July 10th, 2018
Railay Beach Adventures-July 9th, 2018
The one thing I have said before and still believe to be true is that we’ve never been really ripped off or left behind, or forgotten here in Thailand. Today was no exception despite some frustrations in getting from Phi Phi to Railay. Seemed like a good idea to ‘island hop’ when we planned this all out in the spring. Phuket to phi phi by ferry, then phi phi to Krabi by ferry, then Krabi to Railay via longtail then Railay back to Krabi, then Krabi to Chiang Mai via airplane.
We woke to heavy rains for the first time today. We got to the ferry with the assistance of a hotel staff member and his trusty cart. But this time, Rachael walked with us instead of getting the ride. 😂😂
They wrapped up all our bags in individual plastic bags which would turn out to be a huge lifesaver as we moved through our day and travels. The ferry left right on time at 9 am and arrived in Krabi around 10:45am. It drizzled the entire way, but winds were inconsequential and the rain not a concern. We docked and after the scrum involved in retrieving our two large bags that the crew put in storage along with everyone else’s large bags, we walked in on the long pier to land. There were super cute monkeys along the rail as we came in. But we know not to approach etc. just fun to see. Anna looks to her left and as she has become a decent weather observer, says “I think there’s rain coming-do you see that!” Yes indeed I can see that black dumping cloud coming straight at us. 😳 By the time we reach the ferry building, it is coming down full dump. We walk 150 feet through the building, and by the time we come out the other side, it’s pouring so much we probably couldn’t see 50 feet in front of us! My how quickly things change….
We had bought through tickets to Railay on the ferry and I assumed we would get on a longtail at the same pier we got off the ferry at. Um, nope! We have to get in a minivan and ride lord knows where. But we get in and are just glad to be out of the torrential downpour. I learned something as Troy googled the exact meaning of ‘monsoon’ after Rachael asked about it. And I am not alone in the misuse of this term apparently. I will no longer refer to ‘monsoon rain’ as a descriptor when we get washed away like this. I will call it ‘torrential downpour’. The driver is working on filling his van, and as it turns out it takes a while and we didn’t think anything of the until the next phase of the journey. (More coming on that). The rest of the van is apparently going to the airport, but I get assurance WE are going to the longtail pier. “Yes yes, don’t worry” they tell me.
We do end up at another shelter area on the side of the road where we are told to “wait”. The driver drops us and our bags off, then drives away. The new guy standing there tells me he doesn’t know how long we have to wait as he “isn’t a longtail boat driver”. Yup got it! Didn’t think you were actually…..after 15 minutes another guy comes get us and walks us over to waiting area by pier and tells us, no word of a lie, “we can’t go to Railay until there are minimum 8 people”. We are only four people and as I look around and up and down the streets, there not 4 more people in the entire area! It’s pouring and there’s not a soul in sight. He insists that the boat won’t go until there are 8 people, despite our protestations about the fact that we had paid a premium price for this transfer to the people in the ferry. He did say we could pay 400 more baht and he would just take us. Pfffft! You can imagine how I reacted to that! So there’s no way we were the only people on that ferry going to Railay, so this is where the wait at the ferry terminal comes in. All the other vans must have gotten away first, and filled the long tails and took off already. We were just minutes too late…..anyway, After about 30 more minutes, he managed to recruit one more passenger on the street. The longtail driver proposed if that guy paid an extra 50 baht and each of us paid an extra 50 baht, he would just go now. SIGH!! I buck up, and off we go.
The 5th passenger (Alex) is from CA and asks Anna and Rachael if they are in high school 😂😂😂. Rachael quickly corrects him that she is a university graduate, but now they both think he’s a gigantic knob. They used a different word, but I’ll go with my word for now. He proceeds to give ME advice on how to deal with sunburn and where they should for entertainment in Chiang Mai, where the developments are on Railay, as well as all kinds of other things we already know. We tried to explain we are very familiar with the area but he was just one of those people that has A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE TO SHARE! He also just graduated from university and is traveling alone for a few weeks to celebrate his accomplishment. But let’s just say this, I’m not taking travel advice from a guy with a scraped scabbed and scarred face arm and hand as well as a broken collarbone and that spend three days in a Chiang Mai hospital after admitting to driving like an idiot on his motorbike in Pai and wiping out and becoming unconscious multiple times.
The girls were NOT IMPRESSED. I’m proud of them.
We got to Railay and are staying at the SandSea resort on west Railay. It’s really nice, but the weather was rainy, windy and unpleasant all day. The girls and I went out and explored a bit before supper. Watched some rock climbing and played in the ocean over by Princess cave.
The girls assured me they wanted to stay far away from the cave filled with thousands of phallic symbols left there by worshippers praying for fertility. Also happy to hear this!
Supper down on east Railay. First pad see ewe gai of the trip for me! Didn’t disappoint. Yum. Plus Troy enjoying a Honey Monkey 🐒
