Day 21 - Packed Railay

We were originally planning on spending a few nights at Railay beach (said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Thailand) but we had also heard that it was expensive so instead we decided to just take a day trip there. We walked down to the dock to catch a long tail boat to Railay and passed the shop that we dropped our laundry off at the previous day and saw all our delicates drying on scooters parked out front. It was the cheapest in the area so we should have expected this! We also decided to pop into 7-11 (you are never more than a 100 metres from one of these in Thailand) and bought an ice coffee. Within minutes we were doubled over with stomach cramps - not a great way to start the day and no more cofica for us.

We eventually were on our way to Railay, a 40 minute trip. When we arrived and walked to the beach we were not dissapointed. It is a beautiful sickle shaped beach with cliffs on either side and clear turquiose water. We were their fairly early and with all things popular in Thailand, there were already quite a few people on the beach.

We wasted no time in going for a quick swim and then settling down to do some people watching and reading. It was a really hot day and the sun is fierce in this part of the world but Luisa insisted on lying right under it's rays with no sun screen on. It's always funny to see the goings on around you on the beach and I find our northern hemisphere friends particularly amusing. Firstly they will arrive on the beach dressed decently in board shorts and quickly take them off to reveal the tightest smallest speedo available or the alternative (for the more conservative european) is a pair of hot pants. They are also obsessed with turning their pale white skins into any other colour. This could mean a bronze but more often than not it's a bright pink. On this day in particular I watched a man with scandinavian features (pale white skin and blond hair) under go the transformation to the bright pink look.

After doing some people watching I decided to go for a walk to look for a path to the next beach. Eventually I found it but then saw rock climbers coming down with ropes around their shoulders so decided to give it a miss. Later on in the day about 200 school kids decended on the already packed beach for a field trip. It was madness! We left Railay shortly after when our stomachs started grumbling and we saw the price of food in the restaraunts.

Back in Krabi we started planning our trip to Koh Phangan. We discovered that our visit would coincide with the full moon party. This was convenient but it also meant that the accommodation was filling up really quickly. After our 6th or 7th "sorry we have no room" we eventually found a place! So it's off to the east coast tomorrow.

Phil