Goodbye Thailand, it has been grand.

And just like that our vacation is over.  We hopped on a boat then took a van to Phuket airport.  From there it was Phuket>Bangkok>Singapore>Sydney.  24 hours of travel and we're still trying to hold onto the vacation high!  

Railay Beach, we love you!

We started our day with the free brekkie at the hotel and this was our amazing view.  I of course ate something weird every morning for brekkie like curry.  Who eats curry for breakfast??

We explored a bit more, booked a boat tour for the afternoon/night and then rented kayaks to paddle around in.  We of course stocked our boat with beers then headed out to sea!

The water is Railay is pretty amazing.  Clear and green and warm like bath water.  The best part about the area is the dramatic rock formations and cliffs.  Eye candy!

We then anchored on our "private island" which was basically a rock in the middle of the sea.  Cracked open a Singha and chilled out for a bit.  We met a couple of Brits and chatted with them for a bit.  People on vacation are always so friendly!

 

As we were kayaking back to our hotel, we heard someone call, "Ryan/Sara!".  And guess who it was?  Our good friend Jesse Kipp from San Francisco!  We were planning to meet but didn't set up a day/time so it was amazing when we just "bumped" into each other.  It was great to see an old friend and we spent the rest of our days in Railay together.

The boat tour managed to squeeze Jesse in and we were off for an afternoon of snorkeling and fun.  We saw giant sea urchins (wana), sea anemones with little Nemo's, stick fish, parrot fish and lots of other cool stuff.  My favorite thing was spotting a black tipped reef shark.  EEEK!  We then camped out at Chicken Island for dinner and saw the most amazing orange moon.  The last thing on the agenda was swimming in bioluminescence.  I've never seen such a thing and was delighted when I dove into the black water and saw that everything that moved looked like it was on fire!

Although exhausted, we made it to (a second) dinner, then to the east side to Skunk Bar 2 for some beers and boardgames.

The next day, we straight chilled.  This was our "local".  Great food and cold beers.

We decided that there was no better way to spend our last full day in Thailand than to drink beers while immersed in the ocean.  So, we got a few large Chang beers and floated around all afternoon.

While we were relaxing, we found that there were hundreds of little hermit crabs in the water, right under the top layer of sand.  So we collected them and made a makeshift aquarium with our beer bottles.  We of course released them shortly thereafter:).

 

After the beach, we took a dip in the pool.  FYI, Ryan isn't supposed to be swimming in that part!

The day ended with another glorious sunset.

That night, we lit our lanterns and released them into the night with a wish.  They are a lot harder to light then they look!  

Sawadee Kah, Railay Beach!

We left Khao Lak and took a 2 hour drive south east to Railay Beach.  To get there, you need to go to the town of Ao Nang and take a longtail boat to the beach.  It cost about 100 baht each for the boat ride and takes 15 minutes.  One thing to note, there are not boat docks.  You basically need to wade in the water, throw your things on board and hop in!  An experience indeed.  We definitely recommend a trip to Railay as the scenery was amazing!

Me and Ryan waiting for our boat.  

This is a longtail boat, a very typical mode of water transportation.

We arrived at our hotel, the Railay Village Resort and had our own little cabana.  It rustic, nice and comfortable.

The first thing we did was explore the area.  We were staying on the west side which was nicer with gorgeous beaches.  The east side is the backpackers side and doesn't really have a beach.  But the nightlife there is kicking!  Here's a chef carving a piece of fruit.

In the middle of the two sides is Phra Nang which was voted one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world.  Also found here is a shrine dedicated to the spirit of the drowned princess who gave the beach her name.  It's known for the carved phalluses donated by fishermen seeking her favor.   

We had a quick bite at the only bar on the beach.  Delicious fried shrimp and fresh spring rolls.

We ended the night on mats in front of the walking street on the west side, watching the amazing sunset.  The sunset in Railay was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen!