and rented a kayak to explore some of the caves up close, which was fun. We also visited Diamond Cave on foot. Huge caverns with rock and mineral formations millions of years old. The bats flying overhead where a nice touch too. Just enough to make the dark really creepy.

A sidenote - one of the best things about travelling has been having the time to read again. I've been flying through books during the whole trip, and have some great novels to recommend to anyone who's interested. I find that reading stimulates my mind and improves my perspective on life in general.

Want to contact Jay and Lisa?

william.gibson@airtreks.com