Thailand - Railay Beach, Koh Phi Phi and Krabi Town

Railay Beach also known as Rai Leh is a small peninsula only accessible by boat.

How did we get here? We took a 7 minute walk from our hotel to Ao Nang Beach where we purchased a ticket for a long tail boat. We had to wait about 5 minutes until they had enough passengers. Our boat ride lasted about 6 minutes. You arrive right on the beach.

Where did we stay? Railay Beach Resort and Spa for $423 four nights. This time we really did 'splurge' -- our room is a jacuzzi villa. We have our own little private oasis. The resort has two pools and is located right on Railay Beach.

 

What did we do? We spent time by the pool, time on the beach, swimming, and of course walking.

The resort has 2 pools, 1 is basically a 2 second walk from our room but hardly anyone uses it as the other pool is located right by the beach.

Center pool 

Beach pool

There are four beaches! Railey West Beach ⛱  is the main beach and where we first arrived.  It's a wide sandy beach surrounded by limestone cliffs. Here you find the entrance to the walking street where there are shops, bars and restaurants.  

Railay East Beach is a stretch of beach full of mangroves and is not a swimming area.  The ferry dock is located on the east beach.  When the tide is out, hotels use a tractor to get passengers to and from the speed boats. There are more bars and restaurants located along the cemented footpath.

Tide's in!

Tonsai Beach is pretty remote. You can get there by long tail boat or trek through the jungle which would not be fun with luggage.  A lot of the rock climbers stay in this area.

Phra Nang Beach has soft white sand, beautiful water, rock climbing and of course the Phra Nang Cave. 

To get from Railay East to Phra Nang Beach there is a nice walkway that takes you past monkeys and under the limestone cliffs.

Phra Nang Cave is a sacred place where it is believed Phra Nang the Princess Goddess resides in the cave.  The cave is where fisherman and boatmen leave offerings of incense and flowers to ensure a safe journey. There are also phallic symbols for fertility and virility. 

There are several stories about who Phra Nang is, an Indian Princess who was killed in a shipwreck offshore and her ghost occupied the cave, another one says she is the wife of a local fisherman who set out to sea and never returned, she lived the rest of her life living in the cave and looking out to sea for her husband to return.  

The last one is a story about "a beautiful maiden who lived in Krabi centuries ago. Her captivating beauty attracted suitors from all around, but she rejected them all. One lovelorn individual reacted angrily when his marriage proposal was rejected and he tried to kidnap the lady, but she was rescued by a brave local man who came to her aid. In appreciation, the lady agreed to marry her rescuer. On the date of the wedding the groom arrived with the traditional dowry, but there would be no wedding. A group of jealous men were there to fight with the would-be-husband. In the fighting that ensued a hermit who had been living in a nearby cave appeared on the scene. His attempts to stop the violence were ignored and he utilised his magical powers to transform the scene into stone. The maiden became Phra Nang Cave. The groom became Chicken Island. Other men involved in the brawl were turned into the various nearby islands including Poda Island'.

The Island Men!

On Railay East is the Diamond Cave. An ancient stalactites cave supposedly with lots of bats.  We did not see any bats the day we visited but we definitely heard a few.

There is also the East Railay Viewpoint and Lagoon.  We did not climb up because we are rule followers, lol. Had nothing to do with the trail is strenuous, muddy and slippery and 90 degrees to the lagoon.

No climb up to view point!

On Railay West is the Bat Cave another one we did not do as it states only suitable for rock climbers with ropes.

We spent a lot of time in our own little backyard oasis! We really did not expect to use the jacuzzi but we did just about every day. We sat outside and enjoyed our coffee in the mornings watching the birds.  

We also enjoyed watching the monkeys 🐒 🙈, even better when we didn't have to leave our yard.  Except when they jumped on to the metal roofs. The monkeys we saw most by our room were Dusky or Speckled Langur, there eyes are ringed with a white circle.  They eat the leaves off the trees.

We also got some chores done which included laundry and a haircut.

Massages, of course! We wanted a massage but there were several places that had Ladyboys (boys who want to be ladies) and someone was apprehensive. One place had a cute young lady working and we waited several days for her to be there. Today was the day and she started the massage but was not the one to finish. Wish to have captured the look on his face when he realized who was giving the massage. Later we found out the cute young lady was the owner.

What did we eat? We found the food here was nothing spectacular and every place has the same items.

