Spectacular scenery, iconic limestone crags of monolithic proportions rising out of the Andaman Sea – that’s Railay.
When I arrived by longtail boat, I checked into my hotel and took a walkabout to stretch my legs after the taxi (half hour), ferry (2hr), bus (2 hr) minivan (half hour with1 hr delay) and longtail boat ride (20 minute) – phew!
Actually, it wasn’t bad at all. It’s extremely easy to get around in Thailand. My full day of travel was coordinated by 1 agency for $33. Travel agencies are almost as ubiquitous as 7-Eleven’s here. Tip: It can be worthwhile to check with different agencies if you are looking for a specific itinerary and time. Some offer more choices than others.
I’ve been touring up and down Thailand for 3 weeks and the only wild things I’ve seen so far are some unruly Americans and Australians, feral cats, bats and myna birds. Accessible only by water, this tiny peninsula is literally crawling with wild things. And I’m not just talking about the rock climbers who flock here from around the world. Here there are macaques running amok, water monitors skulking about, squirrels flying overhead, and apparently some dusky langors in hiding too. You just follow the boardwalk from the pier in East Railay and head for West Railay Beach. When you make that right, you are in what I call monkey alley.
Tip: Pay close attention to your belongings (monkey’s steal) and keep an eye out for movement on the rocks. Monitor lizards blend in well, but you can detect them with a keen eye. They are a bit noisy going over brush, tree limbs or leaves so keep your ears open too.
Awesome, right? I know! And all within the first 20 minutes of my arrival. Next to a conspicuous “Danger” sign was a rope climb / hike to a vista point that beckoned to me. I’m a wee bit leery of heights and hence not the biggest fan of rock climbing though I’ve done it before. This looked a bit sketchy…To be continued…
On the Loose Live 
Railay is my favourite too. and I loved the water monitor post!!!!!
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Wish I had had more time to check out Krabi – have a feeling there’s lots of spectacular scenery around there. Thanks, that’s my first water monitor encounter and he was a big one!
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I see that monitor! Goosebumps!!! Krabi is so big, I know my manager from work visited the place and spent good 10 days with his family that includes 2 kids. Will do that someday.
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