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I will remember Railay for four things:
1. The beauty of the landscape, the awesome activities, and many firsts (cliff jumping!). Railay is now one of my favourite places in Thailand.
2. Fat, balding Russians shoved like sausages into tiny speedos doing awkward photo shoots for their gorgeous wives’ cameras.
3. The place of pooping and puking. About 80 per cent of the LBW group came down with a stomach flu, myself included.
4. The peeing man. One of the LBWers drank a little too much Sangsom and in his alcohol induced delirium peed all over the floor of someone else’s room. Classy times.
Kayaking
On our first full day on Railay we took a boat to Krabi to kayak for an hour and a half. There is something incredibly surreal about kayaking through mangrove trees among narrow passages in between stunning cliffs with streaks of sunlight playing on the water and a light breeze rustling the vegetation. We saw a monkey family taking it easy on some rocks as we floated through on the calm, shallow water.
Unfortunately I have no photos because I was afraid my sub-par kayaking skills would result in me tipping the kayak and potentially losing my camera.
After we ate some watermelon and drank tea before heading back to Railay. Kayaking was definitely one of my favourite days.
Rock climbing
The next day half the group went climbing and half the group went caving. I was in the climbing group. The majority of us had never climbed on real outdoor rocks before and it was an excellent experience. We were all harnessed up and the beginners among us tried out the baby rock first before trying the more difficult climbs.
Our Thai guides were very good about directing us to the best nooks and crannies to use as hand and foot holds. It seemed like they were born climbing because they would demonstrate the climbs without shoes and often unharnessed. It was also cool to watch other really experienced climbers scale sheer rocks at crazy angles without much equipment, spider-man style. It made me want to become a dedicated rock climber.
Overall, climbing was very rewarding because the guides would push everyone to keep trying even when going any higher felt impossible, so reaching the top created a definite sense of accomplishment.
Caving
On our second last day in Railay the rest of the group went caving. This was another first for me. Reaching the viewpoint through the caves took about 20 minutes, and as is every view in Thailand it was picture perfect.
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This activity is probably not for people who are afraid of heights, claustrophobic or afraid of the dark, as it involves all three elements at once.
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On our last night in Railay we had the option of doing a sunset cruise with an all you can eat buffet and the opportunity to swim with the bio luminescence. Sadly I missed out on this because I was confined to my bed and the bathroom. The LBWers that did go said it was a really cool experience.
Next: Koh Phi Phi
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
