After the
hustle and bustle of Phuket and a few days diving (read my blog post here), we had a few days of lazy chilling in Railey, a
secluded bay in the province of Krabi in the West coast of Thailand. Unfortunately
for us, we were quite ill towards the end of the trip, but thankfully we had a
lovely hotel, The Railey Pricess Resortand Spa, to mong in and feel sorry for ourselves.
|
arriving to Railey |
Travelling
from Phuket to Railey is not too difficult – it involves a mini bus from the
main bus depo from Phuket to Krabi (about 500 baht, £10), then a taxi to the
pier, where you’ll have to catch the famous long tail boats with their coloured
clothes tied at the front, much used and loved throughout Thailand to Railey.
Depending on the tide, the sea will predict what pier you go from, for us it
was Nammao pier.
|
the longtail boats |
I didn’t
find the journey too bad but if you asked the Boy and my friend’s boyfriend (both over 6 foot), I
guess you’ll get a different answer. If you’re tall, likelihood is you are
going to be uncomfortable when travelling in Thailand – the people are small
and they like to take everything and their kitchen sink with them on journeys
(I have seen chickens as ‘hand luggage’) so what space there was is gone. As my
freaked out friend describes it, we were in a “coffin” on wheels. We were also
particularly unlucky that that day was a choppy sea, meaning that the longtail
boat was up an down more times that Jordan’s knickers, splashing the mini waves
into the boat, our faces and on to our luggage. We arrived absolutely soaked and
never so grateful to discover that our hotel was opposite a pier. Good choice of hotel.
|
the dramatic coast line of Railey |
|
jagged rocks hug Railey beaches |
Railey
(there is an east and west side, separated by a 5 min walk) is a small bay with
a tiny collection of nice hotels, shack like restaurants, mini marts and bars
that close when the last person leaves. If you are looking for a touch of calm
in the madness of Thailand, this could well be the place for you. As we were
there in the height of monsoon, the weather was a tad overcast, rained on occasion
and didn’t offer the glorious blue skies that we assume but it was still hot
enough to don a bikini and for the Boy to get a classic dodgy sunburn and Steph to get a
touch of sunstroke.
|
the infinity pool |
Whilst a
sleepy little bay, there is actually quite a lot to do to keep you occupied,
that is just a stone’s throw away on the longtail boat. Unfortunately, being
ill and confined to the hotel meant that I missed out on most activities but
you can take one day ferry trips to nearby islands such as Phi Phi and Hong
island, try out rafting, and go quad biking, etc. The beaches are small but a beach none the less to chill on.
|
enjoying the sun |
|
the beach |
The only activity I managed
on our 4 night stay was rock climbing, which was brilliant! Hard work but so much fun! Krabi is renowned
for rock climbing so can cater for any ability. An afternoon of clinging to a
rock cost us 800 baht (about £15) and a serious amount of sweat. I forgot to get
changed and ended up doing it in white and pink denim hot pants and a white boob tube, but I
would advise something more loose fitting and of a darker shade!
|
made it to the top! |
We stayed at
the Railey Princess resort and spa which for £25 per night per couple was
amazing – infinity pool, helpful and friendly staff, large rooms and set
in lush green grounds. There are plenty of restaurants to chose from, most are on the beach front but there are some set off the paths. The menu's are all pretty similar and you'll find they all kind of run into each other, so I don't have any specific recommendations.
|
Pad Thai - a classic |
|
deep fried icecream! seriously! |
|
turns out this was NOT chicken?!? |
If you are looking for remote, peaceful and easy then Railey offers pretty scenery and a chilled vibe.
X x X
No comments:
Post a Comment