January 12, 2007 Railay, Thailand

January 12, 2007
Railay, Thailand

Paul and I got up a little before 8:00 and chilled out for a bit. I read while he smoked a few cigarettes. After a bit we realized that Lisa and Matt probably wouldn’t be getting up for a while. Thus, we went wandering around the beach.

After wandering up and down the beach we decided to check if the Ya-Ya Resort (all the places here are called resorts, even though they aren’t what I think of as resorts) had any cheap rooms. The receptionist informed us that they had 7 open rooms for 700 baht each (the cheapest place we have found so far). We booked three rooms because Paul had a lady friend coming to visit…This meant that I had a room to myself but also that I had to pay 700 baht (almost $20)!

Once we were moved into our new rooms we sat down at the resorts restaurant and had some breakfast. When I finished my chocolate banana pancake I headed back to my room and prepared for the day.

At 11:45 I headed down to see if any of the others were ready to go. They weren’t. I decided to head off on my own. I set out in search of a hike to a lagoon (which Lisa described as the most difficult hike she has ever done and recommended that I get a guide to take me). Eventually I found the trailhead. The only reason I found it was that I saw ropes hanging down from the rocks…Not wanting to wait around for a guide I decided to head up on my own.

The first part of the hike was quite steep. I used the guide ropes and took off my sandals because they kept falling off. About fifteen minutes later I reached the top and the trail split in two. I went left and the path lead to a viewpoint overlooking the entire beach. It was very beautiful and I took a bunch of photos.

I then headed back to the fork in the road and headed the other way. The beauty of the area amazed me as I wandered through the jungle. A few minutes later I reached part of the trail that descends down into the lagoon. It was straight down! The only way to get down was to use the ropes and rock climbing techniques. At this part of the hike I ran into a father and son from Sweden who decided to turn back because it looked too difficult. I also met a hippie from Colorado meditating on an overhanging rock.

The third (and final) tier was the most difficult part of the journey. There was a very unstable rope ladder that I attempted to use. However, as soon as I stepped onto it, it began to wobble and did not feel at all safe. Instead I began searching for another way down. Just as I was about to give up hope the Swedish father called down to me and told me to make my way to the right. I was amazed when I found a much easier path down this portion of the hike.

When I reached the lagoon (about 1:00) I was excited to see that I was the only one there. I wadded into the water and then explored the surrounding area. In total I spent about half an hour hanging out by the lagoon. It was nice to have such a beautiful area all to myself. NOTE: Cliffs surround the entire lagoon and the only way in is to do the difficult hike.

The hike out was much easier than the way in and went much faster. I passed a bunch of people on their way down to the lagoon and was glad that I did the hike when I did. Coincidently, as I was descending the final portion of the hike and returning to the road, I saw Lisa, Paul, Matt, and Paul’s lady making their way to the beach.

Covered in mud and dirt I followed them to the beach. We found a nice spot on the crowded sand and relaxed. A little while later Lisa and I jumped in the water and went for a swim. We made our way to the beautiful rock formations. When we got there we spotted some guys at the top jumping off into the ocean. Obviously, I climbed up and joined them. It turned out to be about a 20-foot jump…

Still, the highlight of the beach occurred as we were walking back to our towels. We spotted a large topless woman playing paddleball. While slightly disturbing, it was hilarious!

At 16:00 I left the beach and made my way back to my room (the others remained at the shoreline). I took a shower and then relaxed in my bed and caught up on my blog.

The plan for the rest of the evening is to grab some dinner at 19:00 and then head out to a few of the beachfront bars.