BBQ Tiger Prawns

Spring rolls

Green curry

Chicken gyoza 

Ramen with chicken

Pizza 

Spaghetti Bolognese 

Spaghetti Carbonara 

Steamed fish

Spicy egg with vegetables 😋 

Of all the bars there were only 2 we went to more than once. Kamar Bar where we met Ning (the owner) and Rin (his daughter). We played Connect 4 and Jenga with Rin.  Ning made a great espresso Martini and turned us onto Thai Whiskey.

The second was Tew Lay Bar. This is the very last bar on the East Beach and a very cool spot.

We listened to music, every place has some sort music including live musicians.  All the music is in English and the musicians play the same sets each day.

We needed a vacation! Just joking. We wanted to check out an island. Koh (island) Phi Phi was our choice. Phi Phi is pronounced Pee Pee not Fee Fee.  

How did we get here? We purchased a ferry ticket for $14.38 from our hotel desk the day before check out.  We received a golf cart ride from the front desk to the east entrance of the hotel and then walked about 1 minute to the pier where we waited in line with everyone else.  Our ferry ride took about two hours.

Pulling into Phi Phi

Our first reaction was OMG way too many people and this was before we even got off the ferry. ⛴  You know everyone wants to be first.  

Where did we stay? Panamee Hotel. This place was not as "nice" as our last 2 places, but for $42 a night can't complain. We had a king size bed and a refrigerator we could make ice in. Street food right outside the hotel and a great little breakfast shop on the corner.

What did we do? Phi Phi is like a maze. 

We walked along Ton Sai Beach this is where all the boat traffic is. The pier we arrived on is here, there were scuba diving lessons and we even found some Tiki bars. 

We spent both afternoons at Freedom Bar located right on Loh Dalum Beach. They had beach chairs to sit in as long as we made a purchase and no it did not have to be alcoholic. Someone had tried Thai vodka the night before and was not 100 percent (that someone was not Rob) so sitting on the beach was a perfect day.

Coconut water

Mango Shakes

We climbed to the Phi Phi Viewpoint 1 and 2. It is a must when visiting Koh Phi Phi. It is a steep hike up with lots of steps. We always take a death March at the hottest part of the day.  The hike was definitely worth it.

What did we eat? Here we found one of our new favorite Thai foods, the Roti a Thai Style Pancake. There are many toppings to choose from. We liked the peanut butter and banana or Nutella.

Penang Curry

Chicken nuggets and French fries

Fried noodles with chicken

Green Curry

Chicken with hot basil, rice & fried egg

We enjoyed Koh Phi Phi and wished we had stayed longer. Back to Railay Beach via the ferry. We stayed at the same place for an additional 7 nights at $790.

Our last two days in Thailand were spent in Krabi Town. We chose Krabi Town because it was closer to Krabi Airport versus going back to Ao Nang.

How did we get here? We purchased a long tail boat ticket for 100 bhat or $2.86 pp from our hotel desk the day before check out.  We chose the 4 pm departure so we could spend a little more time on the beach before heading to the "city". We received a golf cart ride from the front desk to the east entrance of the hotel and then we hopped on the tractor whick took us out to meet the long tail boat.

The boat took us to the Ao Nam Mao Pier where we then caught a taxi for 300 bhat or $8.57 to take us a little over 10 miles to our hotel.

Where did we stay? Family Tree Hotel. This place was not our little jacuzzi villa we have been accustomed to but it was decent.  We had an issue of finding the place. We didn't realize the entrance was located inside a coffee shop.

This hotel was $42.23 a night. We were given the option of the second floor or the fourth floor. There is no elevator.  We chose the fourth floor. We had a deluxe room with a king size bed (which was very comfy). Other amenities included coffee beans with grinder and cookies. We even received a snack outside our door when we returned from dinner. 

What did we do? Walked and checked out the area and the night market. We also went to the mall.

What did we eat?

Tom Yum 

Shrimp Tempura 

What s wrong with this picture? Rob received his Tom Yum but no utensils, lol.

,

Breakfast of champions Shrimp Pad Thai and Chicken Noodle Soup.

The food is definitely cheaper in the city and tastes so much better.

We stopped at the Buffalo Bar for one last drink in Thailand 🇹🇭.

We really enjoyed Railay with their laid back vibe, very similar to the old Key West. Phi Phi was very touristy and lots of backpackers, but we would visit again.  Krabi Town: glad we checked it out but no need to go back.  

Off to our next adventure, stay tuned!

There are no short cuts to any place worth going. – Thai proverb